BY: JESSICA BEUKER
A 446-space parking garage is now home to Europe’s largest living wall. The wall contains 97,000 plants drawn from 20 different species chosen specifically to provide environmental benefits.
According to Gizmag, the plants are tailored to do specific things:
“Mentha mint, for example, is a deterrent for wasps, Hebe pinguifolia “Pagei” attracts butterflies, and Vinca minor “Bowles Purple” provides nectar for bees.” Other plants are fruit bearing, producing fruit such as strawberries.
Other features of the wall include bird and insect boxes, 558 low-energy LED lights and porous paving, which helps to absorb runoff by allowing storm water through the surface.
One World Design Architects designed the wall for the headquarters of the UK’s National Grid, which lies on the outskirts of Warwick. The wall was originally designed to minimize site disturbance, however building a car park creates an incentive for employees to drive to work, rather than walk or ride bicycles.
According to Inhabitat, the green wall will offset environmental impacts, by adding to the ecology and biodiversity of the area. The flowers on the wall will also add colour and variety to the building during different seasons. The majority of the plants are evergreen, which means they will provide year-round coverage and plants will bring different benefits at different times.
The project was completed last month and took a little under a year to complete. Europe’s largest living wall measures 1,027 sq. metres and the company hopes it will add to their vision of a greener community.
Sources: one-worlddesign.co.uk
