Greening the built environment has never been more important. With increasing urbanisation of our planet our vibrant cities demand greening solutions to create healthier places in which to live and work. Living Walls offer the perfect antidote bringing the following key benefits:
Green Aesthetics
Living walls create a WOW factor unrivalled by other interior or exterior finishes. They are not only beautiful but also help companies communicate green credentials to their customers. Championed by well-known retailers, hoteliers and commercial businesses – green walls demonstrate a company’s sustainability targets and corporate social responsibility.
Improved Air Quality
Living walls breathe air into cities and purify air in interiors leading to improved working environments and happier staff. The University of Lancaster found living walls to be more effective than trees at reducing nitrogen dioxide in dense urban areas with high pollution levels. This is due to the nature of city landscapes, the tall buildings create ‘street canyons’ which traps pollution at street level, living walls can increase the deposition rate by as much as 40% of nitrogen dioxide and 60% for particulate matter as the cleaner air from above the street canyons is introduced.
Living Walls Provide Great Insulation
Keeping buildings cool in the summer and warmer in the winter – creating proven energy efficiencies. Our research and development programme includes research into the thermal benefits of living walls, undertaken at the University of Sheffield and sponsored by Scotscape, this year long study exposed irrefutable evidence of the effectiveness of living walls to cool buildings in the summer and insulate buildings in the winter.
Improved Urban Biodiversity
Living walls can ‘mimic’ biodiversity in areas where green has been stripped away and replaced with the built environment, supporting insects and birdlife. Scotscape offers a bug habitat to all of our living wall clients to further promote the message of the benefits that living walls bring to urban environments.
Reducing the Urban Heat Island Effect
Heat islands occur on the surface and in the atmosphere. On a hot, sunny summer day, the sun can heat dry, exposed urban surfaces, such as roofs and pavement,
to temperatures 50–90°F (27–50°C) hotter than the air, while shaded or moist surfaces – often in more rural surroundings – remain close to air temperatures.
Adding living walls and green roofs to urban structures mimics the conditions presented in rural surroundings, mitigating the urban heat island effect and making cities more temperate in the summer months.
Flood Mitigation
Living walls are absorbent, along-with green roofs and rain gardens – absorption helps to slow down rain water run-off, making urban areas less prone to flash flooding.
Reduction of Noise Pollution
Living wall structures can reduce noise levels in buildings. Plants are regularly used to reduce noise on motorways and within urban environments. Living walls reduce noise levels by reflecting, refracting as well as absorbing acoustic energy. This further assists with reducing stress in working environments leading to happier healthier staff and improved staff retention.
The Scotscape Living Wall is a light-weight semi-hydroponic modular panel system constructed from a patented advanced geotextile fabric. Each square metre holds up
to 49 plants in individual pockets. Each panel incorporates a drip-line to irrigate the plants through the fabric. Panels can be fitted to flat or curved surfaces and are planted
on site. The system is designed for rapid installation by a small specialist team, minimizing on-site disruptionand downtime.
- Full design service available
- For use in commercial or residential projects
- Available in 5 panel sizes or bespoke to suit individual projects
- Suitable for exterior or interior use
- Available if required with integrated insulation to increase building U values
- Maintenance contracts available
- Can be installed by professional contractors
Scotscape operates a thriving CPD program for architects focused on the design, installation and maintenance of living wall systems citing many interesting case studies, which is available face to face or as a convenient to book Webinar service.
For landscapers and contractors interactive workshops with hands on installation experience are delivered throughout the year, enabling other professional contractors to successfully adopt the Scotscape Living Wall system and integrate vertical greening into their service offer, with full support from the experienced Scotscape team.
To book a CPD or Workshop please click here: http://www.scotscape.net/cpds-and-training-days/
To discuss living walls with our experienced team call: 0208 254 5000 or email sales@scotscape.net
F: Scotscape Landscaping Ltd.
T: @scotscapewalls
