Citibank Riverdale Data Centre, Lewisham Living Wall

In 2014 the global bank, Citi, received funding from the UK’s Green Investment Bank to start putting in place innovative new energy efficiency measures that would cut power usage at the facility by 10%.

A new combined cooling and power system working in conjunction with energy efficient cooling units will generate up to 71% of the required electricity needed to power the data centre and in turn reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The 390m2 living wall in seven section wrapping the Citibank Riverdale Data center in Lewisham was installed to help with cooling the building and to improve the appearance for the surrounding properties. The vertical plant wall that wraps two elevations of the building will help keep the building cool by intercepting sun light that would otherwise heat the building materials. This sun light is essential for plant growth.

The planting design was inspired by the shape of the building, accentuating the curved edge. A curvilinear band wraps around the frontage of the building providing a strong focal point from several perspectives. There are a mix of ornamental, native and wildlife friendly species in varying tones of green to form a fresh, lush overall appearance. All species selected are evergreen and hardy as well as suitable for partial shade as expected for the north and east aspects of the building.

Biotecture also installed an outdoor living wall at the VIRTUS data Centre in Uxbridge. To learn more about that project yo can visit the portfolio page.