Residential Green Wall, Canaletto, 259 City Road, London

Canaletto is a 31 storey residential building on City Road on the banks of the Regents canal in London. The building is a collection of 190 exclusive apartments with private terraces and interiors designed by interior designer Rients Beaumont. Residents benefit from 24 hour concierge, restaurant, private cinema, swimming pool and health suite.

The client Orion City Road Trustee ltd and development managers Orion appointed Ardmore construction as the main contractor to deliver this ambitious and iconic build with the vision of breathing new life into this stylish waterfront location.

The Architects UNStudio wanted to create a residential building that didn’t look like an office building. Facade textures and a sense of liveliness were important to achieving this with the overall effect of an uplifting space that honours the London city garden concept and takes influence from flowers and plants.

Biotecture were contracted to supply and install an 80m²  residential green wall at the base of the tower at street level. This lush green living wall with it’s integrated water feature provides a natural element in the piazza area in front of the residents entrance. The curved shape has a softening effect on the triangular footprint of the tower and the hard stone surface finishes. The ferns included in the planting plan add a lot of natural texture and depth.

The Biotecture living wall panels are installed in a faceted format to give the finished effect of a curved living wall. The end of the living wall closest to the building extends under the canopy. In order to provide adequate light for healthy plant growth additional artificial lighting was installed that would ensure the plants will continue to thrive even though there is very little natural light under the overhang. Biotecture worked with Ardmore and the specialist water feature contractor to co-ordinate the interface between the living wall and the waterfall.

Flowering plants were included to provide seasonal interest and colour within the planting plan. Heucheras and vincas give pops of colour in the green background. This has the added benefit of providing a food source for pollinating insects like bees and butterflies. In this location in the centre of the city green spaces are few so green infrastructure can create a green network for wildlife.

Biotecture have worked on a variety of residential developments with living walls. If you would like to see some other examples you can visit our ‘Union Wharf, Greenwich‘ and ‘Bath Riverside‘ portfolio pages.