A living wall that brings an oasis of greenery at New Street Square in Holborn, London, has helped Biotecture secure victory in this year’s Flowers in the City Awards living wall category.
Success in this year’s Living Wall category follows on from the project securing the 2021 Master’s Special Trophy.
The Flowers in the City Awards, which are run by the Worshipful Company of Gardeners, recognises efforts to enhance the City of London with colourful plantings that enhance its international reputation as an enjoyable place to work.
This year’s awards ceremony took place in the Mansion House on 10th October and was attended by prize winners, judges and members of the Flowers in the City committee.
Judges at Flowers in the City singled out Biotecture’s BioPanel living walls at New Street Square f0r a second year running because, in the winter months, it is the only bit of urban greening in the area. A total of five different Biotecture living walls wrap around the office building at the heart of New Street Square in the City of London.
Biotecture supplied a total of 240m2 of living walls to New Street Square. These were to the east, south and west elevations. Once installed the living walls had a transformative effect of the visual appeal of the area, creating a remarkable oasis of greenery.
Aside from the visual benefits, the Biotecture living walls contribute to reduced urban temperatures, increased biodiversity and improved air quality. Plants within the living walls also remove pollutants through the process phytoremediation, achieving a noticeable difference to the quality of air in challenging city locations.
Richard Sabin, Managing Director at Biotecture, said: “The living walls at New Street Square have had a transformative effect on this part of the City of London. We are delighted to receive a Flowers in the City Award, which follows on from last year’s Master’s Specials Trophy for the same project.”
He added: “Although it is the visual aspects of the living walls at New Street Square that people notice first, what they don’t realise is that they receive important health and wellbeing benefits from being closer to nature.”
Russell Hearsum, Maintenance Director, at Biotecture, explains: “It’s fabulous that our horticultural team has been recognised by the Flowers in the City Awards judges for the second year running. The living walls continue to look as good as the day they were installed and that is due to the design input from our experienced team and knowledge of the maintenance team.”
Biotecture’s patented BioPanel system is a modular hydroponic living wall that combines efficient water management with remote sensing technology, meaning it maintains healthy plants in all climates over the long term. It can be retrofitted as part of a façade refurbishment and incorporated within new buildings as the integral rainscreen cladding element.
