The Biodiversity Net Gains and visual appeal of the living wall at Trinity Square, along with building performance and air quality improvements, set an exemplar for future urban greening projects. The benefits were delivered to the client through a 350m2 Biotecture Biopanel living wall system that incorporates around 22,000 plants.
Project Brief
Triton Square is a 3,500 office redevelopment in London that was carried out by Maylim on behalf of British Land. The project team set high sustainability aspirations for this major refurbishment project from the outset. Visually, the client and designers were seeking a living wall that offered a ‘lush jungle’ aesthetic.
The living wall was created using Biotecture’s patented BioPanel, a space efficient living wall system that uses Grodan as the growing medium. This is a dimensionally stable, chemically inert, and supremely water efficient, making it ideal for this 36 metre by 9.7 metre, three-storey high, living wall.
Biotecture incorporated over 70 aluminium planters into the living wall that create deeper pockets for larger plants.
Biodiversity Net Gain was an important requirement and Biotecture met this by integrating 50 bug hotels into the living wall. These provided additional habitats for insects such as lacewings, ladybirds, and some of the UK’s 250 species of solitary bees.
Highlights
- 350m2 of Biotecture’s hydroponic BioPanel living wall system
- The main east facing façade is 36 metres long and 9.7 metres high (three stories high)
- 22,000 plants
- 50 habitat boxes
- 70 aluminium planters to allow larger plants and create deeper growth.
- Integrated lighting by MDN lighting
Our Approach
Biotecture worked with Landscape Architect Townshend to create the planting design – it includes three bands of planting, with big ferns and shrubs at the bottom gradating to smaller plants at the top. The planting selection is primarily made up of robust evergreen plants with cream, lime, and mauve accents.
The larger planters include a mix of upright and trailing plants to create the ‘lush jungle’ aesthetic set out in the project brief.
Biotecture also worked with lighting specialist MDN UK Ltd to incorporate feature lighting into the living wall, which now adds to, and complements, the overall aesthetic.
The plants used were grown at Biotecture’s nursery in West Sussex and allowed to mature for 8-12 weeks. This means that when they were installed on-site they look great from day one.
The fully planted up BioPanels were fixed to aluminum cladding rails mounted onto a waterproof backing board. The team worked closely with Maylim to ensure the living walls were delivered to the required schedule.
Triton Square living walls incorporate a remotely monitored irrigation system that allows the Biotecture maintenance team to ensure the plants receive the required water levels at all times.
Key Benefits
