Union Wharf, Greenwich Living Wall

Essential Living’s Union Wharf new mixed-use development in the South east of London will be an exciting two tower build with 249 residential units that will be rented, as well as space for Offices, retail, sports facilities and a public park. This location on the banks of Deptford Creek is both well connected for central London and also has a relaxed rural atmosphere making it a popular locations for new homes.

The two towers at Union Wharf are built using an off-site modular method meaning that 653 separate modules were manufactured off-site and joined together on-site and installation phase. This building is one of the tallest modular buildings in the UK. This method allows faster on-site construction and project delivery.

Biotecture were commissioned to supply, install and maintain the two areas of living wall on the site, the pedestrian walkway on the south elevation and the underground car park access area on the West elevation. It was important to the client to reintroduce plants to this former industrial site to improve the biodiversity of the area and compliment the natural Deptford creek habitat and the 180 acre Greenwich park nearby. The main area of living wall acts as a green corridor connecting the site to the adjacent road which has the effect of a striking welcome to the development.

The Union Wharf, Greenwich living wall has a green colour palette making use of lots of variegated plants to incorporate a wide variety of green shades. In addition, statement plants with flowers or foliage in shades of pink and purple like Bergenia ‘Baby Doll’, Heuchara ‘Palace Purple’ and Liriope muscari ‘Big Blue’ were used to emphasise the linear planting patterns.

The modular nature of this build meant that on-site time was greatly reduced compared to traditional construction methods. Biotecture pre-grow all of our living wall panels off-site in our nursery prior to installation on site meaning that we are able to quickly and efficiently install our living walls when we bring them to site. This also means that because the plants have already been given an opportunity to mature before installation they will always look wonderful with good coverage of the structure from day one.

If you would like to see another example of a residential development where Biotecture have installed a hydroponic living green wall you can visit our ‘Bath Riverside Living Wall‘ portfolio page.