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Restoring our innate human connection to nature
Workspace design has a direct effect on employee well-being, with people working in an environment with nature present being 12% more productive and less stressed.
Biophilia proves that people are drawn to spaces with natural features, which returns the value of investment, and creates stronger future investment opportunities.
Plants do the opposite to humans: they absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen through photosynthesis. A natural substrate boosts this by capturing particulate matter.
With on-going benefits for the building and occupants, natural sustainable living walls support building standards such as BREEAM and WELL.
Living Wall
We have greater scope for design as soil is the natural medium in which most plants grow, therefore there are many species for us to choose from. We can incorporate patterns, textures, 3D effects and different colours to achieve maximum visual impact.
We do not use harmful chemicals to keep our living walls healthy. This means no toxic run-off and a naturally flourishing installation with minimal intervention.
Using natural soil means we have a larger plant range to select from. This affords us the opportunity to specifically select plant species with air purification benefits to create a feature that has measurable impacts on the air quality.
Soil naturally retains moisture, which means the living wall does not need constant feeding in order to stay healthy, and we are able to save on water usage.
Featured case study
A refurbishment in the main office reception area was undertaken and to complete the look of the stunning fit-out, a living wall was required. As usual, it was a bespoke project with unique requirements and due to the wall being double sided and on the 7th floor, weight was a critical consideration.
Featured case study
The newly renamed building will now be used as the new global conservation hub at the University of Cambridge.
Featured case study
A large-scale refurbishment at 338 Euston Road as part of British Land's continued development of their Regents Place Campus, involving the refurbishment of the ground floor reception area.
Featured case study
Christchurch airport is New Zealand’s tourism gateway. This NZ airport is in the South Island and is located near many iconic tourism highlights, approx. 12km to the northwest of the city centre.
Both walls only seem to improve with age and there’s always something new flourishing to surprise us. The indoor wall softens the harsh surfaces, improving the room’s sound quality and the outdoor living wall has been particularly popular with bees.
Simple, eye-catching and easy to maintain, ANS Living Canvas gives you the chance to create original artwork with living plants on a smaller scale.
Nothing comes close to the velvet texture of real moss. Colour, texture and 3-dimensional sculpting combine to create a high impact design statement with minimal fuss.
A living wall will indeed help you to achieve a BREEAM rating. There are several things you can focus on using that will help you:
Yes, rainwater harvesting can be used to irrigate a living wall, although the wall cannot be solely dependent on rainwater. To integrate rainwater harvesting effectively you need to get your living wall partner involved early on.
A living wall that uses natural soil uses less water than most other substrates used in green walls. Here’s an example of water usage per week in the winter:
The only part of the living wall that will use energy on-going is the irrigation system. This is entirely dependent on the design and irrigation system structure. However, the electrical loading is minimal.
There are 6 key factors that can determine whether your living wall integration will be a failure or a success. We detailed them all in this blog on What could go wrong with a living wall? 6 points to consider for your project, which you can read more about here.
For more detail under each point, please read the blog!