In recent years sustainability has become increasingly important with the result that businesses are now being challenged to “Go Green” and attempt to operate in a more environmentally friendly manner.
However, the carbon footprint of one particular office building can be of little concern to its tenants. As far as “green” goes, it is certainly the leading example in Europe!
Two Snowhill has become home to the continent’s largest “living wall”, with over 600 square metres of plants forming a unique exterior to the property. Altogether the wall stands 7 metres high and stretches 220 metres .
The construction process to bring this picturesque living instalment to Birmingham began last year, when a steel frame was erected parallel to the Metro viaduct wall by neighbouring Snowhill Station. While this process was being completed, over in Holland the thousands of plants required for this ambitious project were being grown in the panels which would later slot into the framework.
Landscape architect Carly Kingswell, of project managers Hyland Edgar Driver, believes that the concept will appeal to visitors to Two Snowhill.
She says; “Living walls have been growing in popularity over a number of years, although one on the scale of Two Snowhill’s is rarely seen.
“The technology is relatively young, but this particular system is tried and tested, and once the plants achieve full coverage the effect will be fantastic.
“Visitors to the building will see the wall grow and flourish over the summer.”
It is not only greenery adorning the 14 storey property however, as perforated aluminium panels serve to capture both artificial and natural light in what is promised to be a dazzling optical treat. By night, programmable uplighters use this feature to great effect, by creating patterns to depict depth and movement which chase across the vertical expanse.
Altogether Two Snowhill contains 303,000 sq ft of Grade A office space and a further 7,000 sq ft of retail accommodation on the ground floor.
Living walls are not only decorative and liven up the façade of commercial buildings, but they can also cut down on city centre pollution by processing carbon emissions from engines.
Do you think more cities in the UK should examine the possibility of installing living walls on their larger commercial properties, or would the cost of growing and constructing these green giants be better spent on cheaper environmental measures such as promoting cycling to work or fitting catalytic converters?
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