London hotel houses Europe’s tallest green wall
Emily Smoucha
16th March 2011
The Mint Hotel in central London just got a bit greener as Frosts Landscape Construction unveiled Europe’s tallest living wall.
The courtyard
living wall rises up 11 stories to cover 1,025 square meters. At the top, the
Mint Hotel has a
green roof that covers an additional 350 square meters.
Wall specifications
The wall is made up of 4,100 modules that each have 45 plants in them, for a total of over 180,000 plants. To boost
biodiversity, 40 different plant species adorn the wall, including native and non-native species chosen based on the environment of the height they would hang at.
"This project was a real technical challenge due to its location and height. It’s a testament to what is now possible thanks to a well engineered system, greater knowledge and real enthusiasm among clients, architects and contractors," said Aidan Lane, Frosts Landscape Construction director.
Maintenance
The plants wall was built with an automatic irrigation system to supply water and liquid fertiliser to the hanging plants. To maintain the plants, a platform similar to the kind used to wash windows on large
buildings will be used twice a week.
The Frost project took about six months to complete using a team of 20 specialists.
Green Wall Centre opens
Due to increased interest in living walls, Watermatic Ltd, an irrigation company, has launched its Green Wall Centre.
The company has designed nine different types of walls to meet different structural designs and budgets. The plants receive nutrients and water via a computerised irrigation system.
"I wanted to create a 'state of the art’ focal point for displaying these wonderful walls, and also to monitor them providing feedback and some real running data which will also help with research, testing and development," said Zac Ribak, Watermatic Ltd managing director.
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