London's Largest Living Wall Is Also A Sustainable Drainage System

There have been quite a few vertical forests and gardens that have made it into the news over the past few years. I hope that means greening up urban areas is becoming a real trend since there are so many positive aspects to it. This particular one is in London, and it’s being called London’s largest living wall. It’s an inspiring, vertical, green landscape full of seasonal geraniums, buttercups, strawberries and other plants.

There are over 10,000 plants growing on the side of this building. So how much water and soil does it take to maintain a living wall with 10,000 plants? Well, for this wall, they used over 16 tons of soil. The structure can store up to 10,000 liters of water to feed the plants. This 21 meter (68 feet) high living wall was created to help reduce the flooding in London. It covers an area of 350 square meters, which is an entire wall on the side of this hotel called the Rubens at the Palace in Victoria.

The designer, Gary Grant of Green Roof Consultancy, made sure to use plants that will attract wildlife like birds and butterflies to this urban area in London. Since the water used to feed these plants is collected from rainwater, it will reduce the flooding on the ground. According to Gary, the whole project is like a sustainable drainage system.

This living wall is such a beautiful sight, and it will improve the air quality, temperatures, and overall health and happiness in the area. I think it would be fun to be one of the people who gets to maintain it. It would be like tending to a gigantic garden on the side of a building. I’d definitely like to see this in person.