Green walls

Living Walls in the Built Environment

It is a fact of life that office blocks, shopping centres, distribution centres and car parks have to be built. Living walls mitigate the visual and environmental impact of commercial developments. They mask eyesores, while helping to reduce noise, water and air pollution and reducing the Urban Heat Island effect.

Modular green walls deliver immediate total coverage, rapidly transforming and masking commercial buildings into aesthetically pleasing and environmentally friendly living walls.

A great example is the (pictured) 1,400m² network of green walls, planted with 35,000 plants by Pritchard & Pritchard at Westfield Shopping Centre to disguise the facility from its residential neighbours in Shepherds Bush.

• Read the case study.

Boosting Biodiversity with Living Walls

Modular green walls incorporate a multitude of small plants – which could include ferns, euphorbia, heuchera and herbs, planted into a framework of modules or troughs, housing the plants exactly where they are needed on the wall to create maximum coverage following a planting plan.
Green walls aren’t just about fabulous looks. Green walls can help to reduce a building’s heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer, saving on energy costs; and protect the wall from extreme weather and ultraviolet light.

See: the Living walls FAQ for more benefits of living walls

Irrigating Green Walls

All vertical gardens require irrigation, usually fed via dripper pipes which are integrated into the construction of the system.

Large installations require bespoke irrigation systems to create sufficient water pressure and volume to feed large wall landscapes.

This 650 litre irrigation system (pictured) was installed in 2019 by Prichard & Pritchard to service a 400m2 green wall, we constructed at the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Village at Cheshire Oaks.

• Read the case study.

Living Walls and Green Walls for Property Developers

Local authorities – including the Mayor of London – encourage developers to include living walls for the positive environmental impact on:

• The building, through saving energy for heating and cooling.
• The wider environment, through reducing the Urban Heat Island effect, pollution, light pollution, run-off.
• Helping to mitigate the impact of construction on the environment and local flora and fauna.

BREEAM states that green walls can be included for credits in the ‘Enhancing site ecology’ assessment only where there is evidence that a comprehensive on-going maintenance strategy will be in place.

The Urban Greening Factor has been introduced in by the London Mayor and is guiding and influencing the incorporation of meaningful greening projects for new property developments and renovation projects.

Living walls can contribute to Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) under the Environment Act 2021, which requires new developments in England to deliver at least a 10% increase in biodiversity. Assessed using the metric from Natural England, living walls are typically classified as urban greening features and can provide biodiversity units, particularly when designed with native, pollinator-friendly planting. However, their contribution is usually modest compared to ground-level habitats, meaning they are best used as part of a wider BNG strategy rather than a standalone solution. Long-term maintenance is also essential, as habitats must be sustained for at least 30 years to remain compliant.

See: the Living walls FAQ for more benefits of green walls.

Green Wall Maintenance

Maintenance programs are highly recommended for modular green walls.

Maintenance regimes for living walls require the following tasks:

• Inspection and functional testing of irrigation systems
• Feeding and fertilizing
• Removing weeds
• Pruning plants
• Replacement planting
• Pest control
• Removal of refuse
• Plant protection
• Inspection of the drainage system

See: Green wall maintenance for more information.

A green wall maintenance program works best when client and service provider work closely.  We have been required to deliver ‘remedial’ living wall services, resurrected living walls that have died either due to bad maintenance or in some cases irrigation has been switched off by the client for some reason.  This is guaranteed to make a living wall fail – at which point a partial or full replant will be necessary.

Interior Living Walls

The Pritchard and Pritchard team design, install and maintain both exterior and interior living walls.

If you want to incorporate living walls into your home or office space we can deliver exactly what you require for your project, using the most appropriate system to achieve the look you want.

Did you know that incorporating plants into interiors cleans the localised air, improves productivity of workers, boosts biophilic design principles by bringing a greater sense of wellbeing to workers.

Plants can be incorporated as green walls, screens, pot and plant combinations and living ceilings to bring the benefits of ‘green’ to even the most challenging of spaces.

For more information about the power of applying biophilic design in the workplace click here.

See: Green wall maintenance for more information.

All your green wall questions answered by the living wall gurus:

• How is a green façade constructed?
• What are the benefits of a green façade?
• What is the difference between a living wall, green wall, green façade or a vertical garden?

Consult our essential FAQ.