Europe’s Largest Green Wall “Will Absorb Eight Tons of Pollution Annually” in London
Lizzie Crook – reporter at Dezeen, graduated from University of Sheffield in 2016 with a degree in architecture before joining the magazine as a social media and editorial intern. She went on to work for former creative network YCN as a content editor and wrote for its members’ magazine and student-focused website; returning to Dezeen in 2018 as an editorial assistant. Studying a postgraduate diploma in interior design.
Designed by local studio Sheppard Roboson, the mixed-use Citicape House in London will have the “largest living wall in Europe” to help improve local air quality. The building will be wrapped by a facade of 400,000 plants that are hoped to “capture over eight tons of carbon [dioxide] and produce six tons of oxygen annually.” The vertical garden will be located on the UK capital’s Culture Mile, a heavy traffic area in the city of London, and will be replacing an existing office building to demonstrate one potential method of how the built or man-made environment can address issues such as pollution and climate change. Partners of the firm argued that an immersive and integrated approach would have the biggest impact on the local environmental conditions, creating a better and more livable city, as well as making a clear architectural statement. The Citicape House is planned to contain a five-star hotel alongside office spaces, event spaces, and various other social establishments. The construction is influenced by a pre-war building that had previously occupied the corner, however unlike the original building the ground floor will be receded from the street edge to allow a connection to a small plaza. The plants on the exterior will align with the trusses and structural support of the building to avoid “greenwashing the building” as described by members of Sheppard Roboson.
Crook, Lizzie. “Europe’s Largest Green Wall ‘Will Absorb Eight Tonnes of Pollution Annually’ in London.” Dezeen, 15 Nov. 2019, www.dezeen.com/2019/11/11/citicape-house-green-wall-architecture-sheppard-robson/.
