This green wall façade celebrates Covent Garden’s floral heritage
Area: 140m2
Location: Covent Garden, London
System: BioPanel
Install Year: 2025
End Client: Shaftesbury Capital
Number of plants: 8,400 plants
Number of plant species: 15+
Biotecture were appointed to deliver TP Bennett’s vision for a living façade at 27b Floral Street. The living wall forms part of a wider retrofit and refurbishment of an existing 1990s mixed-use retail and office building.
Covent Garden is one of London’s most vibrant retail and cultural destinations, renowned for its plant-lined streets and floral displays that nod to its history as a former flower market. The living wall celebrates this rich heritage while bringing contemporary greenery to the façade.
Biotecture designed an installed a 140m² living wall using our modular, hydroponic BioPanel system, a fully compliant living cladding solution designed for long-term performance in urban environments.
Our approach
The process of delivering a BioPanel living wall starts with design work, including panel layout, planting design and irrigation design. After sign-off plants are pre-grown into BioPanels in our nursery and allowed to mature before being installed on-site.
The living cladding was installed in two phases, the first fix included the installation of the blacking baord, geotextile drainage layer, aluminum cladding rails and irrigation rig. The second fix brought in the fully mature planted panels.
The living wall wraps around South and East elevations, with planting carefully zoned to respond to differing light conditions. Shade-tolerant species were placed in less exposed areas, while sun-loving, seasonal plants feature in brighter zones to attract pollinators.
All our planting schemes use Matrix planting, with mixed species in each zone to enhance biodiversity and resilience.
Design
Including panel layout, plant design and irrigation design
Horticulture
living walls grown in the nursery for 8-12 plants until fully mature
Installation
Installation of backing board, geotextile drainage layer, irrigation pipework and planted panels
Maintenance
Remote monitoring of the irrigation system, regular visual inspections and horticultural maintenance visits
The results
The completed living wall brings natural softness and year-round greenery to a vibrant part of Covent Garden.
The living wall will improve the building’s performance adding additional insulation to reduce the need for mechanical heating and cooling. This living wall will also help reduce air pollution in this busy part of london.
