This living wall softens the façade, and boosts biodiversity
Area: 88m2
Location: Croydon, London
System: BioPanel
Install Year: 2024
Client: Faircloth Construction
Number of plants: 5,280
Plant species: 15
Biotecture were appointed by Faircloth Construction to bring UMC Architects’ green wall design to life on the front of a new 52,605 square foot logistics warehouse in Croydon.
The living wall forms part of the car park elevation and was designed to soften the building’s appearance, increase biodiversity and provide a greener outlook for those arriving on site.
Our approach
The living wall was created using Biotecture’s BioPanel living wall system, a hydroponic, modular system designed and certified for use as rainscreen cladding.
It includes a dimensionally stable, water retentive growing medium called Grodan, favoured by commercial greenhouse growers.
Our in-house team worked closely with the main contractor Faircloth to ensure the living wall was fully integrated into the building façade. This included panel layout, planting design, irrigation design, and flashing design.
The living wall is north facing and required a shade tolerant plant palette. The plant design includes four different planting matrices across 14 curved bands to create visual interest.
The living wall panels were ‘pre-grown’ in our nursery facility in West Sussex and allowed to mature before being installed on site. This ensured a seamless look from day one.
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 living wall has created a greener, more welcoming entrance to the warehouse and a pleasant backdrop for an outside seating area.
The diversity of planting including flowering plants will support a wide range of pollinators including bees, hooverflys, and butterflys. The BioPanel living wall system’s robust design, combined with an automatic irrigation system, and regular maintenance visits will keep this living wall thriving for years and decades to come.
The project won a BALI (British Association of Landscape Industries in 2025
