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When everybody is planting apples a visionary plants oranges.

Matshona Dhliwayo

Hotel Green Wall, Holborn

  • London, United Kingdom
  • 2014
  • For Rosewood Hotel
  • 95m2

Project Details

  • 70m2 and 25mHotel Green wall
  • Both walls supported by the same pump system
  • Compact irrigation system due to space restrictions
  • Steel frame for structural support
  • Small timeframe for installation

Biotecture designed and installed two living walls at the Rosewood Hotel’s Garden House suite, one on the east and the other on the west side of the building.

The first living wall crowns the top of the suite’s external façade, spanning 70m2­­­­. An additional steel frame was added to provide structural support. The second smaller wall decorates the roof terrace for the suite on the opposite side of the building.

The walls were primarily added for aesthetic reasons. The first wall was commissioned to obscure the original dated section of the building, providing an alternative, fresh and striking façade. The second was added to bring greenery into a courtyard area without the space to support a garden, whilst recreating the tranquil and restorative ambience that a garden brings.

A number of modifications were made to the irrigation system to make it compact enough to transport through the restricted space. This irrigation system supports both living walls at the hotel. Not only did this save on budget, but also on space, as the secondary pump would have taken up room within the courtyard terrace.

Last minute time restrictions also meant that the final on-site installation had a two day timeframe. However, the majority of the plant growth and installation preparation for our living walls occurs at the nursery in West Sussex, thus allowing for this rapid and efficient installation time once on-site. To learn more about how we install a living wall you can visit our ‘Build Process‘ page.

The planting designs for the two walls were simple in nature, alternating five different plant species. The plants were chosen for their tolerance of the full sun and semi-shade conditions experienced at the rooftop level of the hotel. Despite the simple design, the wall nonetheless presents a diverse range of colours; from the deep green of Euonymus fortunei ‘Dart’s Blanket’ to the bright lime of Soleirolia soleiroleil, with Waldesteinia ternate blooming with yellow flowers in late spring to early summer.