GREEN AESTHETICS
Living walls create a WOW factor unrivalled by other interior or exterior finishes. They are not only beautiful but also help companies communicate green credentials to their customers. Championed by well-known retailers, hoteliers and commercial businesses – green walls demonstrate a company’s sustainability targets and corporate social responsibility.
IMPROVED AIR QUALITY
Living walls breathe air into cities and purify air in interiors – leading to improved working environments and happier staff. The University of Lancaster found living walls to be more effective than trees at reducing nitrogen dioxide in dense urban areas with high pollution levels. This is due to the nature of city landscapes, the tall buildings create ‘street canyons’ which traps pollution at street level, living walls can increase the deposition rate by as much as 40% of nitrogen dioxide and 60% for particulate matter as the cleaner air from above the street canyons is introduced.
LIVING WALLS PROVIDE GREAT INSULATION
Keeping buildings cool in the summer and warmer in the winter – creating proven energy efficiencies. Our research and development programme includes research into the thermal benefits of living walls, undertaken at the University of Sheffield and sponsored by Scotscape, this year-long study exposed irrefutable evidence of the effectiveness of living walls to cool buildings in the summer and insulating buildings in the winter.
IMPROVED URBAN BIODIVERSITY
Living walls can ‘mimic’ biodiversity in areas where green has been stripped away and replaced with the built environment, supporting insects and birdlife. Scotscape offers a bug habitat to all of our living wall clients to further promote the message of the benefits that living walls bring to urban environments.
REDUCING THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT
Heat islands occur on the surface and in the atmosphere. On a hot, sunny summer day, the sun can heat dry, exposed urban surfaces, such as roofs and pavement, to temperatures 50–90°F (27–50°C) hotter than the air,2 while shaded or moist surfaces—often in more rural surroundings—remain close to air temperatures. Adding living walls and green roofs to urban structures mimics the conditions presented in rural surroundings, mitigating the urban heat island effect and making cities more temperate in the summer months.
FLOOD MITIGATION
Living walls are absorbent along with green roofs and rain gardens – absorption helps to slow down rainwater run-off, making urban areas less prone to flash flooding.
REDUCTION OF NOISE POLLUTION
Living wall structures can reduce noise levels in buildings. Plants are regularly used to reduce noise on motorways and within urban environments. Living walls reduce noise levels by reflecting, refracting as well as absorbing acoustic energy. This further assists with reducing stress in working environments leading to happier healthier staff and improved staff retention.