Consulting engineer Arup has launched a new “living wall” scaffolding system on a project in Mayfair, which it says has the potential to reduce air pollution by up to 20%.
The Living Wall Lite covers 80 sq m of scaffolding on the Grade I-listed St Mark’s church building and comprises a mixture of grasses, flowers and strawberries.
The wall aims to reduce the visual impact of scaffolding on local residents, and Arup says studies have shown it can reduce noise pollution by up to 10 decibels as well as improving air quality. It is the first time the technology has been trialled in the UK.
Grosvenor is currently redeveloping the St Mark’s property into a new retail and community space, which is due to complete in 2017.
The wall has been designed by Arup and manufactured by Swedish living wall specialist Green Fortune, and will be fitted with sensors to monitor its impact on noise, temperature and air pollution.
Speaking to CM, Alistair Law, facade engineer at Arup and the Living Wall Lite’s developer, said: “This is much more than a cover up, it helps transform scaffolding and hoardings into something much more aesthetically pleasing with plants and flowers, it also creates a more attractive and healthier environment for local residents, businesses and workers on site.”
He added that the Arup offering is different from others in the market due to needing less attention and also seeing it as a vertical park, rather than a vertical jungle.
“Some of the others are very dense, with lots of vegetation, where ours is quite thin, but the choice of plants has been carefully developed.”
Mark Tredwell, development director at Grosvenor, which is partnering on the project, said: “This is a great initiative and is in line with our long-term ambition to improve the environmental sustainability of the buildings across our London estate, reducing emissions by 50% by 2030.”
