Biotecture Limited

The living wall at the newly renovated Bell Court Shopping Centre in Stratford-upon-Avon is part of a large refurbishment project to improve the existing town centre location including the associated NCP car park. The living wall overlooks a courtyard area with cafe seating creating a pleasant public realm space.

Biotecture worked with Balfour Beatty Living Places and Southampton City Council to create a magnificent and welcoming feature on the Millbrook roundabout, a key gateway to the city. The UK's first highways living walls are also helping improve air qualityin Southampton. The ten freestanding living wall structures are situated below the Millbrook fly over, one of the city's busiest roads.

The 77 metre long living wall on the link bridge at New Street Station in Birmingham welcomes travellers from all over the country to the centre of the city. The living wall creates a pleasant promenade of calming, green infrastructure amongst this built urban environment with the addition of 16,600 plants.

Biotecture worked with architects, Urban Innovations, to design and deliver 690m2 of living wall on a multi-story car park in Coventry. The introduction of this expansive living wall helped to satisfy planning concerns and creates a striking feature on what might have otherwise been a blank wall. The living walls at Cannon Park feature a bold planting design creating a three-dimensional ‘wave’ or ‘drift’ aesthetic that will become more prominent as the plants mature. The design highlights Biotecture’s ability to match plant choice and design to client requirements.

Cannon Park Shopping Centre in Coventry has undergone a significant transformation. Led by MPR, the redevelopment project includes refurbishment of the existing shopping centre, construction of a new 780-bed student residence, and the addition of a new 400-space multi-storey car park. Biotecture was brought on board to incorporate living walls into the development.In 2021, Biotecture installed a 690 square metre green wall on the multi-storey car park as part of the project’s first phase. We then continued to collaborate with the project’s architects, Urban Innovations, and landscape architects, Parkhood, on phase 2; 9 living walls on the student accommodation phase. The vertical greening was an important part of the scheme, helping to help soften the development, improve air quality, contribute to biodiversity net gain.The living walls are integrated into the building fabric. We worked closely with the design team to ensure that the living walls not only aligned with the desired aesthetics but also met the technical requirements.We used our BioPanel system which uses Grodan® as the growing medium. Grodan is dimensionally stable, chemically inert, and water retentive resulting in healthier and longer-lasting plants.

Biotecture’s impressive 93m2 green wall for the atrium of British Gas owner, Centrica’s new Oxford headquarters was an integrated element of the ambitious sustainability aims for the building; the green wall, which reaches three storeys up, contributed to the building’s BREEAM rating of 'Excellent', acting as acoustic buffer and a natural filter to improve air quality.

In 2013, The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) announced plans for a multi-million pound refurbishment of the No.1 Court, famous as the second largest Show Court used for The Championships, Wimbledon. Included in the plans was the installation of two living walls, one each side of the Big Screen facing Aorangi Terrace, commonly known as ‘the Hill’. To achieve this landscape vision Biotecture was appointed to work with the AELTC on the design, planting, installation and maintenance of the living walls.

This vertical park living green wall at the gateway to Covent Garden is formed of over 8,000 plants from 21 different varieties and provides a real wow factor to the area, and it's in keeping with the history of Covent Garden.

Fosse Park in south east Leicester showcases Biotecture's expertise in enhancing the shopping experience through biophilic design at a time when retailers are looking for different ways to attract people back to their shops. Owned by The Crown Estate, Fosse Park is one of Britain’s largest out of town retail centres, and has recently undergone a £168m extension by Bowmer & Kirkland, increasing retail space by 40%. Biotecture's living walls were installed as a key architectural feature of the new retail space.

A customer satisfaction survey highlighted Gate 25 in Terminal 3 at Heathrow airport, as one of the lowest scoring at the airport for ‘look and feel’. Heathrow had the idea of creating “the Garden Gate” – the concept being an English garden within the airport. By designing bespoke, freestanding, self-contained living wall units we were able to help that vision come to life. You can visit our case study to learn about how passenger experience has improved since the living wall was installed.

INTU worked with Makers Construction on a full car park refurbishment for the main car park at their Milton Keynes location. As well as improving traffic flow through the car park, creating larger spaces and better way finding, intu was keen to install several areas of living wall and car park green infrastructure to provide a stunning visual welcome to all visitors.

Biotecture recently completed this internal living wall at Legal and General's new flagship HQ in The Interchange, Cardiff. The green wall was installed using Biotecture’s naturally resilient hydroponic system and the planting design includes the icon Legal and General umbrella.

After successfully completing living walls at the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet in Ashford, we were approached to design and implement a similar scheme for McArthurGlen’s newest outlet on the outskirts of Paris.This development exemplifies McArthurGlen’s commitment to sustainability. The scheme was built according to ‘Excellent’ High Environmental Quality (HQE) standards and includes 20,000 square metres of green roofs, 1,000 square metres of living walls and 120 electric parking spaces.The architect, Arte Charpentier wanted to create a ‘rich and welcoming experience’ for visitors and the living walls contribute to that vision. At the heart of the development lies a central ellipse, adorned with two gracefully curved stretches of Biotecture’s living cladding, each spanning an impressive 90 metres in length and standing at a height of 11 metres. Two more expansive sections of living wall frame the east entrance.The living walls are a visually striking architectural feature and help to cultivate a serene shopping environment. In addition to their aesthetic contributions, the plants will play a vital role in improving air quality and promoting biodiversity within the outlet.

Soaring 75 floors above the city, the breath-taking Sky Terrace spans the top floor of the Landmark Pinnacle building.Chalegrove Properties, the developer of Landmark Pinnacle, working with Squire and Partners and Farrer Huxley Landscape Architects had a collective vision to create a unique space befitting of the exceptional views which surround the roof garden. The space has been designed as a pair of landscaped external terraces providing spectacular panoramic views over London, while offering a healthy environment embracing biophilia to ensure residents can connect with nature in an otherwise urban setting.Biotecture’s living walls create lush green backdrops for both the east and west terraces. The green walls are constructed using Biotecture’s patented hydroponic living wall system, which was developed by the founders of the company in 2007 and remains the most flexible, resilient, and low water use of any fully comprehensive living wall system anywhere in the world.Living walls are a space efficient way to bring more plants into urban areas where space is literally and financially at a premium. Bringing more greenery into urban spaces can help reduce stress and anxiety, and together with the wider planting scheme, the living walls form the backdrop for a tranquil and relaxing place for residents and their guests to unwind. Living walls have also been proven to improve air quality, cool urban areas, and increase biodiversity.The lighting scheme was designed by Hoare Lee to bring the wall to life in the evening.Design and Project ManagementBiotecture were first approached by Charlgrove Properties in 2020. Squire and Partners and Farrer Huxley Landscape Architects had a clear vision for what they wanted. Our design and project management team were able to take the project forward, advising on technical requirements and producing drawings.Selection of Plant PalletteAll plants used in Biotecture’s living walls are selected from Biotecture’s plant database to suit the local climatic conditions, including aspect, wind conditions and shade. Level 75 is the UK’s highest living wall, and the roof terrace is open to the elements. The plants were selected to withstand high exposure to sunlight and wind.The plant selection is mainly hardy and robust evergreen plants with dashes of colour creating a naturalistic background overlaid with bursts of seasonal interest.HorticultureOur BioPanel system incorporates Grodan as a growing medium. It is dimensionally stable, chemically inert, and supremely water efficient making it ideal for living walls. The living walls were planted up in our West Sussex Nursery and allowed to mature for 12 weeks before being installed on site. This ensured the living walls looked fantastic from day one. The living walls include an integrated irrigation system which is being remotely monitored from Biotecture’s head office.InstallationThe fully planted up BioPanels were fixed to aluminum cladding rails mounted onto a waterproof backing board. The team worked closely with Chalegrove to ensure the living walls were delivered to the required schedule.MaintenanceOur living wall system gives the plants the best opportunity to flourish, and our maintenance operatives know how to keep them that way. Our team will carry out regular horticultural visits to keep the walls looking their best.Photos by Oliver Dixon, courtesy of Chalegrove Properties

As part of the new Warner Stand at Lord’s Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, the living walls help to provide a stunning backdrop to the concourse and prestigious hospitality suites that they adorn.

Biotecture’s statement living walls are integral to the architectural look and feel at the McArthurGlen Ashford Designer Outlet. They were designed to enrich the retail experience and strengthen the outlet’s position as a flagship shopping destination. Working collaboratively with the design team and the main contractor, Biotecture designed and installed over 2,000 sqm of living wall to create a rich vertical garden. The green walls help establish a sense of place, and reflect Kent’s status as ‘The Garden of England’. The project is one of Europe’s largest living walls and demonstrates how living walls can be delivered at scale to enhance the urban environment.

This living green wall in the heart of Camden provides real colour and interest to match the MTV brand. The detail around the windows is a triumph of coordinated design.

This living wall is one of five different living walls that we have now installed and still maintain for Land Securities. It is on the management suite building at the heart of New Street Square and, especially during the winter months, it is the only bit of urban greening in the area.

A stunning sustainable living feature, in a retail setting that combines technology with style. In the heart of London, the St James Market flagship store provides a perfect foundation to showcase this biophilic system, which is designed with air quality and wellbeing in mind.

This eye catching living wall sits in the central piazza of Teesside University in Middlesbrough. The Matrix film inspired planting design surrounds a large 36m2 LED information and interactive screen used in university social events.

The living wall at the new Postal Museum in London demonstrates ground-breaking living wall technology with the integration of 5 post boxes within a 21m × 3m elevation consisting of 3,468 plants in the freestanding vertical garden structure.

TJX Europe’s landmark new headquarters in the centre of Watford demonstrates how Biotecture’s living walls can transform urban landscapes and create an architectural feature to stunning effect. Standing at 12 storeys high, it is one of the tallest buildings in Watford and features over 620 square metres of living wall, positioned internally and externally both at ground level and with multiple elevations, including a seventh-floor roof terrace. The living wall was installed nearly a year ahead of the the project handover and will contribute to the target BREEAM 'Excellent' rating.

This 1,800m2 living wall in Leeds at at recycling & energy recovery facility, is the largest in Europe. It is a vertical forest that incorporates over 100,000 plants including larger shrubs, small trees and over 700 habitat boxes. At 28 metres tall it is also one of Europe’s tallest living walls

The double sided living wall on the road boundary of Winston Way Academy was designed specifically to capture road related pollution and improve air quality in the school grounds. It has the added benefit of creating an attractive entrance to the school.