A plant wall for a less polluted town

© futura-sciences.com

Although a great deal of progress has been made across the globe to improve air quality, it’s still worth remembering that 9 out of 10 people are breathing air that contains elevated levels of pollutants (according to the WHO). Although cities want to work towards cutting pollution, they often find themselves unable to do anything comprehensive due to a lack of space…But a German firm has risen to the challenge!

© Green City Solutions

a compact forest

Green City Solutions has actually designed the very first bio-tech filter that quantifiably improves air quality: City Tree.  Covering 3.5m², this plant wall fulfils the work of 275 trees thanks to different types of mosses that capture toxins, such as nitrous oxide particles, producing oxygen at the same time. There’s even a slimmer version of this wall that occupies just 1.5 m². In short, you don’t need much space to be effective!

combining the natural and the artificial

City Tree is an independent filtration system because it uses only the energy produced by its solar panels, which is stored in its batteries, to water itself automatically thanks to a reservoir of recovered rainwater. Its ventilation can be controlled in order to intensify the air flow and increase filtration if need be. Thanks to its mosses, which store moisture, and because of water evaporation, this plant wall can lessen the urban heat island effect by cooling the air.

What is more, by combining these mosses with IoT technologies (you must have heard of the Internet of Things), it’s possible to access information relating to the performance and condition of the City Tree, as well as other environmental data.

© Green City Solutions

modern and eco-friendly style

In terms of appearance, the largest version of City Tree measures 4 metres high, 3 metres wide and 60 centimetres thick. With benches placed here and there around the structure, this plant wall fits in perfectly with the urban landscape in order to supply a little touch of greenery. We adore its style and, even though it isn’t a City Tree, the NOMAD Hotel in Roissy has its very own oasis of greenery thanks to our very own plant wall!

where can we see these city trees?

City Trees can be found in Hamburg, Oslo, Berlin, London, Hong Kong…and even in Paris! You may have spotted 3 of these high-tech trees at Place de la Nation. As well as all the features we’ve already mentioned, these plant walls also serve as Wi-Fi access points and recharge stations for electric vehicles.

City Trees fit the bill, both technologically and aesthetically, but just imagine if these plant walls could also serve as street lighting!