Now more than ever, cities around the world are starting to recognize the importance of green spaces within their urban environments. And in some cities, this sort of development is embodied directly in the buildings themselves.
Düsseldorf, for example, has recently unveiled a new office building whose cladding is entirely covered with over 30,000 plants, making it the largest green façade in Europe. Built by Ingehoven Architects, the office complex spans 41,400 square meters and has the appearance of a sprawling green hill in the center of the city.
The cladding includes irrigation and drainage systems and will offer similar benefits to the city with 80 deciduous trees. Two of the establishment’s walls and its roof are fixated with steel pots alongside planted grass with a type of evergreen shrub identified as hornbeam.
According to the architecture studio, the construction is expected to symbolize a paradigm shift in urban development from an approach dominated by cars towards one that is people-oriented, while also offering an urban response to climate change.
