New insights into green roofs and green walls
In the 'Green Deal' part of our ambitions for 2025 we pay a lot of attention to the 'Green Construction' cluster. This consists of three projects:
In 2021, we completed the 'EcoCities' project with our partners. This included research into the ecosystem services of green roofs and green walls. These have never before been studied in a comparative, integrated way for different types of green roofs and green walls. The Buildwise conducted literature studies into the possible impact of climate extremes, both in terms of water management and hygrothermal aspects.
With the new insights, the use of green roofs and green walls can be made more efficient (and more cost-effective) and the techniques used can be improved.
By adapting the offering of ecosystem services to local demand, green roofs and green façades can be used more efficiently and cost-effectively. Green walls at tunnel mouths could contribute to purer air in the city. With the new knowledge, municipalities would be able to support greenery in cities in a more targeted way. The insights can also help technically optimise green roofs and green walls, for example by providing them with a greater water-buffering capacity.
In 2021 we also worked further on 'Green Roofs UP!' and 'WonderWalls'. In these projects, the focus is on the further technical optimisation of green roofs and green walls respectively. In concrete terms, we have installed a test station to measure the hygrothermal aspects of green walls. Green roof models were also installed for demo purposes and for investigating more sustainable substrates.
The intention is to support the growing market with quality frameworks, and to test new technologies and products. The collected knowledge will be made available in publications in the coming years.