Living Building Envelop in the North of Italy

  • © GKR Hydro GmbH

Living Building Envelop in the North of Italy

New office building built as solid timber construction following the cradle to cradle principles in the North of Italy.

© GKR Hydro GmbH
© Partner und Partner Architekten
The façade is designed with continuous planters on each level, providing a habitat for various climbing/trailing plants to provide a sunshade for the office. The planters are custom-made from powder-coated stainless steel and equipped with the Hydro Profi Line® Planting system to optimize water consumption, irrigation, structural loads and required planter profile.

 

  • Water consumption: through the planting system’s architecture, water consumption is significantly lowered (by up to 80% compared to conventional planting systems).
  • Irrigation: the planting system comes with a substrate-free water reservoir in each planter. Therefore, the planters themselves function as an irrigation system. On each level, one planter is attached to the non-pressurized irrigation supplying all other planters on the same level through an overflow mechanism (following the rice-terrace-principle).
  • Structural loads: the loads can be split into the water-saturated substrate, the water reservoir at maximum water level and the planting system. In total: app. 75 kg/running meter (thereof water 24kg/running meter, water-saturated substrate app. 30 kg per running meter, the planting system itself, and the planter around 15 kg/running meter). Conventional loads around 300 kg per running meter and more.
  • Planter profile: due to the triggering of mainly fine root growth, the profile of the planters can be reduced to a minimum. In this case 30 cm x 30 cm (conventionally rather 50 cm x 60 cm)

Architects: Partner und Partner Architekten
Landlord: ekos GmbH

Green Roof/Wall System: Hydro Profi Line® Planters
Number of Green roofs / Walls on Property: App. 200 running meter of climbing plants in special fadace-mounted planters

© GKR Hydro GmbH
© GKR Hydro GmbH
© GKR Hydro GmbH
© GKR Hydro GmbH

 

Date: Nov 2021
City: Vahrn
Location: Plattnerstrasse 4

owner website

contact

Follow us on our social channels.

Follow us on the channel that best suits you to receive our latest updates!

Twitter Facebook-f Linkedin Youtube
NEW

LATEST POSTS

BROWSE ALL

61st IFLA World Congress to be held from September 10th – 12th in Nantes, France

As part of WGIN’s ongoing collaboration with The International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA) we are pleased to announce the 61st IFLA World Congress, organized in partnership with the French Federation of Landscape Architects (FFP, Fédération Française du Paysage.) The event will run from September 10th – 12th 2025 at La Cité des Congrès in Nantes, France. The IFLA World Congress is the most important annual event for the landscape architecture profession and the IFLA community. In 2025, the Organising Committee has chosen the theme GUIDING LANDSCAPES: planning, designing and managing new resilient urban neighbourhoods, reorganising public space by reopening land, increasing rainwater infiltration and developing urban biodiversity to cool cities are all key issues. The congress will bring together 1,200 landscape architects, urban planners and decision-makers from over 50 countries. WGIN encourages the green infrastructure community to join IFLA2025 for inspiring lectures, discussions, study visits, networking and social events! Please share and circulate this information among your colleagues. KEY DATES Call for Abstracts starts: Submit your abstract now! Registration opens: mid February 2025 Abstract submission deadline: 15 March 2025 Notification of abstract selection: 15 April 2025 Deadline for authors registration: 15 May 2025 Early bird registration deadline: 15 June 2025 Standard registration deadline: 25 July 2025.

Ready, Steady, Go: Advancing Urban Green Infrastructure in the EU

In the article “Advancing Urban Green Infrastructure in the EU“, Luigi Petito, Head of Secretariat of the WGIN’s EU Chapter, explores how green infrastructure is transforming urban areas across Europe. As cities face the pressures of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss, the European Union is promoting nature-based solutions such as green roofs, urban parks, and sustainable drainage systems to address these challenges. Petito highlights how these initiatives improve environmental resilience, enhance energy efficiency, and support urban competitiveness. The article provides a short overview on the new EU institutional framework and two major policy files on the European Commission’s agenda that provide clear opportunities to promote urban green infrastructure in European cities: the European Water Resilience Strategy and the European Climate Adaptation Plan.  Read the full article here.

World Congress on Green Roofs and Façades | Call for Papers

  Climate adaptation and the greening of cities is the order of the day. Which strategies and measures in roof and façade greening are proving to be effective and successful? Challenges lead to solutions and new strategies, technical innovations and developments, which will be presented and discussed at a scientific, practice-oriented congress. The congress will take place at the University of Basel, in the historic Kollegiengebäude. Contributions will be offered in the technical field of green roofs and façades, on building ecology topics, on research and on the development of new strategies and as an instrument of ecological urban planning. The World Congress on Green Roofs and Green Façades on June 5 and 6, 2025 will offer an information platform and be a driving force for establishing the promotion, research and development of green roofs and façades worldwide. Call for papers is now open until January 15 2024. Submit your paper and find more information here: Call for Papers | ZHAW Institute of Natural Resource Sciences IUNR Visit the congress website for more information: World Green Roof and Facades Congress 2025 | Organized by ZHAW