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Living wall at Nottingham Trent
GREEN & BLUE INFRASTRUCTURE LIVING WALL SYMPHONY OF FOLIAGE AT NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY MUSIC CENTRE
This 38 square metre bespoke living wall takes majestic prominence on The Music Centre frontage at Nottingham Trent University. Installed in Autumn 2019 and pictured here in its February 2020 flushes, the new Music Centre’s living wall not only adds a splash of natural beauty but will encourage biodiversity in its proximity.
The LivePanel living wall cassette system was supplied by Mobilane and expertly affixed by plant design specialist installers Oasis Plants alongside the traditional buildings at Shakespeare Villas on the City Campus.
A summer symphony of natural colour
The University facilities team wanted to make a bold and vibrant statement on the exterior of this refurbishment project. The living wall was the finishing touch on a two-phase project on the site that saw the University Hall extended and the addition of the Music Centre. The new building sits alongside the buildings originally constructed in 1854 and accommodates dance and music studio, dining facilities and is linked by a glass vestibule.
A concerto of Campanula
The arrangement of plant varieties will create a concerto of colour in the warmer spring and summer months. Conducted by the Oasis team, the plant choice encompasses a blend of foliage and flower in over 1700 individual plants including ivy (Hedera Helix) and Euonymus, grasses (Carex) and Pachysandra. The green wall will reach a crescendo with the full visual impact of striking blue Campanula flowers in the summer.
Tom Shipman, director at Gleeds, the property and construction consultancy who managed the project said:
“It is fantastic to finally see the accumulation of three and half years of dedication by the project team working seamlessly together along with the Conservation Officer to deliver an impressive and architecturally sympathetic building. The green wall is already proving to have a positive impact at the University, further enhancing this historical part of Shakespeare Street.”
Orchestrate your own LivePanel living wall
Adding a LivePanel outdoor system transforms what would otherwise be a bare and grey exterior expanse into a natural flourishing living wall. The LivePanel modular system features exchangeable cassettes with slots into which any variety can be planted – choose for foliage, contrast, theme or floral colour.
Each row of plant cassettes is placed in a gutter profile that serves as a water reservoir, allowing the plants to absorb water through capillary action. The system elements are all fully recyclable.
The resulting living wall not only has a vertical green visual impact, the plants work hard improving air quality, encouraging biodiversity and helping to regulate the building temperature – with extra insulating and sound-dampening effects thrown in!
