Mobilane’s green living wall outside the athletes’ entrance of the stadium

As part of its drive to make London 2012 as green as possible, Mobilane was asked to supply a living wall outside the athletes’ entrance at the main stadium.

Specified by HED Landscape Architects and installed and maintained by Willerby Landscapes of Kent, the 135 sq m ivy wall is set back at a 70o angle and took just two weeks to install. Although the Games have been and gone, the Mobilane living wall will prosper for many years to come, encouraging biodiversity and absorbing microscopic pollutants around Stratford in London.

The living wall uses the Mobilane WallPlanter system, which was chosen for its proven reliability. WallPlanter consists of aluminium planters and a metal framework onto which fully matured plants are grown. It features an in-built, automated irrigation system that provides the ivy with water and nutrients. The maximum amount of water used is less than 2.1 litres per week. The amount of water is regulated by a moisture cut-off system which turns off the water supply if the sensor notices a waterlogging issue. The irrigation runs on this setting throughout the year.

This system will ensure that the Olympic living wall will enjoys decades of healthy growth with a minimal amount of maintenance.

Like the rest of Mobilane’s products, the WallPlanter is designed to enhance the built environment by simultaneously making it more aesthetically pleasing and environmentally friendly. Mobilane’s vision dovetailed neatly with that of the Games’ organisers.

In placing sustainability at the heart of its planning, the Olympic Delivery Authority focused on climate change, waste, biodiversity, inclusion and healthy living. The living wall at the athletes’ entrance is one of many green features at the Olympic Stadium. Its roof truss is made of unwanted gas pipelines and its river banks from recycled granite from King George V Dock.

Living walls solve a number of sustainability issues. Not only do they purify the air by absorbing microscopic pollutants, they also mitigate the degradation of wildlife habitats and deter graffiti vandals. This makes them an important tool in sustainable urban development.

Moreover, living walls can also be used indoors, thereby improving air quality and enhancing an interior’s appearance. This makes living walls perfectly suited to being deployed at gyms and health clubs, as has been by Mobilane in Germany.

As seen in Leisure Design & Build