Skip to content
Technology & Innovation —

A “Living Wall” That Helps Prevent Flooding

The road-side exterior wall of a hotel in one flood-prone London district is covered with a 21-foot-high vertical garden that acts as a “350-square-meter green sponge.”
Sign up for Big Think on Substack
The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.

What’s the Latest Development?

In the central London district of Victoria, the Rubens at the Palace Hotel has a new and super-green feature: a 21-meter-high vertical garden covering one of its road-facing sides. The garden contains 10,000 pollinating plants, many of them native to the area, and 16 tons of soil, and is nourished by rainwater collected from storage tanks on the roof and by normal rainfall. That water is carefully channeled through the plants so as not to leave too much on the street below. The garden also serves as an “air-filtering, biodiversity powerhouse” because of its ability to disperse heat and capture polluting particulate matter.

What’s the Big Idea?

Flooding is a serious concern for parts of London, and has repeatedly caused subway closures that affect local businesses. The vertical garden commissioned by the Victoria Business Improvement District is one type of sustainable drainage system (SUD) Mayor Boris Johnston wants to help spread through his administration’s Drain London project. Some of the other ideas completed or in the works include a biodiversity garden at Buckingham Palace and a rain garden outside a large department store.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com

Read it at FastCompany/Co.Exist

Sign up for Big Think on Substack
The most surprising and impactful new stories delivered to your inbox every week, for free.
Related
A bearded man wearing glasses and a plaid shirt speaks with a microphone clipped to his collar in front of a purple background with white dots.
The Well
How Rainn Wilson discovered sacredness
The hospital where Rainn Wilson’s wife and son nearly died became his own personal holy site. There, he discovered that the sacred can exist in places we least expect it. During his talk at A Night of Awe and Wonder, he explained how the awe we feel in moments of courage and love is moral beauty — and following it might be the start of our spiritual revolution.
▸
13 min
—
with
Rainn Wilson
Up Next