Europe in bloom: a living façade at the European Environment Agency

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Last modified: Apr 13, 2011

The Living Façade is one of EEA's main contributions to the United Nations International Year of Biodiversity. The front of our building on Kongens Nytorv 6 is covered with about 5,000 annual plants showing a map of Europe and plant biodiversity. The façade will stay in place from 22 May to October 2010. Follow the project step by step, and learn more about the science behind it.

See the project's different stages in pictures

The EEA Living Façade wants to illustrate the significance of vertical gardens as urban green areas. These areas represent a backbone for human health, biodiversity and ecosystem services in cities. For most urban dwellers, the perception of "greenery" in or nearby their cities is an integral part of what constitutes the 'quality of life'. Indeed urban green can improve air quality and noise conditions. Despite being highly artificial, urban areas can, by intelligent design, offer additional habitats, maintaining ecosystem services and thus limit the ecological footprint of cities.

This ambitious project is the first outdoor green fa çade in Denmark. It is made possible by intensive co-operation between architect Johanna Roßbach, LIFE - Faculty of Life Sciences - University of Copenhagen, the municipality of Copenhagen, engineers from Ramboll Denmark and Green Fortune, a company specialised in the construction of green walls.

Other outreach activities

In addition to the living facade ‘Europe in bloom’, EEA has planned other public outreach activities in Copenhagen to celebrate 2010 is the International Year for Biodiversity and raise awareness about biodiversity and the benefits it delivers:

World Biodiversity Day 22 May: In conjunction with the façade's inauguration on 22 May, EEA hosted a seminar, 'Citizens meet Science' focusing on the importance of citizen involvement in preserving biodiversity. The EEA also hosted the photo exhibition 'Living Green' by Mattias Klum – a photographer for National Geographic.
Exhibition “Biodiversity is life, Biodiversity is our life”: in close collaboration with the French Embassy to Denmark, Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), EEA co-organised an exhibition, designed to inform a wide range of audiences about biodiversity and its importance to us. The exhibition consists of 18 posters selected from the UNESCO travel exhibition. The exhibition will be hosted at the Botanical Museum, in Copenhagen, from September 7th to October 24th.
Copenhagen Culture Night 2010 (Kulturnatten): Along with many other public institutions and cultural attractions in Copenhagen, EEA will open its doors to the public on 15 October 2010 and host a series of activities on its premises. This year's EEA program will focus on biodiversity and quality of life in cities. Our Living Façade, re-vamped with a light installation for the occasion, will be at the heart of the event.

Summer 2010: the façade in full bloom

22.05: inauguration for the United Nations Biodiversity Day

More about the seminar participants and the event program

17.05: the first plants are on the facade

Green fortune employees (with the green helmets!) are inserting the first plants in the felt pockets.

17.05: Green Fortune starts planting

The plants have arrived and are stored in the EEA's courtyard.

16.05: mounting the plantwall system

The felt pockets are now forming a map of Europe!

15.05: the watering system

The automatic watering system is controlled by an automatic cabinet placed inside the building. After watering, excess water is lead thourgh a drain to the bottom of the wall.

11:05 The installation begins

The first phase of the construction of the Living Façade has begun: the supporting beams are being attached to the building. It is an impressive sight, but the crew is surprisingly small. The two enormous cranes are each only manned by one technician. The architect, Johanna Roßbach, was also on hand to check on the progress.

09.05: Visit to the steel factory

The metal elements of the structure are being assembled by Holbæk Ny Maskinværksted.

05.05: the stars of the show

All annual plants, the species were chosen for their colours. Combined together, they will form a map of Europe showing the different densities of biodiversity. Species such as purple verbena, dark green sedum and delicate sutera provide a complete spectrum of colours.

20.04: first test drilling on the façade

The building's façade is tested to determine where the structure can be attached.

16.04: at the plant nursery

We are visiting the greenhouse in 'Gartneriet Haarkilde', in Smørum, with Lars Birck. Lars is gardener at the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Copenhagen (LIFE), one of our partners in the project. The 5 000 seedlings are well taken care of — they only have 37 days left to grow before the façade is unveiled! LIFE is very enthusiastic about the project and agreed to select plant species and provide seedlings. They also came up with a great idea: plants of different colors could be used, to represent the varying density of biodiversity in Europe.

12.04: in the meantime, the engineers...

Engineers Peter Lund Christensen (left) from Rambøll, Henrik Dahlgaard (middle) from Mangor and Nagel, and Kasper Stærk (right) from Green Fortune, are working on the hanging system. The plants will be held in vertical felt pockets, connected to watering and drainage systems.

09.04: geometers at work

Martin Aspelund from the Danish company Tvilum Landinspektørfirma measures the EEA façade. The structure supporting the living façade will be custom made.