UCL start-up takes ‘living walls’ to new level of sustainability

A company founded by a UCL graduate uses cork to improve the biodiversity and sustainability of living walls, with designs that reduce running costs, while boosting plant health.

Access to nature within cities plays a vital role in improving residents’ health and wellbeing. Plants and trees help to reduce pollution, ambient temperatures and human stress, while supporting biodiversity. 

Increasingly town planners and architects are using innovative ways to include green spaces in city designs, including vertical green walls. However, the materials commonly used to build such ‘living walls’ are not sustainable and the containers often prevent plants from maturing.  

With support from the Hatchery, UCL’s start-up incubator within UCL’s BaseKX at King’s Cross, UCL Architecture graduate, Mac Van Dam, founded a company to develop more sustainable living walls.

The Vertical Grounds Design Lab’s first product is the ‘Living Lattice’ that uses corked-based modules to create wall coverings, ornamental shading systems for windows and free-standing partition walls. The lattice modules are designed to keep plant roots healthy, and to improve water flow, reducing maintenance, minimising environmental impacts and maximising biodiversity and aesthetic appeal.

“Our Living Lattice product is made of cork, which is a highly sustainable replacement for plastic and provides numerous functional benefits for plant health,” explains Mac. The modules are designed for easy assembly and to optimise plant health by increasing the amount of soil each module contains, allowing plants to establish and mature more easily.

For every square metre, the lattice accommodates six large plants, or 12–24 small plants, 28 litres of soil and 300 square centimetres of bioreceptive fabric (which is home to numerous microorganisms), as well as a variety of insect and animal species. According to the team’s research, this represents a threefold increase in biodiversity compared to a conventional living wall.

The lattices also have additional environmental benefits such as moderating temperatures through evaporative cooling and acoustic dampening when installed indoors. “We are attempting to reduce the embodied carbon of our design, says Mac. “The steel structures are reusable and the cork product itself is carbon negative.”  

“Our vision is to bring back nature to the places we live and work,” enthuses Mac. He is now collaborating with urban ecologists and sustainability consultants, and building partnerships with business accelerators, and manufacturing companies, to realise that vision.  

In addition, several architecture professionals and developers are incorporating the lattices into their designs, as the lattices can help them to meet policy criteria, such as the Biodiversity Net Gain and Urban Greening Factor assessments, as well as   improving the wellbeing of occupants.

“We believe living ecosystems can become architectural – integrated into our buildings as a service.” says Mac. “A building service that manages stormwater, reduces heat gain, provides vital habitat for migratory insects and animals, and ultimately improves the wellbeing of urban citizens.”

““Our vision is to bring back nature to the places we live and work.”