1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Antwerpen
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Groene wand op kantoor Intervest
Short description of the intervention
On an office building, one of the largest green walls of Belgium was created (50.000 plants) that improves air quality, reduces heat stress, and improves biodiversity. The green wall also isolates the building, resulting in less energy use (Ref. 1-3). The wall consists of a variety of native plants and is irrigated with water collected on the roof of the building (Ref. 1, 2).
Address

Uitbreidingstraat
66
2600 Antwerpen
Belgium

Location
Point location, which indicates where the NBS takes place
Total area
500.00m²
NBS area
500.00m²
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Building
Website of the intervention
https://www.sempergreen.com/en/references/sempergreen-green-facade-for-greenhou…
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2015
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2016
End date of the intervention
2016
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Goals of the intervention
The main goal of the intervention was to reduce air pollution including particulate matter and carbon dioxide that meets the sustainability strategy of the designers of the green wall (Ref. 1).
Quantitative targets
-50, 000 plants (Ref. 1)
-A rainwater well of 20,000 liters (Ref. 2)
Monitoring indicators defined
-Number of plants on wall (Ref. 1).
-Liters of water collected (Ref. 2).
-Humidity of plants is monitored (Ref. 5).
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Climate change mitigation
Water management (SDG 6)
Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Environmental quality
Air quality improvement
Noise reduction
Climate change mitigation: What were the goals of the NBS?
Sequester and store carbon
Reduce energy demand, with the use of renewables or energy efficiency improvements
Climate change mitigation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Install vertical or horizontal artificial surfaces that help with carbon storage and cooling
Implementation activities
Creating a living wall consisting of 50.000 native plants (Ref. 1, 2, 3). Creating a sustainable irrigation system which captures storm water from the roof in an underground water basin which stores 20.000 liters of water, which is used for the irrigation of plants (Ref. 4, 5). "The walls were given a two-layer makeover: first insulation, then plants. The plants grow in panels filled with rock wool. The rock wool is wrapped in felt. The felt retains the plants and moisture. There is a rainwater tank of 20,000 liters underground. This is enough to always have water in stock for the entire wall garden. An irrigation pipe runs through the entire wall, which waters the plants. And that is necessary because the plants receive three liters of water per day per square meter. Since no soil is used in this system, the plants need to be watered constantly and get their nourishment from the fertilizer that flows through the irrigation system with the water" (Ref. 5).
Type of NBS project
Creation of new green areas
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Nature on buildings (external)
Green walls or facades
Green areas for water management
Other
Please specify "other green areas for water management"
"The rainwater is led to a rainwater well of 20,000 liters. The size of this well is determined on the basis of the Antwerp precipitation model. A computer-controlled pump equipped with sensors ensures the irrigation of the plants" (Ref. 4).
Type of Green Wall
Hydroponic living wall (soil-less)
What is the level of innovation / development of the NBS related to water management?
Medium / High: sustainable urban drainage systems which include water storage and diverts water flooding
Vegetation Type
Other
Amenities offered by the NBS
Unknown
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Regulating services
Local climate regulation (temperature reduction)
Air quality regulation
Noise reduction
Carbon storage/sequestration
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Cultural services
Aesthetic appreciation
Scale
Spatial scale
Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Private sector/Corporate/Company
Citizens or community groups
Governance
Governance arrangements
Led by non-government actors
Non-government actors
Private sector/Corporate/Business
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
The project was commissioned by Intervest Offices & Warehouses (real estate company). The green wall was created on one of their buildings, which is now called 'The GreenHouse'. The renovation of the building including the green wall is designed by Conix RDBM Architects and the green wall is implemented by Ambius Belux (plant company) and Sempergreen (company specialized in green roofs and walls) (Ref. 1, 2).
Key actors - initiating organization
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Land owners
Private sector or company
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Please specify other participatory methods
No citizen involvement identified.
Land owners
Private sector or company
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Unknown
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
No
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
No
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
No
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Please specify other type of voluntary intervention
Voluntary based on the priority of the architects on sustainability (of CONIX RDBM Architects) (Ref. 1).
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
It is mentioned that the project fits the Green Ring strategy of the municipality of Antwerp (another NBS intervention that is also adopted in the database) (Ref. 1). The Green Ring is a large green infrastructure plan of the municipality of Antwerp consisting of many different projects regarding the improvement of the ecological quality surrounding the Ring of Antwerp. However, the green wall project is not specifically mentioned in this municipal strategy.
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Please specify other vegetation type
Unspecified native plants (Ref. 1).
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Co-finance for NBS
Unknown
Co-financing governance arrangements
Unknown
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
Unknown
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
Unknown
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
Unknown
Please specify cost savings
Unknown
Please specify total cost (EUR)
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
Corporate investment
Type of fund(s) used
Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Business models
Green densification model
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Private for-profit actor (e.g. firm, insurer)
Type of innovation
Technological
Product innovation
Please specify technological innovation
The green wall is the first living plant wall of Antwerp, according to Sempergreen (one of the implementors) (Ref. 1). It is disconnected from the ground and the irrigation is completely done with stormwater that is captured on the roof of the building and stored in an underground water basin. Sensors within the living wall monitor humidity of the plants and are connected with a pump that automatically provides water to the plants from the water basin. This way, no tap water is required to water the plants (Ref. 4, 5).
Novelty level of the innovation
The innovation is completely new without connections to previous initiative(s)
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
It is the first living wall in Antwerp and one of the largest living walls of Belgium (Ref. 1, 4).
Replicability/Transferability
Ambiguous (e.g. multiple interpretations)
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
According to one of the references (Ref. 3), the living wall will inspire many projects in the future (Ref. 3). This living wall has only been finished approximately one year ago and no similar living wall projects were found in Antwerp.
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Climate change
Lowered local temperature
Reduced emissions
Enhanced carbon sequestration
Environmental quality
Improved air quality
Reduced noise exposure
Green space and habitat
Increased green space area
Increased number of species present
Description of environmental benefits
Climate change:
-Lowered local temperature: The wall reduces the urban-heat-island effect by lowering local temperature (Ref. 3).
-Reduced emissions: The green wall decreases the wind speed along the facade and improves insulation of the building resulting in less energy use (Ref. 1).
-Enhanced carbon sequestration: The green wall also reduce air pollution / improve air quality by capturing particulate matter and carbon dioxide (Ref. 1).

Environmental quality:
-Improved air quality: The green wall also reduce air pollution / improve air quality by capturing particulate matter and carbon dioxide (Ref. 1).
-Reduced noise exposure: The green wall also provides sound insulation because the substrate blocks lower sound waves and the plants the higher frequencies (Ref. 1).

Green space and habitat:
-Increased green space area/Increased number of species present: The green wall is 500 m2 and contains 50.000 plants (Ref. 5). It improves biodiversity as it consists of 9 varieties of native plant species that provide habitat (Ref. 3,5).
Economic impacts
Unknown
Social and cultural impacts
Social justice and cohesion
Improved liveability
Improved access to urban green space
Description of social and cultural benefits
Social justice and cohesion:
-Improved access to urban green space/improvement of liveability: The green wall is 500 m2 and contains 50.000 plants (Ref. 5). It improves quality of life of employees that work within the building and citizens that are by-passers of the building (Ref. 3). The green wall has contributed to higIt improves quality of life of employees that work within the building and citizens that are by-passers of the building (Ref. 3). her aesthetic value of the building because of the plants that are chosen carefully to ensure a green wall through all seasons (Ref. 1).
Type of reported impacts
Achieved impacts
Indicators
- Size of green wall (Ref. 1.)
- Number of plants on wall (Ref. 1).
- Number of native species (Ref. 3 and 5)
- Liters of water collected (Ref. 2).
- Humidity of plants is monitored (Ref. 5).
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Water management (SDG 6)
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Environmental quality
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
No information available
Environmental justice: The implementation of the NBS project resulted in ...
Improved access to green and/or blue spaces
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
No specific information available as of October 5, 2020. Belgium began a gradual deconfinement process in May 2020 (https://www.info-coronavirus.be/en/faq/).
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
No evidence in public records
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Unknown
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Unknown
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No evidence in public records
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
(1) Intervention on implementing company website
(2) News article on intervention
(4) News article on intervention
(5) Intervention on municipality website
Documents relevant to the intervention
Attachment Size
(3) News article from company of office building, with pictures of the green wall (2.48 MB) 2.48 MB
List of references
1. Sempergreen (n.d.). Greenhouse Antwerp. [online] Available at: https://www.sempergreen.com/en/references/sempergreen-green-facade-for-greenhouse-antwerp (Accessed: October 5, 2020).
2. Unknown (n.d.) Greenhouse Antwerp [online] Available at: http://groenindebouw.be/inspiratie/greenhouse-antwerp (Accessed: October 5, 2020).
3. Intervest (2016). Intervest levert met groene gevel van 50.000 levende planten belangrijke bijdrage aan Groene Singel. Antwerp: Intervest Offices & Warehouses. [pdf] (Document attached).
4. Geerts, P. (2016). Antwerpen/Kantoorpand krijgt groene wand. [online] Available at: http://cgconcept.be/antwerpen-kantoorpand-krijgt-groene-wand/ (Accessed: October 5, 2020).
5. Gemeente Antwerpen (2017). Groene gevels los van de grond. [online] Available at: https://www.antwerpen.be/nl/overzicht/plantwerpen/nieuws/groene-gevels-los-van-de-grond (Accessed: October 5, 2020).
Comments and notes
Public Images
An office building with vegetation covering the outer wall
http://atlas.naturvation.eu/node/1545/edit
Architect's drawing of green wall on office building in Antwerpen
https://cgconcept.be/antwerpen-kantoorpand-krijgt-groene-wand/