1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Athens
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Κατακόρυφος κήπος στο κοινοτικό κτίριο
Short description of the intervention
Athens' first vertical garden has been installed temporarily at the entrance to the City of Athens administrative building at 22 Liossion St during the city's first green cultural festival, the Green Design Festival in 2008. Such gardens have a positive impact on the environment as the plants trap carbon dioxide, produce oxygen, absorb harmful atmospheric pollution and reduce air temperature in summer, which assists in cooling the building's interior (Ref 1).
Address

22 Liossion St.
Athens
10438 Athens
Greece

Location
Point location, which indicates where the NBS takes place
Total area
8.00m²
NBS area
8.00m²
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Building
Website of the intervention
https://www.yatzer.com/green-design-festival-athens-2008
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2008
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2008
End date of the intervention
2008
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Goals of the intervention
The garden was installed as part of the city's first green cultural festival, the Green Design Festival in 2008. The Green Design Festival, which runs from September 10 to October 1, is a unique, outdoor, free cultural initiative organized by the non-profit, non-governmental agency BrainLab under the auspices of the City of Athens. Over the course of the event, the entire city of Athens has been transformed into a lively interactive centre of ideas and proposals on how to make cities greener and more livable (Ref 1). BrainLab also aimed to create green space in the city where greeneries are rare. Additionally, the project targeted the citizens and encouraged them to become a "guerilla gardener" (Ref 5).
Quantitative targets
Unknown
Monitoring indicators defined
Unknown
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Climate change mitigation
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Environmental quality
Air quality improvement
Regeneration, land-use and urban development
Regulation of built environment
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Improving mental health
Creation of opportunities for recreation
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
The garden measured 2m x 1.5m x 4m in height and comprised flowering and evergreen plants selected for their suitability to the climatic and terrain conditions of the city centre. An automatic watering system has been installed to ensure healthy plant growth and to conserve water (Ref 1). a large volume of salt held 3m above a planter. 9 cables stretch in between. As water drips over the planter through special orifices, salt crystallizes downward forming 9 stalactites over the planter. Creeper plants grow upward from the planter. Stalactites and plants bond together in time (Ref 7).
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
Type of Green Wall
Climbing façades
Substrate / soil-based living wall
Vegetation Type
Other
Amenities offered by the NBS
Cultural (museum, concert areas)
Educational and research amenities (nature protection centre, monitoring stations)
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Regulating services
Local climate regulation (temperature reduction)
Air quality regulation
Carbon storage/sequestration
Pollination
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Cultural services
Aesthetic appreciation
Inspiration for culture, art and design
Scale
Spatial scale
Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Citizens or community groups
Governance
Governance arrangements
Led by non-government actors
Non-government actors
Non-governmental organisation (NGO) / Civil society / Churches
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
The garden was installed as part of the city's first green cultural festival, the Green Design Festival. The Green Design Festival, which runs through October 1, is a unique, outdoor, free cultural initiative organized by the non-profit, non-governmental agency BrainLab under the auspices of the City of Athens (Ref 1,2,3).
Key actors - initiating organization
Non-government organisation/civil society
Land owners
No information found
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Local government/municipality
Non-government organisation/civil society
Citizens or community group
Land owners
No information found
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Taskforce groups
Citizen monitoring and review
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
Yes
Please specify the "Regional Directive/Strategy"
European Climate Change Programme (ECCP): to mitigate the climate change effects (Ref 1)
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the national regulations/strategy/plan
National Climate Change Programme, Greece: to mitigate the climate change effects (Ref 1)
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Yes
Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"
Athens Resilience City Strategy: to incorporate Athens in 100 resilient cities. (Ref 2)
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify the general plan with GI/NBS section
Climate Action Plan: to fight against the effects of climate change (Ref 2)
If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.
City specific climate change policy or plan
Municipal / city level environmental plan or programme
Please specify other vegetation type
The vertical garden comprises flowering and evergreen plants selected for their suitability to the climatic and terrain conditions of the city centre (Ref 1).
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
BrainLab under the auspices of the City of Athens: responsible for the organization of the Green Design Festival (Ref 2)
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
Yes
Please specify
Local government
Co-finance for NBS
No
Co-financing governance arrangements
No
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
Funds provided by non-governmental organization (NGO)
Type of fund(s) used
Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Donations
Non-financial contribution
Yes
Type of non-financial contribution
Provision of labour
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
Business models
Green densification model
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Private non-for-profit actor (e.g. NGO, foundation)
Type of innovation
Technological
Product innovation
Please specify technological innovation
The first vertical garden installation in Athens (Ref 1).
Novelty level of the innovation
The innovation is copied/derived from previous initiative(s) without substantial adaptation
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
Green Design Festival is organized and produced by Brainlab, an independent, non-governmental, non-for-profit organization. The vertical garden was one of the outcomes of this festival. Brainlab has inaugurated in 2007 and from then it is responsible for new green infrastructural implementations in Athens. The above innovation is one of their similar projects. (Ref 2)
Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Climate change
Lowered local temperature
Enhanced carbon sequestration
Environmental quality
Improved air quality
Green space and habitat
Increased green space area
Description of environmental benefits
The 8 sq. m. the green wall was created to showcase the benefits of vertical gardens as well as the aesthetic appreciation they bring to cities. The green space has helped to control the micro-climate of the locality. The plant species have been selected based on the climate of Athens. This helped the green wall to remain alive in summer and winter and to store carbon and reduce the local air temperature throughout the year (Ref 1, 3, 5).
Economic impacts
Unknown
Description of economic benefits
Unknown
Social and cultural impacts
Cultural heritage and sense of place
Improvement in people’s connection to nature
Increased appreciation for natural spaces
Description of social and cultural benefits
The Brainlab uploaded the design videos on the web, inviting everyone to become a ‘guerrilla gardener’ of the city by creating green where it does not exist. The NGO expected increased attention from the citizens about increasing green spaces in the city and encouraged them to engage more with nature (Ref 1, 5).
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts
Achieved impacts
Indicators
The amount of trap carbon dioxide, oxygen production, the amount of harmful atmospheric pollutant absorption, and the amount of reduction of air temperature in summer which assists in cooling the building's interior. It improved the city's visual appearance as it covered colorless building exteriors in an environmental manner and over a short period of time (Ref 1,2,3).
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Climate change adaptation
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Environmental quality
Air quality improvement
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Improving mental health
Creation of opportunities for recreation
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
Voluntary work opportunities
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
No information was found regarding negative impacts of the project
COVID-19 pandemic
Unknown as of July of 2020.
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
Collection of monitoring data continuously throughout the project to aid evaluation
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Questionnaire surveys / online surveys
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
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Unknown
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Yes
Mode(s) of citizen involvement in evaluation/assessment
Questionnaire
Focus Group
Submission of monitoring data (citizen observation)
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Yes
Please specify
Groups of Citizens were involved with the BrainLab to implement and evaluate the result. After completion of the project, the satisfaction of the people living and using in the building was measured and assessed by them (Ref 1).
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Yes
Please specify
The evaluation and assessment by the citizens helped the BrainLab community to take extra measures while going through the next Green Design Festival in 2010. (Ref 1,3)
References
Web links relevant to the intervention
Vertical gardens in Athens
BrainLab
The Green Design Festival 2008
List of references
1. First Vertical Garden Adorns City of Athens’ Building. 2008. City of Athens. URL: http://www.cityofathens.gr/en/node/7179 Accessed on 17th July 2020.
2. Green Design Festival. Athens , Greece. September 2008. Youtube video. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMly0_lIREA Accessed on 17th July 2020.
3. Green Design Festival promotes environmentalism in Athens. 2010. The Greek Reporter. URL: http://greece.greekreporter.com/2010/09/25/green-design-festival-launched-in-athens-to-promote-environment-friendly-urban-lifestyle/ Accessed on 17th July 2020.
4. Green Design Festival, Athens 2008. [website not available in 2020].
5. Green Design Festival. 2008. Flicker. URL: https://www.flickr.com/groups/857045@N23/discuss/72157606712341796/. Accessed on 7th July, 2020.
6. Green Design Around Athens. 2010. New Diaspora, New Dialogue. URL: https://newdiasporanewdialogue.wordpress.com/2010/09/22/green-design-around-athens/. Accessed on 7th July, 2020.
7. Petros Babasikar Office. 2010. Drip I. Public Installation. Vertical Garden. URL: https://babasikas.com/DRIP-I. Accessed on 7th July, 2020.
8. Vertical Gardens. Landco Ltd. URL: https://www.landco.gr/en/services-2/vertical-gardens.html. Accessed on 7th July, 2020.
Additional comments
Green Design Festival is an original, public, free cultural event under the auspices of the City of Athens. It aims at fostering a wider understanding of environmental and ecological issues amongst the citizens of Athens and beyond. Using new technologies, powerful imagery and design, this festival transforms Athens into a lively, interactive space, while presenting proposals and ideas on how everyday life could be greener and more friendly to the environment. Participants include over 70 architects, industrial designers, graphic designers, fashion and street artists, who have worked on the theme of the festival on projects who embrace the non-connoisseur. (Ref 5)
Interview comments
I contacted Eleni Myrivili, Athens Chief Resilience Officer (100RC), lenio@ct.aegean.gr, cell 0030 6976716830 and waiting for her response.
Comments and notes
Comments
All the references mention the websites for the Brainlab and Green Design Festival, but unfortunately, I couldn't find any of them. The websites www.brainlab.gr and www.greendesignfestival.gr are not working.