1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Bucureşti
Region
Europe
Native title of the NBS intervention
Green Gate Gradini Verticale
Short description of the intervention
The NBS is a building of offices which includes vertical gardens. The building brings a unique "green urban concept" into the local market, reflected in the vertical garden and the courtyard, creating a natural, vast outdoor image and a "harmony with nature" environment on each floor. Linked gardens provide a space that will allow employees working in Green Gate to relax and socialize. (1)
Address

Bulevardul Tudor Vladimirescu 22
050883 Bucuresti
Romania

Location
Point location, which indicates where the NBS takes place
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Residential
Building
Website of the intervention
http://green-gate.info/
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
unknown
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
2012
End date of the intervention
2014
Present stage of the intervention
Completed
Goals of the intervention
1. Provide access to soothing natural beauty, necessary for mental health, for the people working in offices' cubicles (1);
2. To shield the exterior against harsh weather conditions and ultraviolet rays (2);
3. To act as a form of insulation, increasing the energy efficiency of the building and potentially earning LEED credits for it (1);
4. To create a green space area located in an industrial milieu (1).
Quantitative targets
1. To serve the 600 employees (3)
2. To install benches, hammocks and garden swings (4)
Monitoring indicators defined
Number of employees taken into consideration as users for the green spaces created (3)
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
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
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Improving mental health
Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
Sustainable consumption
Climate change adaptation: What were the goals of the NBS?
Reduce exposure to climate risks directly
Build resilience
Climate change adaptation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Implement green walls or roofs to lower indoor temperature and provide insulation
Implementation activities
The vertical garden was designed between the north and the south wings of the building, creating an expansive natural green visual on the outside and a “harmony with nature” environment on each floor. (4)
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
Balcony greens
Type of Green Wall
Climbing façades
Vegetation Type
Grass
Flower beds
Amenities offered by the NBS
Benches and drinking water stations
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Regulating services
Local climate regulation (temperature reduction)
Noise reduction
Other
Cultural services
Aesthetic appreciation
Inspiration for culture, art and design
Recreation
Mental and physical health and wellbeing
Please specify "other regulating service"
Insulation
Scale
Spatial scale
Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Private sector/Corporate/Company
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 initiator of the project is a private company, Green Gate Development, a branch of the Check company S Group Holding (3)
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
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
Unknown
Please specify the "Regional Directive/Strategy"
According to the interview correspondence: None of these. We only wanted to provide a nice area to relax, sit, enjoy shade and greenery and breath.
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
Unknown
Please specify the national regulations/strategy/plan
According to the interview correspondence: None of these. We only wanted to provide a nice area to relax, sit, enjoy shade and greenery and breath.
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Unknown
Please specify the "local regulation/strategy/plan"
According to the interview correspondence: None of these. We only wanted to provide a nice area to relax, sit, enjoy shade and greenery and breath.
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
Unknown
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
More than €4,000,000
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)
57.5 millions Euro for the construction of the entire building but it doesn't specify how much are the vertical gardens.
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
No
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
As a method of anti-seismic protection, the building is the first in Romania to be placed on bearings that allow movement up to 600 mm in any direction (2)
Vertical gardens provide a space that will allow employees working in Green Gate to relax and socialize (1)
Novelty level of the innovation
Unknown
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
According to an email correspondence: The building was inspired by a French project.
Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Unknown
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Unknown
Description of environmental benefits
This was a private implemented NBS and the company has not reported impacts as of August 2020.
Economic impacts
Unknown
Description of economic benefits
This was a private implemented NBS and the company has not reported impacts as of August 2020.
Social and cultural impacts
Unknown
Description of social and cultural benefits
This was a private implemented NBS and the company has not reported impacts as of August 2020.
Type of reported impacts
No impacts reported
Indicators
Unknown
Environmental, social and economic impacts
Environmental quality
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Health and well-being (SDG 3)
Water management (SDG 6)
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
No information available
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 August 2020.
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
"Green Gate își deschide porțile cu un grad de ocupare de 60% și o investiție t…
"Clădirea de birouri cu grădini suspendate prinde contur. În ce stadiu e şi cum…
"Birouri cu gradina verticala, in Bucuresti: Nota de plata a dezvoltatorului a…
Green Gate, The project
List of references
1. Teamnet (2014), "Green Gate își deschide porțile cu un grad de ocupare de 60% și o investiție totală de 57,5 mil euro", Available at http://www.teamnet.ro/ro/comunicate-de-presa/green-gate-isi-deschide-portile-cu-un-grad-de-ocupare-de-60-si-o-investitie-totala-de-57-5-mil-euro-2/ (Accessed 17-8-2020)
2. Bazar (2013), "Clădirea de birouri cu grădini suspendate prinde contur. În ce stadiu e şi cum va arăta" Available at http://www.b365.ro/galerie-foto-cladirea-de-birouri-cu-gradini-suspendate-prinde-contur-in-ce-stadiu-e-si-cum-va-arata_193225.html#n (Accessed 17-8-2020)
3. Wall Street Journal (2012), "Birouri cu gradina verticala, in Bucuresti: Nota de plata a dezvoltatorului ajunge la 55 mil. euro", Available at http://www.wall-street.ro/articol/Real-Estate/137456/birouri-cu-gradina-verticala-nota-de-plata-55-mil-euro.html (Accessed 17-8-2020)
4. Green Gate, The Project (2013), Available at http://green-gate.info/ (Accessed 17-8-2020)
Interview
Attachment Size
Interview notes (36 KB) 36 KB
Interview comments
E-mail sent in order to find more about enablers and monitoring activities.
Comments and notes
Additional insights
According to the interview correspondence: There is no formal monitoring in place when it comes to the vertical garden. We constantly use the button panel of system "Happy or not” where we collect simple answer to simple question in order to understand satisfaction rate of our tenants’ employees. When we asked about the gardens (both vertical and horizontal) we got very high satisfaction rates (over 96% very happy & happy).
Pictures of the NBS
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/green_gate1.jpg
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/green_gate2.jpg
/sites/default/files/nbs/images/energy.jpg
Public Images
Green Gate Offices Vertical Gardens (2014)
Green Gate Offices Vertical Gardens (2014)
MIRCEA & DRAGOS, retrieved 08/17/2018 from Sinziana Ionescu
Green Gate Offices Vertical Gardens (2018)
Green Gate Offices Vertical Gardens (2018)
Alina Bordei and Sinziana Ionescu, retrieved 08/17/2018