1. General information
2. Objectives of the intervention
Goals of the intervention
The Executive Committee of the FEPC sought the implementation of this nature-based solution along with the construction of their new office "under the conviction that the future vertical garden would become the main hallmark of the future "house of entrepreneurship", and that the inclusion of the green wall would give "faithful testimony to [FEPC's] commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility, the community and the environment" (Refs. 2 & 3). In addition to eliciting aesthetic appreciation, installation of the green wall was intended to "to improve air quality, which is a matter of concern for the people of Cochabamba, turning it into a real lung in the middle of the cement" (Ref. 3). Ref. 6 further highlights that "The objectives [of the project] are environmental and the benefits are many for the users of these buildings and the population in general", however further detail is lacking on this.
It was intended that such an area of living vegetation would improve air quality through filtering out harmful gases, heavy metals and 'powder', and by producing oxygen (Ref. 2).
It was intended that such an area of living vegetation would improve air quality through filtering out harmful gases, heavy metals and 'powder', and by producing oxygen (Ref. 2).
Quantitative targets
A total of 73m2 of the building's facade was targeted for conversion into a green wall (Ref. 1).
Monitoring indicators defined
Unknown
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Climate change mitigation: What were the goals of the NBS?
Please specify "other Climate change mitigation activity"
"Saving energy and efficient use of water" are listed as "part of this new architectural concept" (Ref. 5), however, it is unclear whether this is a direct result of the installation of the green wall, or indicative of design measures employed throughout the building as a whole.
Climate change mitigation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Implementation activities
The idea for the nature-based solutions was presented in 2010, after which "the Executive Committee [of the FEPC] bet with everything to materialize this ambitious project without sparing efforts or resources" (Ref. 2). The Spanish company “Paisajismo Urbano” was subsequently hired, after which the founder, Ignacio Solano, "selected a wide range of plants native to the central valley of Cochabamba" (Ref. 2). Both "wild and cultivated plants with different shapes and figures [we]re erected in a harmonious combination of green tones", and a hydroponic system comprised of a geomembrane of substrates and nutrients installed to support the plants on the vertical facade (Ref. 5). The building and its green wall were inaugurated in April 2013 (Ref. 4).
Type of NBS project
3. NBS domains, ES and scale
4. Governance and financing
5. Innovation
Type of innovation
Please specify technological innovation
The inclusion of the green wall onto the facade of the building is arguably best considered a technological innovation, as it uses a hydroponic system consisting of geomembranes and nutrients to support the plants, rather than relying on traditional growing media such as soil. As highlighted by Ignacio Solano, a Spanish biologist from Paisajismo Urbano, “the facade of the FEPC Building is not only a vertical garden, it is a vertical ecosystem, it is working on the symbiosis between plant and plant; fungus-plant; bacterium-plant; so that one does not work without the other. The vertical ecosystem is based on the principle that plants do not need soil to live, they only require a mechanical root anchor" (Ref. 2).
Novelty level of the innovation
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
It appears that the vertical gardening system used in this project has been used elsewhere, seemingly without substantial adaption, "The Patented Urban Paisajismo System for vertical gardens has been used in the largest vertical gardening projects around the world, such as the Santalaia building in Bogotá, which has a plant coverage of 3,117 square meters" (Ref. 1). However, it should be noted that plants selected for the project were native to the Cochabamba central valley, and comprised both wild and cultivated individuals(Ref. 2), suggesting some level of adaptation to the specific context.
Replicability/Transferability
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
Ref. 3 concludes the text on this project by stating that "Two new projects have been carried out in Cochabamba, such as the three vertical gardens for the Globos ice cream parlor and the one for the lobby of the Colombo business building". The timeline of these interventions relative to this case study is unclear, hence it is not possible to determine whether these new projects were inspired by the FEPC case study.
