SUSTAINABILITY
Highly freed
With ‘VERD° Facade’, OMC°C present a further development of the ‘VERD° System’: ‘We have developed a facade system that is based on a kinetic principle, forces are absorbed by counter-tension. It is a cable system that is parallel to the façade, which is attached at the base and at the top of the eaves. Otherwise it does not contact the façade and floats in front of it. To my knowledge, it is the first façade system that works without major interventions in the façade and is also very flexible," says designer and materials expert Nicola Stattmann, who founded the Frankfurt-based Office for Micro Climate Cultivation together with Carlotta Stoll. Since their launch in 2021, the team have been showcasing pioneering ideas for greening the city, be it the "VERD° System" in the backyard of the Senckenberg Nature Museum Frankfurt, the free-standing "VERD° Space" at this year's London Design Festival or now "VERD° Facade" for façade greening. The clou: "VERD° Facade" is simple to use, even for existing listed buildings, as the facade is not perforated for the installation. Unbound and modular, the system is raised like a sail and can be lowered again accordingly. The structure is designed to save on materials and therefore lightweight. Annual, fast-growing climbing plants such as the explosion cucumber, moon bark, bell vine or Malabar spinach can now climb the vertical flat nets on six modules, each of which is ten metres high. By spring at the latest, the greenery will be able to unfold its full splendour over an area of 210 square metres.
In summer, the natural curtain in front of the façade will provide protection from the heat, whilst in winter the light will not be blocked. Irrigation of the greening system is automated: Individual control of how much water is supplied to the substrate in fleece bags is possible. The biomass produced over the course of the year can be reused, for example as activated carbon. The climbing plants also bind CO2 and contribute to biodiversity. The further development was developed by an interdisciplinary team including the Diez Office and engineers from Bollinger + Grohmann. OMC°C was able to win the data centre company Equinix for its first use on a building, where the system has now been installed at its FR2.6 building in Frankfurt. Greenery is also intended to improve the energy efficiency of data centres and make an important contribution to the local microclimate. The comparison with classic systems will be made directly in the coming months, as a classic façade greening system from a competitor is still installed in parallel with ‘VERD° Facade’, which has so far denied the growth of its plants. (am)
