What do the blood cranesbill, heather carnation, purple bellflower and creeping spindle have in common? They now adorn the green facades in the inner courtyards of the DSTRCT.Berlin. And so the five-floor new building is now greener than ever and will even more be in summer time!
The three generous inner courtyards are now graced with a total of four green facades with 1,800 real plants. This green plant dress extends to a height of 13 metres and a width of 3.70 metres. Each of the four vertical green facades is just under 50 square metres in size. This makes almost 200 square metres of green space on the walls.
When it came to choosing the plants, we didn’t make it easy for ourselves and teamed up with the professionals from Sempergreen. The result is impressive! For weeks now, the carefully selected plant mix has been growing on so-called Flexipanels (Sempergreen Vertical System) in the outdoor area before being installed. Each panel is 60 x 60 cm in size and is attached to the façade in a modular system after brackets and aluminium frames have already been set up. The façade climbers needed one week per green façade for completion.
There is a lot of know-how behind the plant selection. For example, the green façades are made of up to 15 different plant species. Some plants grow crawling, others stretching. In this way, the green diversity complements each other wonderfully. Moreover, some plants flower in spring, others in summer or late summer. This always provides a cheerful and natural splash of colour in the courtyards. Basically, the plants are robust, winter-hardy and like partial shade. Perfect for their new home in the DSTRCT.
A colourful potpourri of plants
The evergreen honeysuckle (Lonicera pileata ‘Moosgrün’) is a flat, densely branched, evergreen bush. The evergreen creeping spindle (Euonymus fortunei ‘Radicans’) and Hosta ‘Toy Soldier’ have small and attractive leaves all year round. This one impresses with green-blue, drop-shaped leaves that are exceptionally pretty.
Short and long leaves and grasses are added for a variety of different leaf shapes. These include the deer’s tongue fern (Asplenium scolopendrium) with broad, dark green fronds, the Japanese sedge (Carex oshimensis ‘Evergreen’) with sweeping and rich green lightness, and the white-edged sedge (Carex foliosissima ‘Icedance’) with strong, green-white striped leaves.
Colourful highlights are provided by plants with flowers, such as the creeping günsel (Ajuga reptans) with violet-blue flowers, the dwarf prickly pear (Astilbe chinensis ‘Pumila’) with a sea of violet-pink flowers and the small-leaved periwinkle (Vinca minor) with blue-violet flowers.
A red highlight is provided by the Altai bergenia (Bergenia cordifolia) with pinkish-pink flowers, the purple bellflower (Heuchera sanguinea ‘Firefly’) with scarlet flowers and the heather carnation (Dianthus deltoides ‘Arctic Fire’) with snow-white, lavishly rich flowers and large, purple eyes.
Some flowers, such as the purple dress of the blood cranesbill (Geranium sanguineum ‘Max Frei’), are magnets for bumblebees and bees, serving them nectar and pollen. In addition, their leaves and flowers spread a gentle, lovely summer fragrance that will pleasantly fill the inner courtyards of the DSTRCT.Berlin.
This impressive glow of the colourful flowers and the restful deep green of the leaves create a lively play of colours, which has a calming and positive effect on all tenants in the DSTRCT.Berlin.
A clever and intelligent watering and nutrition fertilisation system
An intelligent watering system is hidden behind the green façades. The automatic control system is located on the 5th floor and constantly measures the humidity, temperature, pressure and flow rate in the countless sensors on and in the panels as well as the wall and reacts autonomously. In this way, water is automatically applied as needed, whereby more water is applied at the top than at the bottom, since gravity means that the water naturally finds its way down anyway. In addition, the pipes automatically empty themselves when frost temperatures are imminent to prevent frost damage.
Furthermore, the fertiliser is also stored on the 5th floor and automatically fertilises all green façades depending on the season. Electricity and internet are mandatory for all systems. The current measurements of each sensor can be viewed on the measurement screen. Exact details of the humidity, temperature, pressure and flow sensors are displayed here. The valves can also be operated manually if required.
Are you interested in renting an office, retail or restaurant space in the DSTRCT.Berlin? Please do not hesitate to contact us.
