Outside the Chelsea College of Art in London, UK, a 10-metre ‘urban greening’ structure has been unveiled: a showcase of using natural materials in construction to support biodiversity.
The project, Vert, is designed to address challenges that are common to urban areas, such as rising temperatures, heatwaves and declining biodiversity. Its red oak timber frames, fitted with fabric nets or ‘sails’, can support more than 20 species of climbing plants at once. Its designers say that it encourages nature into the city and creates sheltered spaces to gather.
“The structure performs as a ‘greening machine’,” its designer, Stefan Diez, told Positive News, “while also making urban spaces more harmonious and pleasant to live in from an aesthetic point of view. We wanted Vert to break the monotony of our urban environment.”
