Green infrastructure company, Biotecture, has won a Living Walls Installations Award from the British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) for its striking green walls which delighted players and visitors at The Championships, Wimbledon 2019.
Biotecture, whose ethos is reconnecting people with nature, designed the living walls with The All England Lawn Tennis Club to bring an English garden feel to the façade of the No.1 Court, while also improving biodiversity and air quality.
The sustainable walls, positioned either side of the Big Screen on the Hill, consist of 14,344 purple, green and white plants, arranged in a wave design to illustrate the movement of a tennis ball being hit.
Biotecture’s progressive hydroponic system directs the water straight to the rootzone of the plants, maintaining them with precisely the right amount of water required and ensuring none is wasted.
“We’re absolutely delighted to win this Award from BALI. Our project with The All England Lawn Tennis Club perfectly demonstrates how plants can support biodiversity, create cleaner air and lift people’s moods. We’ll continue to work with the team over the coming months to ensure the walls look just as fabulous for next year’s Championships,” says Richard Sabin, Biotecture’s Managing Director.
BALI Chairman John Melmoe adds: “It was interesting to see this year how companies, corporations and international sports venues are embracing the use of plant material to assist with the improvement of air quality and the lowering of their carbon footprint.”
The installation of the Wimbledon Living Wall was the end result of five years of planning and testing, that added to the finishing touch to the No.1 Court Project.
“One of our enduring ambitions at Wimbledon is to cultivate the ambience of ‘tennis in an English garden’ for our guests to enjoy when they attend The Championships,” says Philip Brook CBE, Chairman of The All England Lawn Tennis Club. “Finding a creative and appropriate way to incorporate this theme into the No.1 Court Project was a significant challenge and we worked closely with the team at Biotecture to meet it.
As well as the Wimbledon Living Wall, Biotecture has worked on a number of high-profile projects this year, including the first UK highways living walls scheme in Southampton, Terminal 3 at Heathrow Airport, One Bank Street in Canary Wharf and one of the world’s largest living walls at McArthurGlen’s Ashford Designer Outlet.
For more information visit www.biotecture.uk.com
Photo credit: AELTC