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Moss covered surfaces are a promising way to mitigate the urban heat island effect. A layer of moss on a building’s façade reduces heat absorption during summer, hence passively cooling the building and its surroundings. The startup Respyre wants to offer such moss layers as a commercial product. A bio-gel mixed with moss fragments is sprayed on a porous concrete outer layer. This is irrigated for several months until the wall is covered by a layer of living moss. The aim of this project is to rethink the existing irrigation system, since it gives a bad water distribution, resulting in high water usage and uneven moss growth. First, the context was analysed. Literature study and an interview with an expert provided a better understanding of what role moss has in mitigating the urban heat island effect and what moss needs from a biological perspective. Further research revealed what solutions for providing moist already exist. A stakeholder analysis provided insight into who has something to say about the irrigation system. All these findings together resulted in a list of requirements. During a brainstorm, a set of ideas was sketched to find as many out-of-the-box solutions as possible. This is a mix of new ideas, existing ideas found during the analysis, and combined ideas. The brainstormed ideas that are feasible were developed into concepts. They were prototyped and their water distributing performance was tested by irrigating them in a green house. The concepts have been assessed on (among others) water distribution, estimated costs, minimum water pressure, ease of installation, and the need for developing new parts. Five promising concepts were further developed and tested on a larger prototype. Their water distribution was quantitively tested, and costs estimated. The finally chosen solution was further improved and detailed in the last stage. The end result is a design and prototype of an irrigation system, Integrated Product Design

The rapid development of Dutch DC’s near airports pressures the environment. VGS are considered a promising measure toward a more nature-inclusive development of Dutch distribution centers. However, an integral quantitative impact assessment model is needed to retrieve funding and facilitate an evidence-based decision-making process for the implementation of VGS. This research therefore aims to develop a multi-criteria decision model to assess the impact of VGS in Dutch DC’s near airports to enhance the decision-making process for the implementation of VGS. The main research question was formulated as follows: ‘How can a MCDM tool on the quantitative performance of VGS in delivering ecosystem services be developed and applied, in order to facilitate the impact assessment and evidence-based decision-making in the context of Dutch DC’s near airports?’ The research question was answered through a mixed-methods approach including literature research and expert interviews. A case study was used to apply and validate the MCDM model. VGS were found to offer a range of supporting, regulating, provisioning and cultural ecosystem services. The performance of VGS in delivering these services was mainly determined by the plants, substrate and support system. In general, living walls have a higher performance than green façades, among which modular living walls perform best. However, context-specific valuation was considered key. Evaluating VGS on the interaction effects between the main system components and the ecosystem services is an effective approach for developing a MCDM model that enhances decision-making and creates support base for implementation. A context-specific impact assessment can be achieved by weighing the relevance of the ecosystem services. Further research that compares the impact of distinct types of VGS is needed to further develop and validate the model, specifically with regard to grey water treatment, education, and wellbeing., Metropolitan Analysis, Design and Engineering (MADE)

Urban living has many advantages but also has its fair share of issues. This thesis tries to indicate the urban issues that can be solved by implementing vertical green systems (VGS). A literature review is undertaken, and expert interviews are held to examine socio-ecological criteria. The criteria heat stress, air pollution, water stress, noise pollution and percentage of green are determined to be the themes that can designate which locations in the city are suitable for vertical green. Since VGS are implemented on streets, it is necessary to figure out the need for vertical greening on street level. This is done by performing a spatial analysis using QGIS. The spatial analysis uses the criteria to create five thematic maps, showing the Urban Heat Island effect, levels of particulate matter in the air, water depth after extreme rainfall, noise pollution, and the percentage of urban green in an area of ten-by-ten meters. These thematic maps are combined to create the combination map and ultimately a street map that shows the need for vertical green on street level. The underlaying data of this map presents a ranking of streets. This ranking shows that most of the streets that are in very high need for vertical green are located in Amsterdam Centrum and Amsterdam West. To assess peoples’ perception of VGS to assess their willingness to pay for implementation a questionnaire is held. The result from the questionnaire shows that half of the respondents are knowledgeable about the benefits of VGS. When people learn about the benefits, they are more likely choose for a green façade or living wall would they get the change. The questionnaire shows that money is the most determining factor in the decision-making process of the respondents, meaning that for implementation of VGS on a large scale to be successful, subsidies would have to be implemented., Metropolitan Analysis, Design and Engineering (MADE)

The rapid development of Dutch DC’s near airports pressures the environment. VGS are considered a promising measure toward a more nature-inclusive development of Dutch distribution centers. However, an integral quantitative impact assessment model is needed to retrieve funding and facilitate an evidence-based decision-making process for the implementation of VGS. This research therefore aims to develop a multi-criteria decision model to assess the impact of VGS in Dutch DC’s near airports to enhance the decision-making process for the implementation of VGS. The main research question was formulated as follows: ‘How can a MCDM tool on the quantitative performance of VGS in delivering ecosystem services be developed and applied, in order to facilitate the impact assessment and evidence-based decision-making in the context of Dutch DC’s near airports?’ The research question was answered through a mixed-methods approach including literature research and expert interviews. A case study was used to apply and validate the MCDM model. VGS were found to offer a range of supporting, regulating, provisioning and cultural ecosystem services. The performance of VGS in delivering these services was mainly determined by the plants, substrate and support system. In general, living walls have a higher performance than green façades, among which modular living walls perform best. However, context-specific valuation was considered key. Evaluating VGS on the interaction effects between the main system components and the ecosystem services is an effective approach for developing a MCDM model that enhances decision-making and creates support base for implementation. A context-specific impact assessment can be achieved by weighing the relevance of the ecosystem services. Further research that compares the impact of distinct types of VGS is needed to further develop and validate the model, specifically with regard to grey water treatment, education, and wellbeing., Metropolitan Analysis, Design and Engineering (MADE)

Gröna väggar är en effektiv metod för att tillämpa outnyttjad yta. En stor bidragande faktor till att gröna väggar ännu inte blivit populärt i Sverige är bristen på kunskap. Syftet med rapporten är att utföra en sammanställning av upplevelser från aktörer i projekt med byggnation av gröna väggar. Den sammanställda informationen ska bidra med en erfarenhetsåterföring till bygg- och fastighetsbranschen för att uppmuntra till kommande projekt med växtväggsinstallationer. Frågeställningarna som studien undersöker är: hur byggbranschens olika aktörer kan uppmuntras till byggnation av gröna fasader, anledningen till varför de byggs idag, vilka aspekter av processen som anses extra viktiga samt vilket system som lämpas bäst för Sverige.Metoden som används i rapporten är en kombination av en litteraturstudie med en fallstudie där involverade aktörer från undersökningsobjekten intervjuas utifrån deras erfarenheter från projekten. För att konstruera gröna väggar finns det förutsättningar på olika delar av väggens uppbyggnad, växtval och bevattningsinstallation. Bland annat behöver substratet ha en vattenhållande förmåga samtidigt som det är dränerande och behåller sin struktur.Intervjuresultaten visade att branschen till stor del har brist på kunskap inom ämnet och aktörerna i projekten menade att information om ämnet var svårfunnen. För att erfarenhetsåterföringen till fastighets- och byggsektorn ska förbättras krävs en större transparens inom området. Detta kan uppnås genom olika tillvägagångssätt: upprättandet av en branschorganisation, mer forskning om olika områden i ämnet och att växtväggsexperter förser branschen med informationsmedier såsom seminarier och kurser. De respondenter som var kunniga inom växtväggar menade att systemen som använts på projekten var möjliga att tillämpa oberoende av geografisk placering. Den faktor som var avgörande för de gröna väggarnas framgång var till stor del att växtvalet måste anpassas efter platsens geografiska förutsättningar samt s, Vertical greenery systems (VGS) are an effective method of increasing the amount of green space in cities. Experience in this subject is however limited in Sweden, which results in fewer projects applying this method in buildings. The purpose of this study is to find out: what options there are to encourage the use of VGS in Sweden, which types of VGS works best in Sweden, the reasons why they are being constructed and which parts of the design process are the most critical. The investigation methods used in the thesis are a literature study and a case study. The case study entails interviews with participants in three projects which applied VGS to their buildings.The results show that the line of business has a subpar understanding of the systems and the different processes involved in constructing a VGS. Encouraging the market may be achieved by making the area of business more transparent. This can possibly be accomplished by VGS experts sharing their knowledge with other operators in the business through seminars and lectures. Respondents who had extensive knowledge regarding VGS were convinced that their systems could handle Swedens different climates. According to them the choice of plants is a critical factor for determining whether a VGS will be successful or not. Most VGS today are constructed based on either requirements from authorities or aesthetic appearance. The most critical parts of the design process are: involving the VGS experts in an early stage, establishing detailed maintenance plans and liability delimitations, making extensive efforts during the design process regarding the watering systems and choosing the plant selection based on the conditions of the placement.

Gröna väggar är en effektiv metod för att tillämpa outnyttjad yta. En stor bidragande faktor till att gröna väggar ännu inte blivit populärt i Sverige är bristen på kunskap. Syftet med rapporten är att utföra en sammanställning av upplevelser från aktörer i projekt med byggnation av gröna väggar. Den sammanställda informationen ska bidra med en erfarenhetsåterföring till bygg- och fastighetsbranschen för att uppmuntra till kommande projekt med växtväggsinstallationer. Frågeställningarna som studien undersöker är: hur byggbranschens olika aktörer kan uppmuntras till byggnation av gröna fasader, anledningen till varför de byggs idag, vilka aspekter av processen som anses extra viktiga samt vilket system som lämpas bäst för Sverige.Metoden som används i rapporten är en kombination av en litteraturstudie med en fallstudie där involverade aktörer från undersökningsobjekten intervjuas utifrån deras erfarenheter från projekten. För att konstruera gröna väggar finns det förutsättningar på olika delar av väggens uppbyggnad, växtval och bevattningsinstallation. Bland annat behöver substratet ha en vattenhållande förmåga samtidigt som det är dränerande och behåller sin struktur.Intervjuresultaten visade att branschen till stor del har brist på kunskap inom ämnet och aktörerna i projekten menade att information om ämnet var svårfunnen. För att erfarenhetsåterföringen till fastighets- och byggsektorn ska förbättras krävs en större transparens inom området. Detta kan uppnås genom olika tillvägagångssätt: upprättandet av en branschorganisation, mer forskning om olika områden i ämnet och att växtväggsexperter förser branschen med informationsmedier såsom seminarier och kurser. De respondenter som var kunniga inom växtväggar menade att systemen som använts på projekten var möjliga att tillämpa oberoende av geografisk placering. Den faktor som var avgörande för de gröna väggarnas framgång var till stor del att växtvalet måste anpassas efter platsens geografiska förutsättningar samt s, Vertical greenery systems (VGS) are an effective method of increasing the amount of green space in cities. Experience in this subject is however limited in Sweden, which results in fewer projects applying this method in buildings. The purpose of this study is to find out: what options there are to encourage the use of VGS in Sweden, which types of VGS works best in Sweden, the reasons why they are being constructed and which parts of the design process are the most critical. The investigation methods used in the thesis are a literature study and a case study. The case study entails interviews with participants in three projects which applied VGS to their buildings.The results show that the line of business has a subpar understanding of the systems and the different processes involved in constructing a VGS. Encouraging the market may be achieved by making the area of business more transparent. This can possibly be accomplished by VGS experts sharing their knowledge with other operators in the business through seminars and lectures. Respondents who had extensive knowledge regarding VGS were convinced that their systems could handle Swedens different climates. According to them the choice of plants is a critical factor for determining whether a VGS will be successful or not. Most VGS today are constructed based on either requirements from authorities or aesthetic appearance. The most critical parts of the design process are: involving the VGS experts in an early stage, establishing detailed maintenance plans and liability delimitations, making extensive efforts during the design process regarding the watering systems and choosing the plant selection based on the conditions of the placement.

Nature-based solutions applied to the building skin, such as green roofs and vertical greenery systems, are standing out as the most promising by contributing with thermal improvements at building scale. From previous research done by GREiA research group at the University of Lleida (Spain), energy savings up to 58% were obtained by implementing vertical greenery systems on external building walls for cooling purposes. However, since there exist other passive and active energy saving technologies in the literature review that were limited their cooling and heating capacity after implementing internal heat loads, new experimental tests for two different vertical greenery systems simulating the heat loads in both, summer and winter were conducted in this research. Additionally, these experiments also improve the scarce and controversial literature for winter conditions. The results demonstrated that considering internal loads in experimental investigations is crucial for the results of the effectiveness of the green walls and green facades. The energy savings of VGS were reduced between 22.5% and 26.7% because of the internal loads for cooling purposes, and increased about 3.6% and 3.1% for heating., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (author's final draft)

Green façades or vertical greenery systems (VGSs) are continuously gaining attention among urbanists for improving the living comfort and energy efficiency in urban areas. However, modeling and simulating the thermal response of VGSs remains a research topic. This paper introduces a novel inverse modeling approach for modeling the thermal response of VGSs on building envelopes. The modeling approach considers the VGSs as a homogeneous layer with apparent thermo-physical properties. The approach optimizes the apparent thermo-physical properties by calibrating the inverse model using data generated by a detailed thermal response model of VGS or experimental data. It is shown that the predicted temperature of VGS deviates by less than ±1.3 °C, while the heat flux on the inner side of the building envelope deviates by less than ±0.3 W/m2 compared to the measured values.

The construction, operation and maintenance of buildings consume more than 40% of primary energy in most countries. Out of this 40%, a large portion is related to the operational phase involving heat losses through a buildings envelope. To reduce this loss, several materials have been developed to reduce the thermal transmittance through a façade, even though they carry a heavy environmental burden. Furthermore, the unregulated and rapid expansion of urban environments led to a considerable amount of problems. Among them, the urban heat island effect demands special attention as it has been responsible for an increase of the energy consumption to higher mortality rates. In part, the use of materials with high thermal admittance is responsible for these effects. Vertical green systems have shown to be a potential solution to improve, among others, the thermal demands of buildings and to mitigate the urban heat island effect. However, due to the uncertainty associated with their design process and operation, the implementation of vegetation as a construction material in an urban setting is often overlooked. Therefore, an in-depth study of their performance under different configurations and climate conditions is needed. The optimization study was based on the parametrization of a green façade and a living wall system which aimed to identify their response under variable initial conditions. A analysis of the essential parameters in the vegetation model was performed. Consequently, the leaf area index showed the highest effect, followed by the substrate thickness, leaf angle distribution, leaf surface albedo and finally by the moisture content of the substrate layer. Furthermore, a state-of-the-art computational work flow was developed through the integration of ENVI_met, Rhino/Grasshopper and modeFRONTIER, in combination with Python 3 scripting, to evaluate the performance of vertical greenery systems. The evaluation focused on the heat transmission through t, Civil Engineering | Building Engineering

Vertical gardens, called "Greenery Systems", are a new tendency in modern constructions. They are applied increasingly more frequently on those buildings where energy and ecological considerations, environmentally friendly, are a priority. Some main features of these technologies are: thermal insulation improvement, environmental pollution filtering, acoustic absorption, water retention and a friendly aesthetic appearance. Vertical gardens can have dissimilar acoustic features because they depend on the kind of support, substrate and vegetation used. For this reason, nowadays, collected data are very diverse and incomplete and it is necessary to expand the data available to provide more alternatives with practical application. In this work, acoustic absorption of modular vertical greening was studied. Each module was developed with a rigid PVC base covered with fibrous material forming pockets, where the substrate and vegetation were placed. The plant species that were used are some of the most widespread ones in the region, in order to achieve a good adaptation and simple maintenance., Los jardines verticales forman parte de una de las tendencias tecnológicas constructivas más modernas, conocidas como “Greenery Systems”. Estas son aplicadas cada vez con más frecuencia en aquellas construcciones donde se priorizan consideraciones energéticas y ecológicas conciliables con el medio ambiente. Algunas de las características relevantes que presentan son la mejora del aislamiento térmico, el filtrado de polución ambiental, la absorción acústica, la retención de agua y una estética amigable. Los jardines verticales pueden poseer características acústicas disímiles entre ellos, debido a que dependen del tipo de soporte, sustrato y vegetación utilizada. Por ese motivo en la actualidad los datos existentes son muy variados e incompletos, y resulta necesario ampliar los mismos para disponer de mayores variantes constructivas con aplicación práctica. En este trabajo se estudió la absorción acústica de un sistema de jardín vertical del tipo modular. Cada módulo fue realizado sobre una base rígida de PVC, revestida de material fibroso, con el cual se conformaron bolsillos. En ellos se alojó el sustrato y la vegetación. Las especies vegetales que se utilizaron son algunas de las más difundidas en la región, a fin de lograr una buena adaptación y un mantenimiento sencillo.

Vertical gardens, called "Greenery Systems", are a new tendency in modern constructions. They are applied increasingly more frequently on those buildings where energy and ecological considerations, environmentally friendly, are a priority. Some main features of these technologies are: thermal insulation improvement, environmental pollution filtering, acoustic absorption, water retention and a friendly aesthetic appearance. Vertical gardens can have dissimilar acoustic features because they depend on the kind of support, substrate and vegetation used. For this reason, nowadays, collected data are very diverse and incomplete and it is necessary to expand the data available to provide more alternatives with practical application. In this work, acoustic absorption of modular vertical greening was studied. Each module was developed with a rigid PVC base covered with fibrous material forming pockets, where the substrate and vegetation were placed. The plant species that were used are some of the most widespread ones in the region, in order to achieve a good adaptation and simple maintenance., Los jardines verticales forman parte de una de las tendencias tecnológicas constructivas más modernas, conocidas como “Greenery Systems”. Estas son aplicadas cada vez con más frecuencia en aquellas construcciones donde se priorizan consideraciones energéticas y ecológicas conciliables con el medio ambiente. Algunas de las características relevantes que presentan son la mejora del aislamiento térmico, el filtrado de polución ambiental, la absorción acústica, la retención de agua y una estética amigable. Los jardines verticales pueden poseer características acústicas disímiles entre ellos, debido a que dependen del tipo de soporte, sustrato y vegetación utilizada. Por ese motivo en la actualidad los datos existentes son muy variados e incompletos, y resulta necesario ampliar los mismos para disponer de mayores variantes constructivas con aplicación práctica. En este trabajo se estudió la absorción acústica de un sistema de jardín vertical del tipo modular. Cada módulo fue realizado sobre una base rígida de PVC, revestida de material fibroso, con el cual se conformaron bolsillos. En ellos se alojó el sustrato y la vegetación. Las especies vegetales que se utilizaron son algunas de las más difundidas en la región, a fin de lograr una buena adaptación y un mantenimiento sencillo.

Green façades or vertical greenery systems (VGSs) are continuously gaining attention among urbanists for improving the living comfort and energy efficiency in urban areas. However, modeling and simulating the thermal response of VGSs remains a research topic. This paper introduces a novel inverse modeling approach for modeling the thermal response of VGSs on building envelopes. The modeling approach considers the VGSs as a homogeneous layer with apparent thermo-physical properties. The approach optimizes the apparent thermo-physical properties by calibrating the inverse model using data generated by a detailed thermal response model of VGS or experimental data. It is shown that the predicted temperature of VGS deviates by less than ±1.3 °C, while the heat flux on the inner side of the building envelope deviates by less than ±0.3 W/m2 compared to the measured values.

The construction, operation and maintenance of buildings consume more than 40% of primary energy in most countries. Out of this 40%, a large portion is related to the operational phase involving heat losses through a buildings envelope. To reduce this loss, several materials have been developed to reduce the thermal transmittance through a façade, even though they carry a heavy environmental burden. Furthermore, the unregulated and rapid expansion of urban environments led to a considerable amount of problems. Among them, the urban heat island effect demands special attention as it has been responsible for an increase of the energy consumption to higher mortality rates. In part, the use of materials with high thermal admittance is responsible for these effects. Vertical green systems have shown to be a potential solution to improve, among others, the thermal demands of buildings and to mitigate the urban heat island effect. However, due to the uncertainty associated with their design process and operation, the implementation of vegetation as a construction material in an urban setting is often overlooked. Therefore, an in-depth study of their performance under different configurations and climate conditions is needed. The optimization study was based on the parametrization of a green façade and a living wall system which aimed to identify their response under variable initial conditions. A analysis of the essential parameters in the vegetation model was performed. Consequently, the leaf area index showed the highest effect, followed by the substrate thickness, leaf angle distribution, leaf surface albedo and finally by the moisture content of the substrate layer. Furthermore, a state-of-the-art computational work flow was developed through the integration of ENVI_met, Rhino/Grasshopper and modeFRONTIER, in combination with Python 3 scripting, to evaluate the performance of vertical greenery systems. The evaluation focused on the heat transmission through t, Civil Engineering | Building Engineering

Green noise barriers have become an alternative means of reducing urban traffic noise. In this paper, the acoustic performance of a modular greenery noise barrier is evaluated. In situ measurements of noise reflection were performed using an experimental prototype to estimate the sound absorption coefficients. These coefficients were found to have values of approximately 0.7, higher than those previously found in laboratory measurements for a similar system with a lower vegetation density. The obtained values were input into software for predicting environmental noise to analyse the expected performance of such barriers, particularly in the case of a pair of parallel barriers. A comparison with the results for reflective barriers indicates a significant improvement in sound attenuation of up to 4 dBA. The values are similar and even superior to results reported by other authors regarding the effectiveness of absorptive treatments applied to parallel barriers, and furthermore, the proposed barriers offer an aesthetic element for environmental integration., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

The use of vertical greenery systems in buildings is becoming very popular as they provide several benefits. In this work, the influence of an indoor living wall on the temperature and humidity in a hall inside the School of Agricultural Engineering (University of Seville) was studied. Four different substrates, Geotextile, Epiweb, Xaxim and coconut fibre, were used to grow the plants in order to assess their performance. Several parameters such as temperature, humidity, plant growth or water consumption were monitored and analyzed during a 4-month period. The cooling effect of the living wall was proven, with an average reduction of 4°C over the room temperature though maximum decrements of 6°C have been observed in warmer conditions. Higher air humidity levels were experienced near the living wall, increasing the overall humidity in the room. All the substrates tested were suitable for plant growing and their behaviour was similar. Geotextile showed the best cooling capacity but higher water consumption, coconut fibre presented degradation problems and Epiweb performance was the poorest. Therefore, these systems have been proven to be very useful and interesting for warm indoor environments due to the cooling effect observed in addition to their bio-filtration capacity and the aesthetic component.

The use of vertical greenery systems in buildings is becoming very popular as they provide several benefits. In this work, the influence of an indoor living wall on the temperature and humidity in a hall inside the School of Agricultural Engineering (University of Seville) was studied. Four different substrates, Geotextile, Epiweb, Xaxim and coconut fibre, were used to grow the plants in order to assess their performance. Several parameters such as temperature, humidity, plant growth or water consumption were monitored and analyzed during a 4-month period. The cooling effect of the living wall was proven, with an average reduction of 4°C over the room temperature though maximum decrements of 6°C have been observed in warmer conditions. Higher air humidity levels were experienced near the living wall, increasing the overall humidity in the room. All the substrates tested were suitable for plant growing and their behaviour was similar. Geotextile showed the best cooling capacity but higher water consumption, coconut fibre presented degradation problems and Epiweb performance was the poorest. Therefore, these systems have been proven to be very useful and interesting for warm indoor environments due to the cooling effect observed in addition to their bio-filtration capacity and the aesthetic component.

The use of vertical greenery systems in buildings is becoming very popular as they provide several benefits. In this work, the influence of an indoor living wall on the temperature and humidity in a hall inside the School of Agricultural Engineering (University of Seville) was studied. Four different substrates, Geotextile, Epiweb, Xaxim and coconut fibre, were used to grow the plants in order to assess their performance. Several parameters such as temperature, humidity, plant growth or water consumption were monitored and analyzed during a 4-month period. The cooling effect of the living wall was proven, with an average reduction of 4°C over the room temperature though maximum decrements of 6°C have been observed in warmer conditions. Higher air humidity levels were experienced near the living wall, increasing the overall humidity in the room. All the substrates tested were suitable for plant growing and their behaviour was similar. Geotextile showed the best cooling capacity but higher water consumption, coconut fibre presented degradation problems and Epiweb performance was the poorest. Therefore, these systems have been proven to be very useful and interesting for warm indoor environments due to the cooling effect observed in addition to their bio-filtration capacity and the aesthetic component.

The use of vertical greenery systems in buildings is becoming very popular as they provide several benefits. In this work, the influence of an indoor living wall on the temperature and humidity in a hall inside the School of Agricultural Engineering (University of Seville) was studied. Four different substrates, Geotextile, Epiweb, Xaxim and coconut fibre, were used to grow the plants in order to assess their performance. Several parameters such as temperature, humidity, plant growth or water consumption were monitored and analyzed during a 4-month period. The cooling effect of the living wall was proven, with an average reduction of 4°C over the room temperature though maximum decrements of 6°C have been observed in warmer conditions. Higher air humidity levels were experienced near the living wall, increasing the overall humidity in the room. All the substrates tested were suitable for plant growing and their behaviour was similar. Geotextile showed the best cooling capacity but higher water consumption, coconut fibre presented degradation problems and Epiweb performance was the poorest. Therefore, these systems have been proven to be very useful and interesting for warm indoor environments due to the cooling effect observed in addition to their bio-filtration capacity and the aesthetic component.

The use of vertical greenery systems in buildings is becoming very popular as they provide several benefits. In this work, the influence of an indoor living wall on the temperature and humidity in a hall inside the School of Agricultural Engineering (University of Seville) was studied. Four different substrates, Geotextile, Epiweb, Xaxim and coconut fibre, were used to grow the plants in order to assess their performance. Several parameters such as temperature, humidity, plant growth or water consumption were monitored and analyzed during a 4-month period. The cooling effect of the living wall was proven, with an average reduction of 4°C over the room temperature though maximum decrements of 6°C have been observed in warmer conditions. Higher air humidity levels were experienced near the living wall, increasing the overall humidity in the room. All the substrates tested were suitable for plant growing and their behaviour was similar. Geotextile showed the best cooling capacity but higher water consumption, coconut fibre presented degradation problems and Epiweb performance was the poorest. Therefore, these systems have been proven to be very useful and interesting for warm indoor environments due to the cooling effect observed in addition to their bio-filtration capacity and the aesthetic component.