While on-site activities with citizens have been limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic, proGIreg Living Lab in Turin has kept busy introducing green walls or more elaborately called - vertical gardens - to buildings to delight citizens. Green walls have a multitude of benefits, they improve insulation, reduce storm water run-off, capture CO2 and filter pollutants, resulting in reduced energy consumption and increased resilience.

The Living Lab employed a vertical garden pioneer Verde Profilo, to help build much needed greenery to a homeless shelter and a school building. Together with the local partners, Verde Profilo ensured to tailor the green walls to the local climatic conditions, considering sun exposure, natural lighting and aeration, through a mix of suitable plant species. Two walls were inserted in the homeless shelter, to support the wellbeing of inhabitants and to create a welcoming atmosphere when entering the building. The location was chosen together with local stakeholders in the Living Lab district of Mirafiori Syd. The vertical gardens are designed for easy maintenance with an efficient water management system (drip irrigation that is monitored and tailored to the actual soil status) and perennial herbaceous plants that do not require frequent care nor pre-cultivation. In addition the walls will provide much needed share improving the pleasantness of the climatic conditions within the building, with the regional environmental protection agency Arpa Piemonte, gathering data and monitoring the thermal effects of the green walls.

Photo: Green wall on homeless shelter, Citta di Torino

The green walls in the school have been built in to put children in touch with nature at an early age. The indoor walls of the main hallway in the school are fully covered with vertical gardens. The walls were designed in close collaboration with the school staff, and the living walls will be further developed together with the children in biology classes to help cultivate knowledge of the greenery.

Photo: Green wall in school, Citta di Torino

The City of Turin has major plans to spread greenery with many other nature-based interventions, explore the pioneering Living Lab’s work here. Verde Profile has also created green walls in Piraeus – another proGIreg city, renovating an old port building with a wood and plant façade, suitable for the Mediterranean climate. Read more about Verde Profilo’s system here.