Celebra Vertical Garden

Departamento de Montevideo, Uruguay

City population: 1381000

Duration: 2014 – 2014

Implementation status: Completed

Scale: Sub-microscale: Street scale (including buildings)

Project area: 300 m²

Type of area: Building

Last updated: April 2022

The construction of "the biggest vertical garden in Uruguay" was completed in 2014 (Ref. 1). The vertical garden has an area of 300m2 and contains over 6,000 plants, of which most are endemic, comprising 35 species and 10 different families (Ref. 2). In addition to being aesthetically pleasing, the garden is intended to reduce temperature, produce oxygen and offset greenhouse gas emissions. It is thought to "contribute...to the filtration of approximately 165 tons of gases per year and [be] capable of producing the necessary oxygen for 255 people, in addition to trapping 130 kilos of dust" (Refs. 2 & 3).

Celebra Building Vertical Wall

https://www.archilovers.com/projects/184441/vertical-garden-in-uruguay.html

Overview

Nature-based solution

Nature on buildings (external)
Green walls or facades

Key challenges

Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Climate change adaptation
Environmental quality
Air quality improvement
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Habitat and biodiversity conservation
Green space creation and/or management

Focus

Creation of new green areas

Project objectives

The goals behind the implementation of the green wall are mostly related to increasing vegetation area, with the designed space allowing for approximately 6000 plants to be included in the structure (Ref. 3), and with a focus on mainly including endemic plants (35 different species and 10 families)(Refs. 1 & 3). Other goals related to the implementation of the green wall include: -Temperature reduction (both outdoors and within the building); - Production of oxygen and capturing greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles and industries in urban areas (Ref. 2), and also trapping of dust and heavy metals (Ref. 3). Lastly, in designing and implementing this green wall, the designer of the wall, Ignacio Solana, laid out his intention to "work...with the botany of each place, generating a kind of botanical museum on a wall" (Ref. 3).

Implementation activities

The wall on which the vertical garden was to be constructed was "made up of various fibers that will maintain moisture through an artificial fertigation system with small pockets" (Ref. 3). As above, approximately 6000 individual plants were added to the wall, comprising 35 species and 10 families (Ref. 3).

Climate-focused activities

Climate change adaptation:

Increase or improve urban vegetation cover to help reduce outdoor temperature
Implement green walls or roofs to lower indoor temperature and provide insulation

Biodiversity conservation or restoration-focused activities

Biodiversity conservation:

Protect species
Undertake specific measures to protect species
Undertake specific measures to protect native species

Main beneficiaries

Private sector/Corporate/Company

Governance

Management set-up

Led by non-government actors

Type of initiating organisation

Private sector/corporate actor/company

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

Unknown

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

The building on which the green wall was developed, Celebra Building, was commissioned by Zonamerica and designed by Carlos Ott Architects in association with Carlos Ponce de Leon Architects (Ref. 4). The wall itself was developed and implemented by Ignacio Solano and the Paisajismo Urbano Team (Ref. 1).

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? No

... a national policy or strategy? No

... a local policy or strategy? No

Financing

Total cost

Unknown

Source(s) of funding

Unknown

Type of funding

Unknown

Non-financial contribution

Unknown

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

Climate change
Lowered local temperature
Enhanced carbon sequestration
Environmental quality
Improved air quality
Green space and habitat
Increased green space area
Increased number of species present

Economic impacts

Unknown

Socio-cultural impacts

Social justice and cohesion
Improved access to urban green space
Other

Type of reported impacts

Achieved impacts

Presence of formal monitoring system

Presence of indicators used in reporting

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

References

1. Archilovers (2014). Vertical garden in Uruguay: Celebra building. Bari: Archilovers. Source link
2. Infobae (2021). Algunos de los jardines verticales más grandes del mundo están en América Latina: cuáles son; Some of the largest vertical gardens in the world are in Latin America: what are they. Buenos Aires: Infobae. Source link
3. Castro, K. (2014). Paisajista reconocido trabaja en el jardín vertical más grande de Uruguay; Renowned landscaper works on the largest vertical garden in Uruguay. Luxembourg: Nuevo Mujer, Metro World News. Source link
4. Ponce de Leon Architects (n.d.). Celebra. Monevideo: Ponce de Leon Architects. Source link.