The Rubens at the Palace Hotel in London gets the prize for the biggest green living wall in town. It covers 350 square feet and is 21 metres high. It's a two part vertical structure on the side of the historic building dating from 1912.
It took two months to create. It is said to contain 10,000 plants including those which will attract bees and butterflies and birds. So there are buttercups, two varieties of crocus and strawberries, spring bulbs and winter geraniums. There should be a continuing show of seasonal colours. Since it is brand new, so far only little violet coloured flowers are visible.
Holding up 16 tons of soil, let's hope those engineers did a good job.
It's all part of a civic effort to improve the environment in the area. Victoria, where it is located, is a very busy and congested part of downtown London, with more high rise buildings popping up by the minute.
The major purpose of the new green areas is to prevent urban flooding. This happens when there is so much hard surface that the rainfalls can't be absorbed into the ground and cause flooding and backing up of sewers.
Because of the lack of absorbent surfaces, the local Business Improvement agency is encouraging the development of more green spaces. The government provided funding to design the wall that will add to a greener and more sustainable environment.
Designed by Green Roof Consultancy, the wall contains special tanks on the roof that can store up to 10,000 litres of rainwater.The water storage tanks channel the water back through the wall to nourish the plants.
Nineteen twelve was:
the year which saw the sinking of the Titanic, the year Captain Scott reached the South Pole [only to find that Amundsen had beaten him by thirty-five days], and the year suffragettes started a new window-smashing campaign and ninety-six of their supporters were arrested after they stormed the House of Commons. The hotel immediately became popular with debutantes and others attending functions at Buckingham Palace. During the Second World War it was taken over by General Sikorski’s Free State Polish Army, which used it as its headquarters. Another statesman in exile, General Charles De Gaulle, the leader of the Free French army in exile, also stayed here during the war.
But the loveliest has to be this one, on the side of a Tube (subway) station. Installed in 2011, it has flourished over the past two years and become a work of art. It is part of a series of green measures the city is introducing in order to reduce pollution from traffic emissions.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please adhere to proper blog etiquette when posting your comments. This blog owner will exercise his absolution discretion in allowing or rejecting any comments that are deemed seditious, defamatory, libelous, racist, vulgar, insulting, and other remarks that exhibit similar characteristics. If you insist on using anonymous comments, please write your name or other IDs at the end of your message.