Beneficiary: Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich
Funding: 01.07.16 bis 31.05.17 ; 59.995 €

Project description

Vegetation in urban areas is growing in significance for research and development both nationally and internationally. Already today, half of the world's population lives in cities - an effect that will increase in the coming decades. Systems for green areas on buildings and in urban infrastructure are emerging but continue to represent a particular challenge for technical and economic reasons. Against this background, new, pioneering solutions are being researched that complement the existing systems for Green Cities and have a positive effect on people as well as on the urban and building climate.

The VerticalGreenMoss project, funded by the BMBF as part of the feasibility phase, pursues a strategy of sustainable cultivation of building facades by colonizing them with mosses. By means of targeted stimulation of surfaces, a planar, time-optimized and long-lasting vegetation is to be made possible. In the course of the project, biologically inspired methods will be combined with modern 3D printing technologies. The basis for the structuring is provided by impressions of natural surfaces and the investigation of the topology that appears. The data obtained provides the starting point for the conceptual design of the substrate. For example, anchoring positions can be generated, and a targeted functionalization of the structures can be determined.

By means of 3D printing technology, functional samples with a high degree of variability (pores, channels, etc.) can be introduced into the substrate and tested. The developed substrate surfaces are inoculated with moss fragments and/or spores and supplemented with active substances such as pH regulators and nutrients - in combination with or following 3D printing - for optimization. In order to ensure valid data on colonization success and to determine the growth rate, the project team uses day-night test chambers, defined lighting scenarios and environmental conditions.

A sustainability assessment shall provide data on the ecological output of the system by analyzing the interactions of the system with the environment. In addition to the expected positive effects on the subjective well-being and health of city dwellers, the focus will be on issues of microclimate influence, noise protection, air pollution control, reduction of heat generation and preservation of biodiversity.