Chapter 8: Living walls

Living walls, also known as green walls, are found in cities throughout the world, both inside buildings and outside buildings on external walls. Living walls installed externally are an element of blue-green infrastructure (BGI) in urban environments. Internal living walls, also known as indoor living walls, do not directly relate to BGI but do provide health benefits. For context, indoor living walls will be outlined but are not within the scope of this chapter. This chapter describes types of external living walls that are used in urban environments in the UK and outlines their environmental benefits. It examines how they are installed and maintained, provides a selection of plants commonly used in the UK and considers their flammability factors. This chapter also summarises UK fire safety policies relating to living walls current at the time of writing. Although the regulations are specific to the UK, they may inform the design and installation of living walls in other countries.