Ingenhoven Architects is building the Kö-Bogen II office block in Düsseldorf, which will have facades covered with five miles-worth of hornbeam hedges.
Located on the Gustaf-Gründgens-Platz, alongside the heritage-listed Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus theatre, the five-storey office block topped out earlier this month.
Five miles of hornbeam hedges will wrap the Kö-Bogen II office building
When it is completed next year, the two main facades of the trapeze-shaped building will be covered with hornbeam hedges. Hedgerows will be installed on each floor of the building's slopped facades, spanning a total distance of five miles, or eight kilometres.
The building's roof will also be covered in greenery, to a planting strategy developed in collaboration with sustainable engineering firm Werner Sobek. "From Gustaf-Gründgens-Platz the main building looks like a virtual 'vertical park' with eight kilometres of hornbeam hedges, the leaves of which take on different hues throughout the year," said Ingenhoven Architects.
Two facades and the roof will be covered with plants
The hedges have been growing at a tree nursery since 2016 and will be delivered to the site, complete with fully formed roots, later this year.
According to the architecture studio, the planted facade will help cool the building, reduce the inner-city heat-island effect in Düsseldorf, and help clean the air.
The planted facade will help cool the building
The 41,370 square-metre office block will stand o...