The Viritopia Living Wall System has achieved a fire rating of B,s2-d0, as tested to BS EN 13501-1. This is the highest rating possible for a living wall system.

Be aware of systems that claim to have a Class A rating.  These are often misleading, as only components of the system have been tested (without the plants and substrate), so not representing the reality of the finished build-up.

To find where living walls can and can’t be used, read this blog which covers all you need to know about living wall fire regulations.  You could also join us for our live fire focused CPD:  How and Where to Design a Living Wall to Meet Fire Regulations.  Check out upcoming sessions here.

At Viritopia, we create green walls that harness the power of living plants, to improve air quality and reconnect people with nature. 

This is open to interpretation as many people will consider them to be the same.

Although they can appear fairly similar from the outside, the foundation, benefits, and long-term success of both green walls and living walls can differ. 

Living Walls

As the name suggests, for a living wall to be classed as a living wall, it must be alive. Living walls must contain real plants and ideally natural soil, which is where the long-term sustainability, increased biodiversity, and health and wellbeing benefits come from.

Green Walls

Although some people may see green walls and living walls as the same thing, green walls differ in that they do not necessarily have to comprise of living plants, and can be artificial. 

A living wall will indeed help you to achieve a BREEAM rating.  There are several things you can focus on using that will help you:

• Native species
• Pollinators
• Rainwater harvesting
• Recycled materials

A living wall that uses natural soil uses less water than most other substrates used in green walls.  Here’s an example of water usage per week in the winter:

• Sunny wall: 16.8 litres/m2/week
• Shady wall: 7.6 litres/m2/week

The only part of the living wall that will use energy on-going is the irrigation system.  This is entirely dependent on the design and irrigation system structure.  However, the electrical loading is minimal.

There are 6 key factors that can determine whether your living wall integration will be a failure or a success.  We detailed them all in this blog on What could go wrong with a living wall? 6 points to consider for your project, which you can read more about here.   

1. System choice
2. Plant selection
3. Substrate
4. Irrigation and water management
5. Maintenance
6. Ensuring no obstacles during planning, installation, and on-going maintenance.

For more detail under each point, please read the blog!

We often speak about adjusting the planting design for a living wall so it provides more value for biodiversity.  Whilst this is important to get the most out of your installation (if improving biodiversity is your purpose), the plants are only half the story.

Soil is hugely important for biodiversity, and enables you to reach the right biodiversity net gain score.  For the environmental success of any green infrastructure habitats, soil is key.  It allows for:

• Burrowing insects
• Solitary bees
• Provides water storage/buffer
• Fungal biodiversity
• Resilience against adverse conditions