New York City may be home to Strawberry Fields, but London is now home to strawberry-covered architecture. Designed by engineering firm Arup, in collaboration with Swedish plant-wall-specialists Green Fortune, the greenery-covered “Living Wall Lite” now adorns the 262-foot-tall construction scaffold in front of the former St. Mark’s Church in Mayfair.
Over the next year, the Greek-Revival building will be renovated into a chic event space. Rather than a typical construction eye-sore, the building now looks like an urban farm. The massive plant wall is directly attached to the scaffold and holds a meadow’s-worth of grasses, wildflowers, and strawberry plants.
Arup, quite keen on plant-covered buildings at the moment, released a report in September highlighting the many benefits of living walls in urban spaces. According to the firm, such green facades can reduce air pollution by between 10 and 20 percent, absorb noise pollution, and help with a building’s temperature regulation.
“Living Wall Lite has the potential to transform scaffolding and hoardings into much more than just a cover up,” said Arup facade engineer Alistair Law. “By introducing plants and flowers, we can create a more attractive and healthier environment for local residents, businesses and workers on site.”