We are thrilled to introduce to the UK market our innovative ‘living wall’ rainscreen cladding solution ‘Optima Meadow’ – developed in collaboration with leading rainscreen manufacturer Sotech. Combining our tried and tested living wall technology with Sotech’s market-leading cladding system, Optima Meadow is designed to enhance urban environments and reintroduce wildlife to our densely populated cities.
Get in touch to explore how Optima Meadow can be deployed on your project.
The system offers a bio-diverse, attractive, and more sustainable approach to urban greening. By integrating plant life directly into vertical building façades, we are transforming urban landscapes into thriving, green habitats. It has been developed for permanent applications, sitting alongside our Meadow Wrap for temporary applications such as construction sites.
“The concept involves taking seeds from a meadow and embedding them into an innovative rainscreen cladding system,” explains Graham Todd, Technical Director at Sotech. “This solution is integrated into our fully drained and back-ventilated hook-on rainscreen system with limited combustibility. As always, design, safety, and functionality have been central to our approach.”
Effective from February 2024, developers in England must achieve a Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) of 10%, ensuring a net increase in natural habitats. We have collaborated with experts from The Wildlife Trust, Buglife, and Professor Nigel Dunnett to ensure Optima Meadow delivers on biodiversity, contributing to BNG as well as Urban Greening Factors and BREEAM points stipulated in planning permission.
“These vertical meadows not only help designers meet regulatory requirements,” says Alistair, “but also create beautiful focal points, allow communal roof space on existing buildings to be maximized, and attract bees, butterflies and other wildlife back into our cities. ”
Unlike alternative living wall solutions, Optima Meadow is a dry product delivered to the site, removing the need for pre-growing plants in nurseries or the wet and dirty transportation of fragile live plants. It is connected to an irrigation system, WiFi, power, and water supplies, and then activated to begin the germination process. Plant growth and flowering are monitored via simple inspection and apps, and the need for on-site maintenance is minimal.
It boasts a design life of over 30 years, equivalent to traditional hook-on rainscreen systems. Made from A1 components, it ensures high safety standards and uses Eco 3, 5000 series aluminium, which is 94% recycled, reinforcing our commitment to sustainability.
“There is a huge market for this product,” says Alistair. “We have installations in London and abroad and are in advanced discussions with various sectors, including data centres, schools, and commercial offices. Data centres, for example, have vast vertical spaces ideal for Vertical Meadow installations, which improve energy efficiency through cooling, enhance biodiversity, and reduce noise attenuation.”
As cities worldwide seek to incorporate more green spaces, Optima Meadow offers a viable, long-lasting solution to enhance urban biodiversity and aesthetics. It is now available for specification through the Sotech technical team. We invite designers, installers, and contractors to get in touch and see our living wall solution in person at various locations across the UK.