London furniture company launches living ‘green’ walls

A London-based furniture company claim they can improve indoor air quality following the launch of their living ‘green walls’.

The company, Office Blueprint, has partnered with the Finnish health technology company Naava to sell the living walls, which could create healthier environments at offices, hotels and schools across the country.

Naava’s ‘smart’ walls, which take the form of indoor vertical planters, combine nature and technology to improve indoor air, reducing harmful chemicals in the air and boosting humidity.

Test studies have shown that working in the vicinity of the walls helps to reduce fatigue and illness associated with poor air quality and improves employees’ work performance.

Neil Jenks, managing director of Office Blueprint, said: ‘With the average person spending 22 hours a day indoors it is of the upmost importance that toxic air quality is reduced.

‘We are committed to healthy, inspiring and stress-free office environments which contributes to enhanced wellbeing and Naava fits perfectly with this mission and our existing product portfolio.’

Naava’s green walls work by absorbing indoor air through the roots of green leaved plants, specifically chosen for their high air purification properties.

The microbes of the plants’ roots then purify the air before the naturalised air is returned to the room by small fans.

The walls are supported by a remote AI system and in-built lighting which monitors the plants’ condition and replicates the cycles of natural daylight.

One vertical planter can purify up to 60 square metres of indoor air and is equivalent to having around 6,000 potted plants in the same space.

Naava’s green walls will be introduced to Office Blueprint’s product portfolio this coming spring.

The launch of the product marks a trend in private organisations taking the lead in looking to create healthier air environments for employees and children.

Last week the hygiene specialists the phs group announced they would be launching a competition to have top-of-the-range air purifiers installed and maintained at three urban nurseries across the UK nursery for a year.