Innovation project: green façade at CEG

Various green façade systems are being installed on the west-facing wall of the Civil Engineering and Geosciences (CEG) faculty building. This green façade is the main body of a research project by Marc Ottelé (CEG) and Henri van Bennekom (Architecture and the Built Environment).

Why this research?

Green façades – walls covered with plants – have the potential to play an important role in making our cities and buildings more future-proof by providing cooling and insulation.

In this project, researchers will test various types of green façade systems in real-life conditions to gain scientifically grounded insights into their performance and impact.

The outcome will be a collection of valuable data, which will be used by the researchers to determine how green facades contribute to a building’s energy balance, the cooling of the environment, and other eco-services. These results will be published in a catalogue for various types of buildings – primarily existing ones.

Facts & figures

Location: West façade of building 23
Systems being tested:
- Climbing plants on cables or mesh
- Living wall with planter boxes and irrigation
- Combination of both systems
Effects being measured:
- Insulating properties of the greenery (energy savings)
- Temperature reduction on the façade
- Air quality and water management
- Biodiversity
- Impact on health and well-being
Living lab equipped with advanced sensors
Results: Open database with measurement data, design tools, educational materials, and upscaling recommendations

Planning

Installation of green façades August 2025
Data collection September 2025 – end of 2027
Evaluation and publication of results Q1 2028
+ translation into broader applications: