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Winner of the award for ‘Best Research and/or Innovation Project’ at the 16th Colegio de Caminos Awards in Madrid
Madrid, 24 April 2024. The vertical gardens project, aimed at the green transformation of the M-30, has won the award for ‘Best Research and/or Innovation Project’ at the 16th Annual Colegio de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales y Puertos Awards in Madrid. The pilot project, carried out by Lantania in a joint venture with Padecasa and Azul Construcción Repair for Madrid City Council’s Urban Planning, Environment and Transportation Department, aims to study the effects of implementing this type of garden in an area with as much traffic as the M-30.
The project had a budget of 3.8 million euros, and was carried out by installing folding panels on the 400 metres of wall next to the M-30 ring road, which separates the Mariano Salvador Maella and New Zealand roundabouts on the capital’s Avenida de la Ilustración. The gardens have a surface area of 3,250 square metres, which has been covered with 23 highly durable plant species, all with the ability to absorb pollutants.
Pollution sensors have been installed in order to study the positive effects of these gardens on the reduction of atmospheric pollutants. The data obtained will be compared with the general pollution date available from Calle 30, or from the Madrid City Council’s pollution monitoring stations, in order to ascertain the difference in the concentration of pollutants between the different zones. Moreover, the green walls’ ability to attract biodiversity and its evolution throughout the year will also be assessed.
The vertical gardens have a centralised and sectioned irrigation system with different sensors for detecting irregularities and adapting the irrigation to the plants’ needs. Each unit or panel has irrigation tubes placed horizontally at different heights, which release droplets of water at different rates, depending on their height, in order to optimise necessary irrigation.