The impressive “Eden Tower” project, with one of the tallest green facades in Europe, won the bronze FIABCI Prix d’Excellence Award Germany in the residential category on 18 November 2022. This renowned award for outstanding project developments was presented at a gala ceremony in Berlin by FIABCI Germany and the BFW (Bundesverband Freier Immobilien- und Wohnungsunternehmen eV). The jury was particularly impressed by the innovative nature and technical ingenuity of Sempergreen’s green facade.
The iconic project was developed by Immobel Group. The striking design was born from an international collaboration of American architectural firm JAHN, Magnus Kaminiarz, firm Tilman Lange Braun & Schlockermann Architekten, both from Germany, and the Brussels-based team of Jaspers Eyers Architects. The residential tower, called ‘Eden Tower’, is 98 meters high and occupies 28 floors, making it one of the tallest green residential towers in Europe.
Evan Jahn, president of architectural firm JAHN: “JAHN partnered and collaborated with Sempergreen in creating a green facade that encompassed 20% of the total facade of the building. In doing so we created these hanging [green] walls that will improve the mood of the residents and improve the environment, by creating a more temperate climate through evaporative cooling and absorbing the solar energy. I think what’s most important, is that architecture has embraced nature. It changes not how people live in a building, but in the end it changes how people inhabit urban environments.”
Muriel Sam, Vice Managing Director of Immobel Luxembourg, in charge of Eden’s development: “In a complex and profoundly changing real estate market, our vision remains constant at Immobel: we want to reinvent urban spaces to make them pleasant and sustainable living spaces that create value over time. This project illustrates the three drivers that characterise our vision of the urban environment of the future: spectacular sustainability, thanks to the planted facade, innovation at the service of our sustainable development objectives, and an urban quality of life transformed thanks to a radical transition from a single-function car park to a multi-purpose living space open to the neighbourhood.”
2100 m² greenery on one building
The installed greenery includes a total of 185,000 plants, which amounts to more than 2,100m² of living greenery. This area is roughly 3 times larger than the plot on which the building, formerly a parking lot, stands. In an increasingly built-up city, vertical greenery is the way to bring green back into a grey environment. The SemperGreenwalls form a very aesthetic whole with the glass facades of the building.
Christiaan Bakker, SemperGreenwall specialist: “Winning this award emphasizes how important the addition of greenery to a property is. With the green facades, more plants have been brought back into the city than would be possible on the number of square meters of the plot alone. But this project was not without its challenges. The application of these green facades has never been done at this scale and height before. Therefore, some new developments were done for these SemperGreenwalls in terms of fire safety and maintenance. For example, a new type of SemperGreenwall Flexipanel with an A2 fire safety certificate and a new irrigation system were developed especially for this project. So the new residents can live there safely and enjoy their green facades all year round.”
Iconic building
The project is now nearing completion. The new owners can move into one of the 263 luxury apartments in early 2023 and enjoy their vertical garden on the balcony. And it’s not only beautiful on the outside: the interiors offer enticing possibilities. The residential tower offers multiple integrated services, including a concierge, a fitness centre and a shared rooftop garden. The panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows in almost every room offer breath-taking views of the city and create an exceptional atmosphere full of natural light.
Henriette Vink, director Sempergreen Vertical Systems: “Immobel and Sempergreen Vertical Systems dared to take on this exceptional project. We are therefore proud of the amazing result and of our accolade: the bronze FIABCI Prix d’Excellence Award Germany 2022.”
