Green your City
Climate change brings many challenges, especially in densified cities. Urban planning is faced with the problem of increasing densification of urban spaces and less space for urban greenery. Façade greening can enormously increase the proportion of greenery in cities, even with little available space, and offers a wide range of advantages.
The innovation of the facade greening module lies in its multifunctionality: façade greening, grey water purification and energy generation through photovoltaics are combined. The positive effects lie in the combination of the individual advantages of façade greening systems and photovoltaic modules, which generate electricity and at the same time protect the plants from extreme weather conditions. The combined grey water treatment provides the plants with nutrients and a permanent supply of water, so that the use of drinking water can be completely dispensed with.

From container to wall
In the first funding phase, different variants were developed and optimized in test modules with regard to the components photovoltaic, greywater purification performance and plant vitality. The results regarding the purification performance of the module showed a good degree of reduction of the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of the artificially mixed greywater and no restrictions on plant vitality. The building physics investigations revealed a demonstrable improvement in the microclimate in the city by lowering the air temperature and the mean radiation temperature in urban areas in summer. The numerical simulation of the hygrothermal behaviour of an outer wall showed improved thermal insulation and a lower heat flow density through the wall when using wall-bound greening.

And into the planning
The implementation and consolidation phase is built upon these results. The aim is the successful scientific, technical and impact-related further development of the VertiKKA module. The former container wall is now replaced by a façade of a building of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. For this real laboratory, VertiKKA modules are attached to a wall. There, the cleaning performance using real greywater, the determination of the renewable electricity yield and other important effects (e.g. cooling of the environment, protection of the outer wall, fire protection, etc.) are examined.
The aim is to show the advantages of green spaces in cities within the restrictions of missing space and drinking water. Especially larger cities are looking for solutions.
A software application is being developed to classify and evaluate the VertiKKA in comparison to other blue-green infrastructure measures. The most effective measures should be selected according to objective standards so that further planning steps can be initiated based on them.
As one measure, VertiKKA combines blue and green infrastructure planning. With a successful presentation of the positive overall effects, a rethinking of the possibilities of greywater use in the city and the need for greening is pushed.

Project title
VertiKKA2 – VertiKKA, a vertical air-conditioning and water recycling system

Internet
vertikka.de/en

Duration
01.07.2022–30.06.20224

Funding code
033W108AN

Contact
Vera Middendorf
Björnsen Beratende Ingenieure GmbH
+49 2501 5946915
v.middendorf@bjoernsen.de

Project partners
Björnsen Beratende Ingenieure GmbH
IZES gGmbH – Institut für ZukunftsEnergie- und Stoffstromsysteme
ifak – Institut für Automation und Kommunikation e.V.
Solyco Technology GmbH
Bauhaus-Universität Weimar

Version of
Juni 2023

Information on the first funding phase (2019 – 2022) can be found here