BabylonGardens
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
Category
Project Description
BabylonGardens has developed and patented a technology based on the reuse of plastic bottles of different types without discarding any part, for an extremely economical, easy-to-build way to turn massive quantities of plastic bottles into Green Walls, allowing the greening of cities by covering walls on public and private buildings with planted surfaces.
Geographical Scope
Project Region
Urban or rural issues
Physical or other transformations
EU Programme or fund
Which funds
Description of the project
Summary
BabylonGardens has developed and patented a technology based on the reuse of plastic bottles of different types without discarding any part, for an extremely economical, easy-to-build way to turn massive quantities of plastic bottles into Green Walls, allowing the greening of cities by covering walls on public and private buildings with planted surfaces.
The patented technology has many advantages:
- Recycling of very large numbers of plastic bottles.
- Use also of the caps of the bottles so that they are not disposed of in the environment.
- Extremely lightweight module.
- Highly effective use and conservation of irrigation water. Very good plant growth due to good moisture retention in the root system.
- Easy, fast and safe wall mounting due to the reduced weight and the pre-manufactured modules.
- Ability to build the whole system with volunteers /students resulting in significant awareness of plastic protection and the importance of green in urban areas.
- Reducing climate change impacts, cooling the air in urban agglomerations, while also filtering dust and micro-particles thereby reducing air pollution.
Key objectives for sustainability
Plastic Pollution in the seas is becoming an increasingly grave situation. Debris from land-based uses, especially single-use plastics such as bags, bottles, straws etc. can be found in areas very far from their point of use, carried to the seas and oceans by water streams and wind, and then transported in very remote places by sea currents. More importantly, plastic bottles used for drinking water and soda drinks are not included in the ban. This leaves a massive annual production of plastic bottles, which, if not collected and disposed of properly, will end up in the oceans and beaches, with devastating effects on habitats and the environment.
Babylon Gardens by using approximately 18 bottles per m2 of installed Green Wall, every 1.000m2 of Green Wall absorbs 18.000 plastic bottles. In this way it will keep them there for decades, offering a great relief from tons of plastic that could end up in the ocean and in coastal marine ecosystems.
At the same time, the Urban Heat Island effect can raise temperatures in cities by several degrees compared with their surroundings and could be a risk to human health as growing urban populations exacerbate the heating effects of climate change. On average globally, Urban Heat Island warming will probably be equivalent to about half the warming caused by climate change by the year 2050.
Green walls can absorb heated gas in the air, lower both indoor and outdoor temperature, providing a healthier indoor air quality.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
The BabylonGardens solution is fully integrated with the New European Bauhaus values of aesthetics by giving emphasis to the aesthetic part, as green walls and green roofs are a biophilic design that incorporate nature into building spaces for creating a more productive and healthier built environment for people.
One of the main problems of Athens but also in most European / Mediterranean cities is the lack of green spaces. According to WHO every city should have 9 square meters of green space per person. Athens has less than 1 square meter and it’s a heavily populated city. Green spaces should be more than 65million square meters.
Our aim is to bring individuals and communities closer to nature, that contribute to regenerate natural ecosystems and prevent loss of biodiversity or invite them to reconsider their relationship with nature in a life centered perspective, as an alternative to the human centered one.
Key objectives for inclusion
The BabylonGardens technology is deployed at a local level and does not necessitate specialized skills and long training. It thereby allows the fighting of poverty (SDG1) and boosting inclusiveness in cities by employing unqualified labor from the local population, including from disadvantaged social groups such as homeless people, following a short training seminar., It also supports gender equality and women empowerment (SDG5) by employing women of all ages or unmarried mothers.
Our technology is needed for every European and Mediterranean city as urbanization and climate change call for new solutions to maintain and improve the quality of life in our cities. Public green spaces have a positive effect on biodiversity, climate, wellness and air quality. This impact ensures that cities are becoming better places to live and work.
At the moment, green walls companies use complicated, expensive module systems that render green walls by extension elitist, exorbitant in price and used sparingly for aesthetic purposes in public and private spaces.
However, our technology addresses these issues, making green walls economical, easy to install and used not only for aesthetic purposes but also and most importantly to address real-life pressing social issues, such as climate change mitigation, ending poverty, contributing to jobs creation and skills acquisition, promoting social inclusion of vulnerable groups through urban, green and sustainable farming, and reusing/upcycling large amounts of plastic.
Results in relation to category
BabylonGardens is an inspirational of beautiful, sustainable and inclusive projects that contributes to the transformation of the industrial ecosystems towards more sustainable practices in a spirit of circularity, taking into account relevant social aspects. Our patented technology brings clear benefits in terms of sustainability and circularity, as we use recycled plastic bottles in order to green our cities. By using approximately 18 bottles per m2 of installed green wall, every 1.000m2 of Green absorbs 18.000 plastic bottles. In this way it will keep them there for decades, offering a great relief from tons of plastic that could end up in the ocean and in coastal marine ecosystems.
The Urban Heat Island effect can raise temperatures in cities by several degrees compared with their surroundings and could be a risk to human health as growing urban populations exacerbate the heating effects of climate change. On average globally, Urban Heat Island warming will probably be equivalent to about half the warming caused by climate change by the year 2050. Green walls can absorb heated gas in the air, lower both indoor and outdoor temperature, providing a healthier indoor air quality as well as a more beautiful space. For urban areas, this is undoubtedly the best solution for the Heat Island Effect.
BabylonGardens provides quality of life for people that live in urban areas, where the green element is usually in sparsity. We transform our cities in the most economical way which make it affordable and accessible to every citizen.
How Citizens benefit
BabylonGardens has carried out extensive consultations with Civil Society organizations working the inclusion of less favoured groups (e.g. homeless people – Shedia) and young immigrants (The Home project) and the reduction of plastic pollution (Ocean Cycle) in order to check and improve that acceptance of the concert and the opportunities for deployment in urban and tourism centers in Greece and other countries.
Connecting the development of BabylonGardens recycled Green Walls in groups and facilities that host and support the above mentioned less favoured groups, and especially connecting them to the production of food components (greens, aromatics, etc.) was very welcome as a source of livelihoods but also of training of young professionals. At the same time the sensitization component of establishing collection points for plastic bottles, especially in areas of high tourism where consumption and disposal are very high in the summer months was considered extremely important for stopping the flow of plastics to t the marine and coastal environment.
Physical or other transformations
Innovative character
One of the main problems of most European / Mediterranean cities and most certainly of Athens is the lack of green spaces. According to WHO every city should have 9 square meters of green space per person. Athens has less than 1 square meter and it’s a heavily populated city. Green spaces should be more than 65million square meters.
The Urban Heat Island effect can raise temperatures in cities by several degrees compared with their surroundings and could be a risk to human health as growing urban populations exacerbate the heating effects of climate change. On average globally, Urban Heat Island warming will probably be equivalent to about half the warming caused by climate change by the year 2050. Green walls can absorb heated gas in the air, lower both indoor and outdoor temperature, providing a healthier indoor air quality as well as a more beautiful space. For urban areas, this is undoubtedly the best solution for the Heat Island Effect.
Besides Climate Change, Plastic Pollution in the seas is becoming an increasingly alarming situation. Debris originating from land-based uses, especially single-use plastics such as bags, bottles, drinking straws etc. can be found in areas very far from their point of use, carried to the seas and oceans by water streams and wind, and then transported in very remote places by sea currents. More importantly, plastic bottles used for drinking water and soda drinks are not included in the ban. This leaves a massive annual production of plastic bottles, which, if not collected and disposed of properly, will end up in the oceans and beaches, with devastating effects on habitats and the environment.
Babylon Gardens, by using approximately 18 bottles per m2 of installed Green Wall, every 1.000m2 of Green Wall absorbs 18.000 plastic bottles. In this way it will keep them there for decades, offering a great relief from tons of plastic that could end up in the ocean and in coastal marine ecosystems.
Learning transferred to other parties
Our technology is needed for every European and Mediterranean city as urbanization and climate change call for new solutions to maintain and improve the quality of life in our cities. Public green spaces have a positive effect on biodiversity, climate, wellness and air quality. This impact ensures that cities are becoming better places to live and work.
At the moment, green walls companies use complicated, expensive module systems that render green walls by extension elitist, exorbitant in price and used sparingly for aesthetic purposes in public and private spaces.
However, our technology addresses these issues, making green walls economical, easy to install and used not only for aesthetic purposes but also and most importantly to address real-life pressing social issues, such as climate change mitigation, ending poverty, contributing to jobs creation and skills acquisition, promoting social inclusion of vulnerable groups through urban, green and sustainable farming, and reusing/upcycling large amounts of plastic.