2006 – Mobilane’s first green facade in Monaco
In 2002, Mobilane was invited to participate in the Floriade with the theme “The Green City. Here different landscapes – cultural landscape, meadow landscape, forest landscape and water landscape – showed how green could be integrated into urban environments. Mobilane was commissioned to fully clad a stacked exhibition area with their green screens, bringing greenery and public space together.
Although this was a new challenge, Mobilane decided to take on the project. The team provisionally placed some aluminum containers into which the green screens were placed, complete with a watering system. To fully green the exhibition space, two layers of 2-meter-high hedges were stacked on top of each other. This innovative concept greatly impressed visitors and demonstrated the potential of vertical greenery in urban applications.
First green facade in Monaco
The success at Floriade did not go unnoticed. A few years later, Mobilane was approached by a foreign architect who remembered the Floriade project. He had been commissioned to green a parking garage in Monaco. Mobilane seized the opportunity, but first took a year to further develop and test the system.
For the project, the hedges were placed in special containers and fitted with an integrated irrigation system. These bins were then installed on the facade of the parking garage. The logistics proved to be a major challenge: trucks were only allowed to drive in the center of Monaco on a limited basis. A Mobilane team member had to wait for the trucks at the border and guide them through narrow streets. Moreover, the work had to be done with strict time constraints, as the Formula One race was taking place that same weekend. Avenue Princesse Grace was specially cordoned off in order to get the materials to site on time. Despite these challenges, the project was successfully completed. The greening parking garage became a striking and innovative example of urban greening.
From Monaco to global greening
The green facade in Monaco marked a milestone for Mobilane. The project led to the development of WallPlanter, the company’s second official product. The Monaco installation acted as a strong reference, leading Mobilane to receive more and more foreign orders for greening projects.
With this first green facade, Mobilane once again proved its innovative strength and its ability to tackle and successfully complete complex projects. This project laid the foundation for a new standard in urban greening.