An impressive living wall

McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Paris-Giverny will be our most sustainable centre yet. Built according to ‘Excellent’ High Environmental Quality (HQE) standards, the centre has been designed as a green setting for an even more pleasant shopping experience.
Upon arrival at the entrance of our open-air designer outlet, visitors will be immersed in a world of greenery; the centre has a footprint of only 35% on the 10 hectares of land it is built on, with the remaining 65% left natural and free of any construction.
Whichever entrance you use to start your shopping journey, you will be able to enjoy the magnificent living walls imagined by Patrick Blanc. Two major spaces have been specially designed by the internationally renowned botanist: the east entrance wall, which serves our electric parking area equipped with 120 charging terminals, and the 1,000 sq m walls of the central ellipse, which will be entirely covered with plants.

This living wall will augment the impressive windows of the central area of the centre, with vegetation dressing the 90m long and 11m high wall space for a full immersion in nature.

Introducing these living walls at McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Paris-Giverny, in addition to our 20,000 sq m of green roofs, is not just for design purposes. No other cladding material can provide the following combined benefits:

• Removal of air pollutants
• Reduction of urban temperatures
• Thermal benefits to buildings
• Improved biodiversity
• Rain water drainage
• Reduction of noise
• Mental health benefits, including an improved sense of well-being

Biotecture have worked on some of the greatest living walls in the UK, including No. 1 Court at The All England Lawn Tennis Club at Wimbledon, and Anthropologie’s Flagship store on Regent Street in London. Following the success of the living walls installed at McArthurGlen’s Ashford Designer Outlet in Kent, Biotecture were appointed to design the planned 1,000 sq m at Designer Outlet Paris-Giverny.

Their design and project management team have been working closely with us to ensure the living walls are seamlessly integrated into the design of the centre. This has included careful layout of the living wall panels to compliment the gently curved facades and curved window openings.

A crucial part of the design process for the living wall was the planting selection and planting design. Patrick Blanc has chosen the plant palette for the project, picking 40 different species including flowering plants such as Erysium, Lavandula, and Jasminum to create an impressive seasonal display across the living wall.

Each 600 mm x 450 mm BioPanel includes 16 plants, allowing Biotecture to pack in 60 plants per square metre. Their design team have translated Patrick Blanc’s concept into a planting diagram which is carefully followed by our nursery and install teams to bring the concept to life. Biotecture’s hydroponic living walls are ‘pre-grown’ into their patented BioPanel modular panels at their dedicated nursery facility, where they have over 3,000 sq m of purpose-built vertical racks.

Their nursery team is currently busy planting the over 1,000 sq m of BioPanel for the project in phases, and the full-time team of horticulturists will nurture the plants until they are ready to be installed later in the year.

Quote from Richard Sabin, Biotecture’s Managing Director:
“It’s a pleasure to be working on another amazing project with McArthurGlen. They are a visionary client and share our ambition to make the world a greener place! We have been working on the project since October 2021 and we are enjoying collaborating with the design and construction teams as well as the living wall pioneer Patrick Blanc. I’m excited to see installation start onsite.”