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Green Roofs for Buses Bring the Urban Environment Closer to Nature

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Phyto-Kinetic-537x331Landscape artist Marc Granen designed the ultimate solution to the lack of green areas in urban environments. The so-called “Phyto Kinetic” are green roofs for buses.

If mounted on top of public transport vehicles, these roofs can contribute  to the amount of air-purifying green spaces, while at the same time serving their purpose to the community.

The moving garden is suitable for all shapes of buses. Instead of heavy soil, the design uses thin hydroponic foam, which is much lighter and much easier to modify into a desired shape without being broken or cracked. To keep the system irrigated, Granen decided to make use of the waste water from the air-conditioning system, which is collected and recycled.  Of course, the option of manual watering is also there in case the air-conditioning is not working.

And finally, in order to make sure the green roof stays in place while the bus moves, Granen fitted a micro-perforated stainless steel bands, which are fixed using an ultra-light protective mesh. The designer claims that this system is strong enough to keep the planted surface attached to the roof even if the bus turns over in an accident.

A prototype bus, equipped with a Phyto Kinetic garden, is already operating in Girona, Spain, taking tourists to and from a nature reserve and camping facility. The new buses might also be seen in the city of Barcelona, where an auto company has expressed an interest in funding the initiative.

In the near future, Granen sees different city buses having their own landscape with certain grasses or herbs, providing unique aroma to each individual bus line.

The inventor speaks very highly of his design, not only as a solution to boost the number of green areas in cities, but also as a mean to integrate nature into the busy urban lifestyle.

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1 COMMENT

  1. As per the pollution in urban areas, This Green roof technology should definitely be used as it can contribute to the amount of air purifying spaces.

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