Moss-friendly concrete makes buildings feel more natural

Creating greener cities with Respyre’s concrete would provide cleaner air and reduce heating and cooling costs for building owners

Spotted: The greying of the world’s green spaces is cause for concern – as urban areas and their concrete infrastructures expand, less and less natural space is left for even small pockets of biodiversity in cities. Rather than live with great swathes of grey concrete in public spaces, Dutch material science company Respyre wants to turn those buildings green.  

With a proprietary mix of recycled concrete aggregates, other waste streams, natural acids, and nutrients, Respyre produces bioreceptive concrete that provides the perfect home for moss. Moss walls clean the surrounding air, provide an aesthetically pleasing green space, reduce noise pollution, and reduce a building’s heating and cooling costs. Respyre’s concrete contains the perfect mix of porosity, nutrients, and water retainment to support the growth of moss. 

Moss does not require an anchoring system, nor does it grow roots, making it the ideal plant for a green wall. To make it easy to implement, Respyre’s concrete is available in pourable form for on-site application, as well as prefabricated pieces or as a plaster solution. All versions support moss, with most structures being completely covered within a few months. The moss can also be grafted directly to a wall, which produces the fastest growth. 

With many varieties of moss available, it is possible to find a successful match for almost any location, and Respyre’s team works closely with designers and builders to match the type of moss to the local conditions.  

Other methods of greening built environments that Springwise has spotted include 3D printing with soil, and using green roofs to cool city spaces and reduce water runoff.

Written By: Keely Khoury