Old tobacco factory to become Europe’s biggest vertical garden

With over 22,000 individual plants and 560 square metres of greenery, the factory will become Europe’s largest indoor vertical garden

Spotted: A disused tobacco factory in Santander, Spain is in the process of being renovated into a unique community centre. With over 22,000 individual plants and 560 square metres of greenery, it will become Europe’s largest vertical garden. 

The project, inspired by the lush textures of Jackson Pollock’s work, is a collaboration between FDA Architects and Urban Therapy, a startup from the University of Seville.

Whilst Spain is already host to many majestic gardens, the pandemic has invited the opportunity to reinvent them. 

“I think the pandemic has forced us to rethink our immediate surroundings, what they are, what they look like, and we have noticed what’s missing in our urban landscape, that the connection with nature is gone”, says architect Luis Fernandez del Arco.

A glass atrium will allow plants to soak in the abundant Spanish sun, with automatic LED lights for greyer days.  

The garden will also contain technology to regulate everything from temperature to water input and a drainage system to recycle and reuse any surplus water.