Created as part of the Public Realm works, the green walls are a key part of the new-look Canal Walk. They cover the south side of the bridge that connects the Brunel Plaza with the Brunel Arcade and the north side of the vehicle bridge. They are watered using rainwater from the David Murray John tower via a holding tank on the Brunel Centre trucking deck.

Green walls are living, planted structures that continuously change and evolve as the plants grow and mature within them. This means that large vertical faces on the sides of buildings and other structures become a tapestry of plant communities, providing lush, colourful facades. As well as spectacular visual appeal the walls also offer sound-absorption and carbon reduction benefits, making them a popular ecological counterpoint to modern construction developments. Green walls have been installed at the Westfield Shopping Centre at Shepherd’s Bush, west London and are becoming popular additions to offices and private residences.

Aldingbourne Nurseries now ANS Europe Ltd, the Chichester-based producer of living walls and green roofs, regeneration consultants, Nicholas Pearson Associates and consulting engineers, Arup have worked together to create a design that reflects Canal Walk’s historical use as a waterside landscape. The wall will have an immediate impact as the plants will be fully established prior to installation.

Among the 25 varieties of plants featured are:

• tall plants such as Dryopteris
• medium height Hosta Hallton,
• low growing Vinca Minor ACBA
• red and purple flowered Cyrtomium fotunei
• medium height, blue and purple flowered Viola Queen Charlotte 

As a result, the form, colour and texture of the plant species, which are arranged in naturalistic swathes and patterns, will provide interest every month of the year. Violas, for example, flower in early spring, while the hostas flower in early summer, its leaves remaining colourful throughout autumn. The green walls will also benefit from sustainable rainwater harvesting techniques to keep the plants irrigated all year round.

The installation of the green walls is part of the project to rejuvenate the area of Swindon town centre that includes the length of Regent Street from Regent Circus to Jubilee Square and its side-streets.