Extreme heatwaves during the summer are a growing challenge for people living in Europe. Cities are especially affected and often warmer than rural areas. This is caused by dense building development and a lack of green spaces in urban areas. In order to increase the amount of green spaces in cities quickly and in efficiently, experts from the fields of science, technology, the environment, as well as from local politics are focussing on a new type of facade greening: VertiKKA - the vertical climate purification system. 

Together with six project participants from universities, science and the industry, the innovative collaborative project is currently being implemented and is in the process of further development in Weimar. »Facade greening provides numerous benefits to the urban microclimate: It reduces heat, removes pollutants from the air, and creates new habitats for animals and insects. Plants that are located in densely developed areas often suffer from overheating and a lack of water«, explains Prof. Silvio Beier, Head of the Department of Urban Water Management and Technologies for Urban Material Flow Utilization. This is where the VertiKKA project comes in.

Grey Water from Weimar

The system generates energy through suspended, adjustable photovoltaic element.  The elements also provide protection for the plants from heat, heavy rain or wind during extreme weather events. Grey water —that is to say slightly contaminated waste water from showering, bathing, hand washing, laundry or kitchen use — is used to irrigate the façade greenery. The grey water for the test site in Weimar is collected from a residential building and transported to the site a few times a week. The wastewater from the building where the VertiKKA is installed is planned to be used for future installations.

»The grey water is filtered and provides the plants with nutrients, meaning there is no need to use drinking water. The ambient air is cooled through the evaporation process«, explains Gloria Kohlhepp, M. Sc., who is studying the water management aspects of the project as part of Prof. Beier’s team. The VertiKKA prototype will be tested within a »Reallabor« starting in September 2024. The substrate’s purification performance in the treatment of grey water and plant health is one of the factors being analysed. In addition, the grey water evaporation rate and the impact on the immediate outdoor microclimate (air temperature and humidity), as well as the risk of condensation and heat transfer through the exterior wall, are also being investigated. The team from the Building Physics Department, including Prof. Conrad Völker, Dr.-Ing. Hayder Alsaad and Maria Hartmann, M. Sc., are working on these topics.  

The research consortium includes partners from Björnsen Beratende Ingenieure GmbH in Leonberg, the Department of Urban Water Management and Technologies for Urban Material Flow Utilization (b. Is Technologies) and the Department of Building Physics at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, the Institut für ZukunftsEnergie- und Stoffstromsysteme (IZES gGmbH) from Saarbrücken, the Institut für Automation und Kommunikation e.V. (ifak) from Magdeburg, and the Solyco Solar AG from Berlin.

VertiKKA – die vertikale Klima-Klär-Anlage 
Grand Opening Ceremony 
5 September, from 4 pm
b.is-Technikum, Coudraystr. 10, 99423 Weimar

Media representatives are warmly invited to attend the event.

Contact
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Silvio Beier
Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Phone: +49 (0) 36 43 / 58 46 58
E-mail: silvio.beier[at]uni-weimar.de

Dorothee Siemer
IZES gGmbH
Phone: +49 (0) 681/844 972 63
E-mail: siemer[at]izes.de  

For more information on the project, visit:
www.vertikka.de  
Instagram: @vertikka_fassade