Living wall for Alpine Villages

Water scarcity has become one of the most pressing global challenges. Climate change is exacerbating this stress, especially in very sensitive areas, such as mountain environment. In this framework, human activities are play an important role in adding anthropic pressure and instability, due to resident depopulation coupled with overtourism phenomena. In this framework, Nature-based Solutions (NBS) can provide multiple benefits in terms of resource management and biodiversity preservation. This thesis aims to develop a customizable design for a stand-alone living wall for greywater (i.e. domestic wastewater excluding toilet flush) treatment purposes. The designed structure integrates with the built environment and meet both architectural and ecological requirements. After a state of the art and regulatory framework analysis, the available guidelines for living walls with treatment purposes have been considered. The design methodology identify the needs and functional requirements, take inspiration from existing technology and natural shapes and then the specific project is developed. Materials and modularity are also addressed, to present a scalable solution. The result of the design project is the AquaBioMatrix: a stand-alone modular living wall systems that integrate greywater treatment functions with renewable energy sources and self-sufficient elements. The proposed design opens the possibility to be prototyped and tested in mountain environment, especially on touristic facilities. At the same time, further works should focus on the optimisation of building retrofitting.