Prototype green facade tested at The Green Village

What happens when a façade becomes a living system?

Cities face real pressure: heat stress, biodiversity loss, flooding. Greenery is part of the answer — but ground space is scarce. The façade is one of the largest underused surfaces in the urban environment.

Leafy develops modular, bio-based green façade systems that bring greenery to cities without needing extra space. At the Dreamhûs living lab in The Green Village (Delft), an early version of their system — built from Accoya wood — has been in place for some time.

This pilot adds a second design.

A new iteration: bamboo fibre biocomposite Together with Bambooder Biobased Fibers and NPSP, Leafy developed a second version of the system. The structure is now made from bamboo fibre biocomposite. It's combined with an optimised substrate and an updated flora and fauna analysis for better plant selection.

The result is one integrated panel: structure, planting, substrate, and irrigation in a single piece.

What's being tested With this setup, Leafy is testing three things in parallel: the durability of the bamboo fibre biocomposite under real outdoor conditions, the performance of the self-regulating irrigation system, and the latest iteration of the substrate.

For NPSP, the focus is on the material side. How does the biocomposite behave when it's not isolated, but part of a living system that holds soil, water and plants continuously?

The winter test From day one, the panels were exposed to a full Dutch winter: frost, rain, continuous moisture. On top of that, constant contact with substrate and water from the green system itself.

After months outside:

• No visible degradation
• No structural issues
• No compromises in performance

Why this matters Material validation doesn't end in the lab. It ends when the material performs in the system it's actually used in. This pilot confirms that bio-composites hold up — also when they carry more than just weather.

Next The panels stay in place through summer. UV, heat, dry periods. Same approach: test in context, not in isolation.

This pilot is co-funded through the Dutch MIT programme (SME Innovation Stimulus for Regions and Top Sectors).