June vs. September: How did the LIKO-Street green facade handle the hot summer?
When we opened the new LIKO-Street hall in June, the plants on the façade had only just been installed, and the living system was at the very start of its development. The following weeks brought very hot and dry weather, which put considerable strain on vegetation across South Moravia.
So how does the facade look after its first summer?
Not just still green, but denser and fuller
Current photos from September show that the vegetation stayed healthy through the hot summer and grew significantly during its first months. The individual plants are gradually covering the façade surface and forming an increasingly dense green layer.
For green facades, development over time is what matters most. The result is not just how the facade looks on the day construction is completed. What counts is how the whole system performs over the following months and years, and how the plants respond to the specific conditions of the building.
A whole system behind the green facade
A green facade that works in the long term is more than a set of plants mounted on a structure. The key factors are the right plant selection, the irrigation method, regular maintenance, and a design adapted to the orientation and conditions of the specific building.
These factors help the vegetation cope with periods of high temperatures while allowing it to keep growing and gradually change the character of the entire facade.
Greenery also helps prevent overheating
Vegetation also has a practical function on a building. The plants shade the façade surface from direct sunlight and, through evapotranspiration (the evaporation of water), help cool their immediate surroundings.
A green façade is therefore not just an architectural feature that changes how a building looks. It is part of a solution that works with the microclimate of the building and its surroundings.
It doesn't end at handover
The development of the new LIKO-Street hall's façade from June to September clearly shows one of the main characteristics of living façades: their appearance is not final at the moment of completion.
Quite the opposite.
A green façade is not finished when we hand it over. That is when it starts to grow.
