MOUSS: Urban rehabilitation, vertical gardens and their potential as evaporative coolers

The rapid growth of cities over the world is coupled with reductions in vegetation and an increase in the urban heat island effect, which in turn leads to an increased electricity demand for cooling buildings. Additionally, the changing requirements of society mean that buildings once designated for productive actions are adapted for human occupation. Overall it can be said that vertical greenery has a key role to play in this, where in addition to psychological benefits, buildings with vertical greenery have been shown to gain in terms of cooling and air purification. Additionally however, the experimental work presented here shows a strong potential for vertical gardens to be activated as evaporative coolers, where drawing air through the space behind the substrate and the surface onto which the garden is attached shows particular promise.