Buildings Made of “Moss-Growing Concrete” Could Remove More CO2 and Air Pollution than Thousands of Trees (while emitting fresh oxygen).

Spanish researchers have developed a porous “living concrete” that acts like soil, growing moss, lichens and fungi that could turn city buildings into giant air purifiers.

It’s composed of three layers. The innermost layer waterproofs the building against moisture damage.

The middle layer is the biological, water-absorbing layer, which supports colonization of organisms like moss, lichen, and fungi.

The outer layer is a coating with a reverse waterproofing that allows water to seep in but not out.

The vegetation also insulates the building, helping regulate indoor temperatures and further cutting back on emissions from air-conditioners and heaters.

A moss-growing bench in London alone does the work of 275 trees, imagine what a whole building made of the stuff can do.

That’s good news for crowded cities that unfortunately don’t have room for large groves of trees.

Although vertical gardens, or “green walls,” have been popular for two decades, only 60 buildings worldwide have them because complicated structural engineering is required to attach plants and soil to the building.

[returntonow.net]