Living material as a building façade: The effect of moss growth toward mechanical performance on pre-vegetated concrete panels

Abstract

The increasing construction of tall buildings in Indonesia has led to the reduction of green areas and the increase use of building materials such as concrete panels. This research sees the potential of building façades created by using concrete panels as media for growing plants to replace those green areas that have decreased. The plants that are used in this research are selected based on the climatic conditions of tropical countries in Indonesia. The plants that are chosen are fast growing, require less maintenance, and are considered to be suitable for cementitious materials. A previous study has found that bryophyte moss meets those criteria. This research compares the performance of pre-vegetated and non-pre-vegetated concrete panels by investigating compressive strength through laboratory experiments. Three mixes of concrete, three moss species, and three concrete surfaces were examined with 9 panels, 27 cube samples, and 9 cube controls. The study contributes to a growing body of research on the sustainability of building façades in which further investigation is needed.