The Spine, the Northern home of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) and new meetings and events venue Spaces at The Spine, has won a Plants@Work award for its biophilic installations created by Urban Planters.
Plants are one of the key biophilic elements within The Spine, far from covering a purely aesthetic role, the venue’s plant installations contribute to establish the venue as one of the healthiest buildings in the world in several ways.
The plants in The Spine produce oxygen and improve air quality within the building, in line with the requirements to achieve WELL Platinum. They also create a happy and calm environment, helping visitors, guests and colleagues to connect with nature every day and reduce stress levels.
Urban Planter’s plant installations have been awarded two golds at the prestigious Plants@work awards. The Plants@work Awards were introduced in 2004 to celebrate interior landscape excellence. The Spine’s GSky living walls and tropical forests won Best Project 2021: Design & Installation, and were later awarded Gold Leaf for Design & Installation over £10,000.
Located by the reception area on the ground floor, the GSky living walls mimic the striking Voronoi pattern on the façade of The Spine. Voronoi patterns are extremely common in nature, and can be found in leaves, cells, human skin and animal fur. RCP’s architects used a mixture of specimens to achieve a variety of shades and textures.
Spaces at The Spine’s Head of Commercial Events, Natacha Allen, says: “We are delighted to win this prestigious award for our biophilic installations created by Urban Planters. Planting always was a key part of the very design of the building, instead of a later addition.
“Research shows that introducing plants in our indoor environment can lead to a series of benefits for both our physical and psychological wellbeing. For example, plants have been proven to reduce stress and anxiety while also enhancing cognitive, creative and problem-solving skills, and concentration and productivity.
“Combined with the direct access to natural light, filtered water and fresh, purified air, the presence of indoor planting makes The Spine the perfect location to host conferences, meetings, training days and exams.”