Exterior living wall
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Green roof
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Victoria Way Car Park
Woking’s multi-storey car park improves air quality and biodiversity in the town centre with a living wall and two green roofs.
Background
Woking Borough Council’s green vision
With sustainable schemes gaining prevalence — and public support — across Greater London, Woking Borough Council was inspired to follow the capital’s lead with its own sustainability-led development initiative. The Council’s goals included:
- Improving air quality
- Increasing biodiversity
- Reducing Woking’s carbon footprint
The Council set its sights on a cleaner, greener town centre and identified key locations to undergo greening. Duke’s Court was one such location. Another was Victoria Way Car Park, a 50,000 ft² multi-storey concrete car park beside the new Hilton Hotel.
Both a living wall and green roof were planned for the multi-storey car park to support the town’s sustainability goals and improve the view for hotel guests. The architects developed the scheme and contacted a number of living wall providers with experience in the public sector, including Viritopia.
After drawing up plans and visuals, we were invited to present our proposal to the Council and local community. Our horticultural knowledge, appreciation for their vision, and reputation for product longevity gave the Council and the Mayor confidence that Viritopia was the right team for the job. They signed off on our appointment to the project, and we got to work.
The car park’s design involved planting across all 11 storeys, as well as green roofs on levels 10 and 11. With varying degrees of sunlight, shade, and wind across the development, we designed distinct plant palettes that could thrive in different sets of conditions.
Our living wall and green roof plant palettes were rooted in the project’s goals:
- Biodiversity: Our designers focused on plants that were native to the area. Native plants offer food sources and habitat for local wildlife. Using soil rather than hydroponics was also key, as it provides habitat for burrowing insects.
- Air purification: We chose species with qualities that improve air purification, such as woody stems, hairy stems, and leaves with large surface areas. Succulents were used on the roof. We also included plants that absorb mold spores.
- Aesthetics: On the lower-level green roof, we integrated large plants — trees and shrubs — to screen the cars at that level from the hotel’s view. For the higher roof on level 11, we designed a custom basket weave pattern using plants. The living wall’s plant species soften the overall appearance of the building and add texture.
Green roof strategy
Two types of green roofs — and one blue
As the roofs were different in shape and size, they required unique approaches. We designed an 800m² intensive green roof on level 10 and 3,500m² extensive green roof on level 11.
Intensive green roofs have deeper substrate (soil). With more room for roots to grow, they support a wider variety of plants, enabling a greater ecological impact. But these types of green roofs are heavier and require special consideration. We “mounded” this roof on level 10, with soil depth ranging from 800mm at the centre to 150mm at the perimeter.
Extensive green roofs are shallower, and therefore weigh less. They require plants that don’t need as much soil to grow. We used our GrufeKit green roof system and grew bespoke sedum for the basket weave — selecting a handful of sedum varieties to create a clear pattern. One weave has pink and red flowers, while the other has white and yellow flowers.
The finishing touch on the project was a blue roof, which:
- Harvests rainwater to irrigate the car park’s green infrastructure (improving water efficiency and reducing costs)
- Minimises stormwater runoff (reducing the risk of flooding)
As of 2025, sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) like this blue roof are now the national standard for new developments. Victoria Way’s car park was ahead of the game. Viritopia’s sustainability consultants stay up-to-date on changes in the space to ensure new builds are set up for long-term performance.
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Impact
A better Woking for all who inhabit it
The combined approach of a living wall and green roofs on Victoria Way’s multi-storey car park will have long-term environmental benefits for the local community, wildlife, and the planet. Greening strengthened Woking’s connection to London and its residents' connection to nature.
- Carbon extraction The car park’s living wall absorbs an estimated 3.4 tonnes of CO2 per year.
- Oxygen production Foliage produces oxygen, improving air quality around the car park.
- Biodiversity increase Birds enjoy nesting in the living wall, and the flowers attract pollinating insects.
- Stormwater mitigation The sedum and blue roof capture rainwater and reduce flood risk.
- Woking pride The community is proud of their new town centre and what it represents.
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Victoria Way Car Park
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Woking, United Kingdom
Project gallery
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