Get inspired with 4 imposing indoor vegetalization projects

Plants bring offices, shopping malls and hotels alive! And EILO is a mover. Every two years, the European Interior Landscaping Organisation selects the most beautiful indoor vegetalization projects in 15 different countries for the “EILO Best Project Awards”. Below we list and analyze the first prize winners in 2021.

EILO Best Project awards in 2021

Artificial Green and Public Prize category: the gourmet restaurant

A gourmet restaurant in a former swimming pool - incongruous, to say the least! Under its splendid vegetalized canopy, the exceptional Les Jardins d'Épicure (The Gardens of Epicurus) hotel hosts its guests in a genuine bosky bower restaurant. This roof was designed by GreenMood (Belgium), stabilized plants specialists which are both good-looking and soundproof.

A customized solution made from Cladonia Stellaris lichen, which grows up in arctic and subarctic regions. The lichen is permanently stabilized by processing with glycerin and food coloring which has the great advantage of requiring no maintenance or watering.

Stand-Alone category: urban tree on every floor

Landscape architects Pflanzen Forum (Germany) won first prize for the most beautiful stand-alone project for its urban jungle “Room of the Tree.” Nestled in the Lindley Lindenberg design hotel, this tree drawn together with Aberja Studio architects is the central feature which makes guests look upwards towards the ceiling.

This suspended indoor plant wall incorporates various species of monsteras, begonias, chlorophytums and philodendrons. Elegantly picked out by LED lighting, these plants provide a green lung inside the building and reveal its architectural features. And the added benefit? Its irrigation system directly connected to the hotel drains.

Vertical Green Category: the titanic plant wall

It would almost make you feel giddy! The immense plant wall by the Koninklijke Ginkel Groep (Netherlands) really stands out in the middle of the European Medicines Agency in Amsterdam. 60 meters high and 21 meters wide, it features 52,608 plants sublimated by natural stone.

It is a real indoor plant puzzle drawn by OKRA Landscaping Architects which carried out this meticulous work to create a fantastic 3D effect, giving the impression of a ribbon wound around the building. This masterpiece is irrigated completely automatically via sensors which measure various parameters like root humidity. As a bonus, lighting which evolves hour by hour transforms the ambience. Amazing!

Interior Green Category: the oasis in the sky

Difficult to choose between the 25 plant projects presented in this category! However the second Koninklijke Ginkel Groep project won first prize with a splendid indoor tropical garden, designed by MOSS, the landscape gardener. The objective: to benefit from green urbanism to significantly improve the workers’ lives.

In the center of Utrecht, this 23-floor office building shelters a 500sq.m. oasis halfway up, which is why it is called Central Park. 50 trees, shrubs and 1,500 plants recreate this tropical atmosphere, reinforced by a true waterway around which visitors can saunter on a timber deck. The oasis relaxes the mind and encourages encounters

Plants are insinuating their way into all kinds of structures. The growing interest in biophilic design is much more than a trend winning EILO Best Project Awards: it is a response to air pollution, stress and noise. Plants are also said to improve productivity and creativity!

Learn the basics of biophilic design

© Photos credits: EILO