Turin

Site: Largest metropolitan area (by extension) in Italy, ~2.3 M inhabitants.

Situation: The pilot implementation is currently underway and close to completion. The subsequent steps include selecting the species to populate the green wall and determining the preferred system for reusing the collected water.

The research delves into the integration of green walls and sustainable water treatment technologies to optimize their advantages while addressing inherent limitations. Key aspects that can inform future implementations include pre- and post-treatment water quality to assess viable reuse options, cost-effectiveness relative to system scale, and social related considerations like aesthetic perception and educational value for fostering awareness.

Solution: The green wall is installed in the cultural centre Cecchi Point (“House of the quartier” www.cecchipoint.it/), measures 2m x 3.6m in height,  treats up to 0.5 m3/d of GW collected from four sinks in the community center toilets and reuses the treated water for irrigation of small urban farms currently present, recreated in some desks used in the past for book markets and now recycled for environmental educational activities purposes. Before being treated by the green wall, the water passes through a degreaser tank to remove suspended materials. Before being reused, it passes through a UV lamp to ensure the safety of the water in case any center customer comes in contact with it. Being installed in a the cultural centre Cecchi Point, the installation has an incredibly high potential in terms of possible future participative processes related to NbS and sustainable water management.