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A discerning plant, moss favors permanently moist environments and eschews direct sunlight. Along the Rhine River, it mostly thrives in areas where water levels alternately rise and fall. Utilizing Bonn University’s professional expertise on moss, the study of which is collectively known as bryology, it became possible to plant small patches of moss on a moistened basalt wall. The horizontal gaps along the nine meter high and forty meter long wall allow the moss to strike roots, lending the facade a charming jazzy note. It is at these gaps, sprinkled with rain water, that the “green coat” grows first. Industrial expanded metal was used on those facades that face away from the river, while Mendig basalt was used on the side facing it. The facade design itself reflects both urban development sides of the site: the surroundings of the plot at St.-Leonardus-Strasse are characterized on the one side by rather nondescript industrial and commercial buildings, and on the other by the enticing meadow landscape of the Rhine River banks. Here, in this conventional-looking commercial area, a handsome facade has been built. Basalt was chosen since the walls along the river promenade have traditionally been constructed out of this dark stone. The expanded metal used on the rear facility has a facade shaped like a light envelope, encasing the different types of equipment inside, and dispensing with a weather shield.
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