Green roofed buses

Barcelona is home to the first bus with a garden on top. It’s called PhytoKinetic and it is a project by Spanish landscape artist Marc Grañén. The first vehicles are already circulating in Cataluña and various municipalities- Chicago, New York, Amsterdam, London, Berlin– are interested  in installing the eco-friendly  bus in their cities.

The buses, that are public transport vehicles, contribute to environmental protection, reducing Co² emissions: every roof absorbs 25 kilos of carbon oxide, and creates green spaces on wheels. Barcelona has 1000 buses. Each one has a 20m² roof, therefore  this  system could create 20,000 square meters of green space in the city. 

PhytoKinetic is a pioneering roof garden system delivering various benefits, such as: it contributes to the growth of the city’s ecological value, it promotes teaching and educational values of sustainability, and promotes environmental awareness.  

How does Phytokinetic work in practice? It uses a lightweight hydroponic foam rather than regular soil, and significantly reduces the overall weight of the green roof.  Phytokinetic, which uses condensation from the bus’ air conditioning system to water the roof,  works as a thermal insulator  and during the summer it lowers the temperature of  up to 3.5 degrees, with subsequent air conditioning saving.  

Phytokinetic is a prototype project and Grañén plans to install it in other cities in Spain and abroad.