Member - Respyre

Currently we experience a worldwide trend of urbanization, with cities growing and population densities increasing the space for flora and fauna shrinks. The loss of vegetation in and around our living environments pose problems for our health, comfort and safety, and for the wellbeing of our environment. Respyre, a Dutch company, has developed solution that can counteract problems caused by urbanization like the urban heat island effect, flooding, bad air quality and more. Respyre aims to enable cities to breathe by incorporating more vegetation into the city. The company has designed an innovative bioreceptive concrete, with it moss can purposefully be grown on any horizontal and vertical surface in urban areas. The innovation turns unused surfaces into opportunities to bring nature into the city in an easy, affordable and circular way, since recycled concrete aggregates and natural products are used. The incorporation of nature in our cities has many advantages, but the type of vegetation that is incorporated is of great importance. Moss is a great choice, as it is able to provide the benefits we seek. Moss is able to; remove pollutants from water and air, absorb and retain excess water, increase biodiversity, reduce noise pollution, provide cooling and can do even more. Additionally, the purposeful incorporation of moss can be very pleasing aesthetically. The product can be sprayed or plastered on - application to existing structures extends the lifetime of the construction as it is protected against weathering and detoriation - and can also be used to produce prefab elements. The attributes of moss and the benefits it provides align with the vision of Respyre, which is to make our urban environments more healthy and sustainable. Our bioreceptive has been successfully demonstrated in the lab and currently a variety of demonstrator projects are running for validation in actual user environments. Additionally, new research is being set up to be able to quantify the beneficial attributes of moss on the urban environment. Respyre sprouted from research at the Delft University of Technology. Its team is passionate and eager to bring a positive impact to our environment.