Germany’s largest moss façade1. Over 1,600 square metres, Neu-Ulm.
A multi-storey car park and an office block on the new IT campus — clad in real moss from the Oppach manufactory. No watering required. No maintenance hassle. With a measurable impact.
The project in figures
- area of moss
- 1,635.49 m² (measurement)
- Buildings
- Multi-storey car park with around 250 parking spaces and an office block
- Location
- IT Campus Neu-Ulm, next to the Ratiopharm Arena
- Client
- Bechtle AG
- Architecture
- KREOR Südwest GmbH, Neckarsulm
- Manufacturing
- MOOSMOOS Manufactory, Oppach in Oberlausitz
- Completion
- September 2026
- Assembly
- Our own team, working by hand on the scaffolding
- Operation
- Maintenance contract and long-term warranty agreed
How do you build a multi-storey car park? a flagship?
A multi-storey car park on a prominent corner, right next to a busy junction and opposite an events hall: thousands of people see what stands there every day. The client and the city did not want an exposed concrete wall at this location, but rather a landscaped, green solution.
The requirement was thus clearly defined — and more challenging than it sounds: permanently green, without any irrigation systems in the building, without ongoing maintenance across six car park decks, and economically viable over many years rather than just on opening day. A living façade would have meant pipework, pumps, a nutrient supply and regular pruning — a permanent operational cost on an open car park deck at this height.
Bechtle AG therefore opted for preserved moss: real nature on the façade, but without the maintenance that real nature would otherwise require.
Photographs taken after completion, September 2026.
No grid, but structure
From a distance, the area looks like a continuous green strip. From two metres away, you can see what it is made of: moss, laid by hand, strip by strip.
Six levels, typeset by hand
For weeks, the car park was covered in scaffolding. Each section was fitted to the scaffolding and secured — which explains the undulating surface, where no grid pattern of slabs is visible.
Photographs taken during installation, summer 2026.
Real moss on the external façade — This is how it works.
The material
We use genuine, preserved moss sourced from Scandinavia. The moss is processed and dyed in-house in Oppach — which is why the shade of green for a project can be customised, rather than selected from a standard colour range. The moss is pre-treated to prevent rot before it is applied to the façade.
Moisture balance
No artificial irrigation — not a single drop. The moss makes use of what is already there: atmospheric humidity and rainfall. In doing so, it stores several litres of water per square metre and releases it into the environment on hot days, providing evaporative cooling. Over an area of this size, this makes a noticeable contribution to the urban climate at a sealed-off junction.
The effect
The soft, open-pored structure absorbs sound — tested in accordance with DIN EN ISO 354. In a busy traffic environment, this is not a side effect but a key benefit: whatever the façade absorbs, it does not reflect back into the street. Fine particulate matter settles on the surface and is washed away by the rain.
Assembly
The cladding is manufactured in prefabricated elements and fixed to the support system. It is laid by hand directly onto the framework: every metre is set by hand to give the surface its undulating, organic texture — no grid pattern, no visible joints. Across six levels and the entire length of the building, this is craftsmanship, not mass production.
The business
A maintenance contract and a long-term warranty have been agreed for the project. This means that, rather than a maintenance risk, there is a predictable item in the operating budget — which was at least as important to the decision as the visual aspect.
For planners and those drawing up tenders
Technical specifications, tender documents, a test report in accordance with DIN EN ISO 354 and reference projects are available as part of the design package.
We are creating Germany’s largest exterior moss façade here […].
Bernd Dollmann, KREOR Südwest GmbH, Neckarsulm
Quoted from *Südwest Presse*, 11 September 2026: "Combating the summer heat: Germany’s largest moss façade is being built at the new multi-storey car park in Neu-Ulm". The report describes the installation on the scaffolding, the moss from the manufactory in Oppach, and the decision by the client and the local council to opt for a green façade rather than a concrete one.
The report mentions a figure of around 1,000 square metres — a figure from the construction phase. According to the measurements taken of the finished façade, the figure is 1,635.49 square metres.
And what a façade Is that yours?
From the multi-storey car park to the company headquarters, the same system scales — from a single entrance façade right up to six storeys. The questions are always the same: how large is the area, where is it situated, and what is it intended to achieve?
In ten minutes, we’ll work out together what your façade needs — in person, not via an automated system.
What building owners ask about this
How big is Germany’s largest moss façade?
Over 1,600 square metres, on a multi-storey car park with an office block in Neu-Ulm — manufactured by MOOSMOOS in Oppach, Oberlausitz. The surface area is spread across six parking decks and the adjacent office façade. It is cited in press reports as Germany’s largest external moss façade (as of 2026, Südwest Presse, 11 September 2026); there is no official survey on this.
Does a moss façade need to be watered?
No. Preserved moss does not require a single drop of artificial watering — it makes use of the humidity and rainfall that are already present. This means there is no need for pipes, pumps, control systems or the maintenance that goes with them.
How long does a moss façade last?
We offer a six-year warranty on the entire Greenovation system for outdoor use. In Neu-Ulm, a maintenance contract and an extended warranty period have also been agreed — this means that costs can be planned over the system’s lifetime, rather than posing an operational risk.
Will a moss façade work on any façade?
It won’t work equally well everywhere — and we’ll tell you that up front. Orientation, shading, driving rain and the wall’s construction are all assessed as part of the project before any commitments are made. That’s exactly what our consultation service is for and, for larger projects, we’ll install a test panel on site.
How much does a moss façade cost?
This depends on the surface area, the type of moss, the substrate, accessibility and the labour involved in installation — a multi-storey car park façade spanning six levels is calculated differently from an entrance area. The following explains which factors determine the parameters: Cost Guide.
1 “Germany’s largest outdoor moss façade” — according to press reports as at 2026: Südwest Presse, 11 September 2026, "Combating the summer heat: Germany’s largest moss façade is being built at the new multi-storey car park in Neu-Ulm". We are not aware of any larger outdoor area of preserved moss in Germany; there is no official survey on this.