Tarragona hosts Europe’s largest vertical garden in the cultural complex of Tabacalera

About 3,200 square meters of native vegetation cover the frontage of the building under criteria of sustainability. The garden, 185 meters long and 18 meters tall is pioneer in the use of wastewater for grass irrigation.

CNA / Roger Segura / Gemma Nieto

June 22, 2012 10:27 PM

Tarragona (ACN). - The city of Tarragona has the largest vertical garden in Europe with an area of 3,200 square meters, in the future cultural complex of Tabacalera. The garden, 185 meters long and 18 meters tall, stands out for the applied technology as the project has been designed under criteria of sustainability and is pioneer in the use of wastewater for grass irrigation. In fact, the system will allow saving of 26,000 liters of water daily. Besides the plant elements that cover the front, the ‘Smart Parc Tabacalera’ also includes a horizontal garden of 8,000 square meters. It is expected to be a reference site for students of the water recycling.


At 3,200 square meters the vertical garden of Smart Parc Tabacalera is one of the biggest in the world. It is also designed with sustainability in mind as it recovers and purifies wastewater from the general city so as to promote energy conservation and efficiency in water management. In this sense, they have also sown native plants with low water demand.

The frontage of the building includes a large screen of 100 square meters designed for the broadcast of major events such as concerts, movies or soccer matches. It will also have an informative use about the attractions of the park and the city in general. Repair work in the garden of Tabacalera has a cost of 3.3 million euros. In total, the entire Smart Parc, which also includes the adaptation of the first two modules of the complex, has required an investment of more than 11 million Euros, financed by the State Fund for Employment and Sustainability.

The Mayor of Tarragona, Josep Felix Ballesteros, said that the new space is a first step for the future transformation of the cultural complex of Tabacalera, which must include, among others, the Capsa Jove, the Tarragona Impulsa and the Historical Archives and later the future National Archaeological Museum of Tarragona. Thereby, the mayor reiterated the need of an agreement between the Catalan Government and the Spanish Government to go ahead with the consortium management of Tàrraco Romana