The Living Seawall is a series of tessellating marine grade tiles designed to mimic the root structure of native mangrove trees.

By adding complexity to an existing seawall, the Volvo Living Seawall turns a harmful, man-made structure into a viable marine habitat. This aids biodiversity and attracts filter-feeding organisms that actually absorb and filter out pollutants – such as particulate matter and heavy metals – keeping the water ‘clean’. The more organisms we have, the cleaner the water.

The project has given Volvo a permanent, out-of-home placement in a landmark location. A location that will be monitored by researchers for the next 20+ years. And importantly, will continue to give Volvo an opportunity to showcase their divergent approach and credentials as a contemporary and premium automotive brand.

The Living Seawall is a radical and divergent style of thinking that doesn’t just showcase what Volvo do. It’s showcases who they are.

Volvo is committed to building a sustainable future.

By the end of 2019, Volvo Cars will remove single-use plastics from all its offices, canteens and global events. Their commitment to electrification sees a goal of putting 1 million electric cars on the road by 2025.

As a founding member of the UN Global Compact and an active supporter of the UN Environment’s Clean Seas campaign, Volvo’s also has a long-term commitment to ocean sustainability.

More than half of Sydney’s shoreline is artificial. Rich, vibrant habitats have been replaced with manmade seawalls and degraded by pollution. Over 50% of our native mangroves have been lost, and these mangroves play a large role in the health of the ocean by filtering particles and pollutants.

We can’t tear down these seawalls, but we can use divergent thinking and design them to attract marine life that filter and clean the water.