Ricardo Bofill and his studio, RBTA have spent the last 45 years renovating what is now known as La fábrica, home and office located just outside of Barcelona-and the results are stunning. When Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill stumbled upon an abandoned cement factory in 1973, he saw an opportunity in the ruins.

News: Scientists at a Spanish university are developing a new type of concrete that captures rainwater to create living walls of moss and fungi. Unlike existing vertical garden systems which require complex supporting structures, the new "biological concrete" supports the growth of organisms on its own surface, according to researchers from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya in Barcelona.

London is the latest city to gain a city bench with the ability to absorb as much pollution as a small forest. The vertical garden, which doubles as a bench, is Green City Solutions' CityTree. Using a vertical installation of moss, the bench can absorb as much pollution as 275 trees in 1 percent of the space.