Spanish botanist and landscape specialist Ignacio Solano, whose work has transformed more than 900,000 square metres into living vertical green systems, is taking his patented method on an international training tour across Spain and Latin America in 2026.
After nearly 20 years of research in rainforests and tropical ecosystems around the world, Solano has become one of the leading figures in professional vertical gardening. His work focuses not simply on decorative green walls, but on what he describes as “vertical ecosystems” — living structures designed to bring the ecological benefits of nature into dense urban environments where horizontal green space is limited.
As cities increasingly adopt vertical green infrastructure as part of their urban planning strategies, Solano argues that these systems are no longer a luxury but a practical environmental tool. Properly designed vertical ecosystems can help improve air quality, capture pollutants and heavy metals, and make urban areas more liveable.
“After many years of persistence and steady work, the vertical ecosystem is beginning to take its rightful place in the city,” Solano said. What was once a specialist concept, supported mainly by field research and practical application, is now gaining legal, administrative and regulatory support in major cities.
Solano, originally from Ceuta and based in Alicante for more than two decades, has built a reputation through research trips to tropical forests in countries and regions including Mexico, Brazil, Madagascar, northern Argentina, Réunion, Africa and Sumatra. A trained biologist, he says his fascination with complex natural systems began in childhood and later evolved into a career dedicated to understanding how biological interactions can be recreated in urban spaces.
That research led him to develop a globally patented system through his company Paisajismo Urbano, which has completed more than 200 projects in over 20 countries in both public and private settings. The method has earned Solano more than a dozen world records in vertical gardening.
His International Training Tour 2026 will run from April to November, with stops in Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Madrid, Medellín, Barcelona and Santiago de Chile. The programme combines an online technical course featuring more than 50 short video modules with an intensive three-day in-person training format based on real project work.
Solano says the aim is to train professionals capable of designing, building and maintaining long-lasting, functional vertical ecosystems. “Training only makes sense when it is rooted in real work,” he said, stressing the importance of passing on knowledge responsibly to practitioners who will apply it in their own projects.
Summary:
Ignacio Solano, a Spanish botanist based in Alicante, has become a global reference in vertical gardening after developing more than 900,000 square metres of living green systems. In 2026, he will launch an international training tour across six cities in Spain and Latin America to teach professionals how to design and maintain what he calls “vertical ecosystems” — biologically complex green walls intended to make cities healthier, greener and more sustainable.
