About Us

Where Do We Come From?

Urban Canopee In The World

Urban Canopee started in 2017 with a team of researchers in a Parisian University experimenting with alternative lightweight building materials to come up with innovative solutions for the building industry. The results were encouraging until one day the question was asked: How about using these lightweight structures to grow plants on and provide an other solution to accelerate city greening. Urban Canopee was born. Fast forward to today, over 300 Canopees have installed in France and around the world, providing shade and cooling inparts of the cities where trees can not be planted.

Key figures

254 Canopee
746 plants
102 cities
7 countries

Urban Canopee In Australia

The story of Urban Canopee in Australia is a story of passion. A passion for bringing more nature in the city, for reconnecting people with nature and offering solutions to make our cities more resilient in the face of climate change. Starting in 2020, Urban Canopee Australia (a brand of Biodotdotdot Pty Ltd) has now worked with a number of councils and private facilities owners around the country and is home of a vibrant little team of dedicated and passionate human beings.

Why We Do What We Do:

  • To increase wellbeing and liveability in our cities in the face of climate change.
  • To reconnect city folks with nature’s beauty and its many incredibly valuable services.

How Do We Do It:

  • By creating an overhead green living canopy over the city.

What Do We Do:

  • We offer innovative, easy to implement and modular solutions to accelerate the development of an urban forest.
  • By leveraging cutting edge building technology, smart irrigation systems and the incredible abilities of climbing plants.

Our Values:

  • Integrity – We encourage and foster integrity in all of our stakeholders’ engagements.
  • Respect – We respect ourselves, each other and the environment around us. We treat others the way we’d like to be treated ourselves. We pay our respect to the traditional custodians of the land on which we work and play.
  • Passion – We have a raging fire burning in our bellies. Careful, it’s contagious!
  • Impact – Every action we take is guided by the larger goal of positively impacting ourselves, each other and the world around us.
  • Easy to work with – Life is already hard enough for everyone. We strive to make your day lighter and easier when dealing with us.

Meet The Team

Together, let’s build a desirable, sustainable and thriving future!
Germain Briand Managing Director
Germain is on a mission to re-connect people with nature by bringing nature in our cities in innovative and impactful ways. He deeply believes in 3 things:
  • We must look to nature and its teachings to resolve the many challenges we are collectively facing
  • We must reconnect ourselves with nature to truly understand our unique role on our beautiful blue spaceship
  • Business is a powerful lever for economic and societal change at scale
He is currently involved in a number of exciting businesses finding inspiration in nature to achieve our collective re-connection with it as well as generating positive social impact.
Chris Tsakmakis Engineering Manager
Chris comes with 30 years experience of hands-on engineering and complex problem solving in the construction and landscaping industries.
At Urban Canopee, he is in charge of constantly improving the Canopee design to meet customer's expectations. He also ensures all aspects of manufacturing and installation meet and exceed the requirements of Australian Standards.
John Mikolajunas Project Manager
John's dedication and enthusiasm for transforming urban spaces, his diverse experience and his passion for innovative design and project management align perfectly with our commitment to create vibrant and green urban spaces. With over 30 years of diverse industry experience, John brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his role. His hands-on approach and his eye for detail in all aspects of the planning and installation process assures exceptional results surpassing our customers expectations. Client satisfaction is at the heart of our success, and John provides unparalleled service and support.
Renald Gallis Marketing & More
With over 9 years of experience in the Industrial IoT domain, I am passionate about marketing innovative tech solutions that enhance efficiency, productivity, and above all sustainability.
My entrepreneurial journey spans over 7 successful ventures across AsiaPac, Europe, and North America, where I have led sales and marketing operations, built and coached teams, simplified processes, and implemented strategies that delivered exceptional outcomes. I am driven by authenticity and loyalty and consistently strive to build trust with stakeholders, partners, and customers. I also actively contribute to the LaFrenchTech community in Australia, supporting innovative tech startups in their journey.

Partner

Future Village offers innovative and sustainable solutions for delivering free-standing green infrastructure to areas where access to green space is limited. Their placemaking systems enhance the aesthetic appeal of local neighbourhoods and provide a flexible way to test new park designs and uses. Future Village is committed to creating sustainable solutions that benefit both people and the environment.