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Living Walls

Written by Philip Proefrock on 14/11/06
verticalgarden

I went to a green roofs conference a couple years ago, and at that time, some of the presenters were talking about going beyond green roofs, and also putting plants onto "green walls" as well. Now, some high profile examples are starting to be seen.

The Musée du Quai Branly in Paris is a recent project by noted architect Jean Nouvel. The southern face of the building incorporates an 8600 square foot installation of Plant Wall by designer Patrick Blanc.

Green roofs on buildings require more than just heaping dirt on top of a building and scattering some seeds. There are concerns about insulation and moisture control, and the system must be able to withstand plant roots from making holes in the system and allowing moisture to infiltrate the building and causing leaks. The green wall is a similar technological undertaking:

"The Plant Wall itself is quite sophisticated, involving layers of plastic, metal, and air to provide a rigid frame, temperature control, and air circulation. The plants grow in small pockets of felt-like plastic that is nonbiodegradable to avoid rotting. They are irrigated through a system of plastic pipes that distribute nutrient solution."

Obviously, the technology has continued to make inroads, and this is probably only the first of many examples of this that we will be seeing. And, it's a far cry from just letting ivy grow on the walls. The Branly Museum, for example, hosts more than 170 different species of plants in the installation.

via: LiveJournal Architecture Community

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written by HeadJam, November 15, 2006
Queen's University faculty of applied science has such a wall. They built a building with all the latest technologies. You can find it at http://ilc.queensu.ca
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Dream
written by Celia, November 29, 2006
I dreamed of this once. I saw this coming a mile away. I hoped I would see this in my life time. There's hope people yet.
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Trackback
written by Joe Levi, December 16, 2006
http://www.joelevi.com/blog/in...ing-walls/
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Mr Rogers
written by Mark Rogers, March 29, 2007
What sort of species are being used in this type of green wall approach?
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Great
written by bandung, July 23, 2007
so natural...
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This is not new
written by Chris, August 10, 2007
Well it maybe new that architects are designing special green walls, but in Beijing at least there is a natural growth of vines up many walls and buildings.
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VP New Product Development
written by Doc hydro, December 04, 2007
Chris, You shouldn’t be so cocky and proud. I am a Chinese that has lived overseas too long. Yes there are a few buildings left that have older growth, mostly simple ivy, but most of these are on old European built buildings or concepts that were brought here ages ago. Otherwise they are just vines grown out of control in sections of town soon to be demolished. Urbanites in most developed countries know about esthetics, maintenance and planning. Due to strife these past many years in China, an attitude of blaze and ignorance have crippled Beijingers sensibility and therefore do not know or care about maintenance and planning. We are learning though and in twenty years might actually be civil enough to have learned that to be civil means to have respect for all things; Life, liberty, happiness, law and nature. At present we respect nothing! I have never seen such egocentric, selfish, oblivient people in my life, with no respect for self or others. Good luck in keeping our culture alive. At this rate we will tear ourselves apart within a few decades.

However, on a brighter side, I am doing all I can to bring green walls to Beijing and China. Greenwalls are actually mini feats of engineering marvel. A true form of cyber-art! At the least, one has to know about engineering, hydroponics, botany, local weather and microbiology to produce a sustainable work of living art. So hats off to all those greenwall pioneers, especially to my hero Patrick Blanc. Also hats off to all those collages and universities going green.

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