Green walls – I love this one

[Lori Molitor]

When one hears the phrase “green wall” it can mean many, many things.  I happen to love the look of the one on the Athenaeum Hotel in London.   This photogarph was from a recent trip (Dec. 2010).  So, which systems have worked best for you?

 

[Peter Burke]

I haven’t been lucky enough to design a green wall per se yet, but wow i love this photo.

[Rob Halpern]

I wish someone would do a cost analysis of annual maintenance and periodic replacement of the felt (which deteriorates badly).

Without such information, how can one decide if they want to undertake such a decoration on their building?

These walls, and especially Blanc’s approach, will add to building maintenance. That’s not a bad thing of course… any landscape has a cost. But the cost of  these landscapes is unknown, I think.

Anyone here have any data on maintaining either a Patrick Blanc wall or another system over a 10-15 year period (no point asking for 20).

[Jordan Lockman]

[Jordan Lockman]

[Rob Halpern]

David,

Thank-you for that.

Was the project these figures came from a particularly tall or hard-to-reach one?

There are indeed systems that use pre-fabricated metal trays so the deterioration of the fabric is not an issue. Still, the substrate will need attention from time to time. Gardeners must be able to get to all areas .

I do think these systems must be appreciated as decoration and not as an environmental effort. Green roofs have a better position.

[Rob Halpern]

Jordan,

 

Yes and more.

Patric Blanc’s book on his work is terrific and rather revealing. But his is only one approach. Green walls of one sort or another have been around for 20 years or more. And now that they have gotten recognized (largely due to Patric Blanc’s work) the systems are coming out fast and furious – as perhaps you are aware.

[Lori Molitor]

It is very aesthetically appealing.  I meant to add these close ups, but forgot until today. You can easily see the substrate.

 

[Lori Molitor]

“Green wall” has been mentioned on two of my projects in the past month and both assumed grid+vines was the only option available.

[Boilerplater]

I was under the impression that green wall systems allow for an air gap behind the growing medium to keep the wall cladding dry.  Waterproofing will not look very nice when the plants are bare in winter!

[Rob Halpern]

You never see the wall behind the “system”.

And I know of no deciduous green walls (other than vine trellis systems)

[Kody Smith]

The ones that I have seen have a structure attached to the adjacent wall that includes the irrigation system. The plants are contained in boxes (approximately 18″ sq.). These boxed plants are then hung on the structure itself. Therefore if there is a problem the boxes/panels can be replaced individually. As with Horizontal landscape more effort is involved compared to having no plants. The payoff just has to out weigh the maintenance/costs. 

[Felicity Waters]

In north London a series of demostration walls are being built to test the various systems that are currently available in the UK.

 

An irrigation firm (Watermatic) is testing the performance of each product over a 12 mnth period.All the walls will be irrigated using their watering systems.

The idea is to allow designers and other interested people to compare the various systems side by side.

 

Construction has commenced  and they hope to have 10 installed over the next 4 weeks. To date 3 walls have been built, one of which is Easiwall Living Wall – which is a rigid system made from recycled plastics. It is soil based rather than the felt systems described above. 

 

Another issue to be aware is that some systems tend to produce a different aesthetic. I have used Woolly Pockets and they are great for creating a shag pile carpet affect whereas the Easiwall system allows plants to have a flatter sharper appearance. Of course there is heaps of experimenting to be done.

 

 

 

 

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