Green Wall Transforms Lifeless Building

Green wall at Cecil Street designed by Tierra Design + POD How do you turn a boring office building into a green paradise? The designers from Tierra Design + POD transformed this previously “naked” space into a stunning vertical garden that enhances the building’s features and provides the perfect ambience for a workplace – combining landscape architecture, engineering, and interior design skills.

The Building This office building on Cecil Street in Singapore’s Central Business District had three stories added to its already existing 10, which had a big impact on the overall architectural proportions. The extended height resulted in a boring and far-too-long atrium not in accordance with human scale, creating a distant and uncomfortable environment. No other element can be more effective and appropriate to bring life and freshness to a cold and sterile interior space than a vertical garden. However, there were some challenges to overcome to make its installation possible, such as providing sufficient light to the vegetation, ensuring access to the plantings for maintenance, and adding an effective irrigation system. The Makeover The hard and unattractive elements (such as columns and blank wall surfaces) were covered with plants, turning them into soft and interesting features. Several planter beds were added between the floors so the plants could hang, creating natural and beautiful green curtains. Glass floors provide an extended view of the green through the ceiling, as well as solar radiance. The architects (AgFacadesign) also proposed a layered façade that alternates glass panels with gaps for natural ventilation and, in case of fire, smoke dispersion. Glass allows for a view of green through the floors The glass panels did allow some natural light in, but due to building location and orientation it was not enough; artificial lighting was therefore required to keep the plants healthy. The irrigation system was carefully planned and executed to provide water to a total of 13,000 hanging potted plants that make up the vertical garden, covering about 350 square meters of walls with shrubs, ferns, and groundcovers (besides the plants of the horizontal beds). The vertical garden by night Thirteen different species create an interesting texture mix — very pleasant to the sight — that can be seen through the glass façade during day or night, as the planting is equipped with elegant accent lights. A frame structure supports the hanging garde and conceals plumbing lines and wires for both the irrigation and lighting systems, as well as the platforms and ladders that are used for maintenance access. Awards The project won several awards, including the Skyrise Greenery Award (2011), Greenmark Gold Award (2012), honorable mention under the Retrofitting Category presented by Singapore Institute of Architects (2012), FuturArc Green Leadership Award (2012), World Best Vertical Garden Design Gold Award (2012), and Landscape Excellence Assessment Framework (2013). Related Article: Going Vertical: The History of Green Walls 5 Amazing Facts About Green Walls That You Didn’t Know The World’s Tallest Living Green Wall Benefits The list of benefits of vertical gardens is vast. Those on outdoor façades can help mitigate heat island effect, filter air pollutants, improve rainwater runoff, insulate building envelope (reducing demand for cooling and heating), and create habitat for insects and small animals. Those on indoor façades can filter air toxins and dust particles, improve acoustic and thermal comfort, and last – but not least – boost self-esteem of the users by providing a pleasurable environment. Green in the Workplace The quality of the physical workplace environment impacts on job satisfaction and therefore on employees’ performance. The sight of plants can reduce stress and improve focus as, from the color psychology perspective, green brings harmony, restores energy, and has a soothing effect. It is also an optimistic color and a natural peacemaker – just perfect for an office building located in such a busy and stressful business district. Recommended Reading: The Vertical Garden: From Nature to the City by Patrick Blanc Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls by Nigel Dunnett Article written by Julia Lucchese RETURN TO HOMEPAGE

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