What are Green Walls?
Green walls are either a free standing screen densely covered with splendid ornamental vegetation placed close to the wall or a wall façade on which creepers are trained to spread. Green walls may be indoors or the exterior walls of a building.
How do they work?
Green walls covered with dense vegetation act as natural insulators, sun screens, sound barriers and excellent facades. Green walls prevent solar heat exchange and conserve energy even as they create spectacular vertical landscapes that enrich homes and offices. They keep the walls cool in summers and warm in winters, prevent storm water runoff and block indoor warmth from escaping and thus saving on energy costs.
Types of Green walls
There are two kinds of green walls or
vertical gardens. Some walls have a framework that is fitted several
inches away from the walls and filled with organic plant growth
material and plants can climb it. The other type called Living Wallsare covered with layers of waterproof material, anti root material and
then fitted with polypropylene or geo-textile panels on which plants
are grown. Green walls are kept moist by drip irrigation with gravel
beds next to the wall absorbing the excess water. Some living walls are
designed to draw the indoor air to the flowing water to dissolve the
pollutants in the air and return the fresh air back indoors. The
dissolved pollutants are metabolized by the root systems and
microorganisms in the plants. These walls can be made to look exotic
with the right choice of plants carefully chosen to cover the wall on
the one hand and add a dash of vibrant color on the other. These walls
can also be grown in the interiors to serve as insulators preventing
energy exchanges that increase the energy bills.
Benefits:
- Prevent heat and noise exchange and save energy costs
- Filter and purify air and help cure sick buildings
- Recycle grey water and thus create a closed loop
- Mineralize dissolved nutrients
- Facilitate bio-filtration and phytoremediation (dissolve toxins in the air and return fresh air)
Don’t they damage the wall structure?
Patrick Blanc, the acknowledged master of green walls whose vertical landscapes adorn the facades of several massive corporate houses, public places and private homes assures that the vertical gardens damage the walls only when there is no continuous water supply. Ever present moisture prevents plants from growing deep roots and penetrating walls.
The blanket of greenery on the wall actually shields the building from exposure to harmful UV radiation and acid rain.
...Read more
Close
