White Rock, a small surburb outside of Vancouver, Canada can now boast to having the largest green wall in North America thanks to Green Over Grey, Vancouver, Canada-based company that design and install green walls (also known as living walls). The once bare 3000 square foot wall is now a lush garden of a wide variety of plant life. It is located on the facade of the Semiahmoo Public Library and RCMP Facility.
This living wall is literally a breathing, photosynthesizing skin. It consists of over 10,000 individual plants representing more than 120 unique species. Among these are ground covers, large perennials, shrubs and small trees. This self-sufficient vertical garden is affixed to the exterior of the building, although it is also possible to grow such a garden in an interior space. The technology developed for this method is soil-free, and plants receive water and nutrients from vertical supports along the facade rather than the ground. This mimics the capillary action that plants use naturally to grow vertically on cliffs, bluffs, branches or along waterfalls.
“The large diversity of plant species chosen creates a balanced ecosystem that is an urban oasis for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds,” says Patrick Poiraud, Principal at Green over Grey – Living Walls and Design, the Vancouver-based company designing and constructing the wall. “The living wall helps to insulate the building, purify the air and transforms the grey concrete into hundreds of shades of green.”
The wall benefits both the inhabitants of the building and the passersby of the area. It enhances biodiversity while also providing natural skin system that enhances the energy usage of a building. The firm has found many applications for the plant life, making it easier and more accessible to enhance the natural plant life within our cities. Browse through the gallery to see other installations of the Living Wall by Green Over Grey.
Via Contemporist
