Green Walls Growing To New Heights

[Dover]

Athenaeum Hotel’s Eight-story Green Wall



Wired magazine wrote about the eight-story green wall on London’s Athenaeum Hotel. Patrick Blanc, a French botanist, designed the wall, which includes 260 species and 12,000 actual plants. According to Wired, other projects from Blanc include interior green walls in Portugal and Kuwait that are larger than “four tennis courts.”

The green wall is supported by a trellis. “A plastic-coated aluminum frame is fastened to the wall and covered with synthetic felt into which plant roots can burrow. A custom irrigation system keeps the felt moist with a fertilizer solution modeled after the rainwater that trickles through forest canopies.”

Given that the green wall is eight stories high, planting conditions vary at different floors. “The shade at ground level is perfect for rare Asian nettles; on the brighter upper stories, plants that usually cling to windblown cliff faces brave the blustery British breezes.”
http://dirt.asla.org/2009/08/31/athenaeum-hotels-eight-story-green-wall/#comment-549

Wired Magazine Article:
http://www.wired.com/culture/art/magazine/17-09/pl_design

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[PDJane]

1. That's wonderful, thank you!

I wonder how much it cuts down on a/c needs, if at all? Very interesting concept.....

[Dover]

3. Try googling Patrick Blanc. He's the master...n/t

[imdjh]

2. I can't find kudzu anywhere to buy. I suppose I could go pull some up in Virginia. nt

[BonnieJW]

4. North Carolina

I think the purchase is restricted since it just takes over.

[OKIsItJustMe]

5. So, what's wrong with ivy?