FRIDAY FUNNY: The Walls Are Alive!

Posted by Heidi Schwartz

Throughout parts of Canada, businesses and public facilities are grabbing onto an idea that has been knocking around for years. Instead of paint or wallpaper, facility managers are incorporating living plants into walls with the help of Green over Grey. The Vancouver, BC-based design firm uses an artistic approach to “paint” with plants and transform grey to green.

From the company’s website:

Living walls or green walls are self sufficient vertical gardens that are attached to the exterior or interior of a building. They differ from green façades (e.g. ivy walls) in that the plants root in a structural support which is fastened to the wall itself. The plants receive water and nutrients from within the vertical support instead of from the ground.

These systems consist of a frame, waterproof panels, an automatic irrigation system, special materials, lights when needed, and of course plants. The frame is built in front of a pre existing wall and attached at various points; there is no damage done to the building.

Clients have included the Edmonton International Airport (featured in picture), Microsoft, lululemon, SAP, ING, and various restaurants and hotels in and around the Pacific Northwest–known for grey skies and green scenery.