Vertical architectural gardening.

December 8, 2006 10:44 PM

Vertical gardening in architecture. Gorgeous walls and other vertical architectural features covered in lush, growing greenery.
posted by loquacious (12 comments total)

Wow...this is incredible, especially considering the whole thing is planned to be pretty self sufficient.

*I* want some organic wallpaper!
posted by niles at 10:59 PM on December 8, 2006

SO awesome!! Thanks, loq! Plenty of photos, and yet I still wish there were more, it's just amazing looking stuff.
posted by jonson at 11:02 PM on December 8, 2006

awesome!
posted by growabrain at 12:08 AM on December 9, 2006

Very, very cool.
posted by maxwelton at 1:08 AM on December 9, 2006

See also Plantwall, which is available in Europe, N. America, and Japan from Green Fortune, a Swedish design company.
posted by rob511 at 2:49 AM on December 9, 2006

awesome.
posted by BrotherCaine at 3:41 AM on December 9, 2006

So cool!

But how much water does it use?
posted by thirteenkiller at 5:57 AM on December 9, 2006

That is cool, and I too wonder how much water is necessary. I also wonder what the impact is on the underlying stonework. Instinct tells me they cover everything with a very thick plastic first but the article leads me to think otherwise.
posted by furtive at 6:52 AM on December 9, 2006

furtive, your instinct is correct. From the article:

The Vertical Garden is composed of three parts: a metal frame, a PVC layer and felt. The metal frame is hung on a wall or can be self-standing. It provides an air layer acting as a very efficient thermic and phonic isolation system. A 1cm thick PVC sheet is then riveted on the metal frame. This layer brings rigidity to the whole structure and makes it waterproof. After that comes a felt layer made of polyamide that is stapled on the PVC. This felt is corrosion-resistant and its high capillarity allows a homogeneous water distribution. The roots are now growing on this felt.
posted by atrazine at 7:55 AM on December 9, 2006

It's like wallpaper from the 1970's come to life!
posted by blue_beetle at 8:23 AM on December 9, 2006

These things cost a fortune, although I suppose you can try to cheap your way out. I estimated an indoor one of these for one of my projects recently (I'm a quantity surveyor). It was fairly large but still cost $1,500 per sq metre, over and above what the substrate cost. Versus $250-$350 for a green roof.
posted by jamesonandwater at 9:14 AM on December 9, 2006

It is awesome, but I doubt the net enviromental impact of keeping all those plants alive is positive.
posted by Arcaz Ino at 10:59 AM on December 9, 2006