Tilt

Why not make the earth apart of the decor? Often coined “Breathing Walls,” Living Walls increase circulation, cool the air and provide a wonderful art piece. Typically found in cities, high-end architectural buildings are particularly trending towards Living Walls as well as areas that are looking to retain some sense of nature.

This selected piece is by Patrick Blanc from London who has been taking care of this Living Wall at Athenaeum Hotel in Green Park area of London. In recent years, it is beginning to start to become some what of a tourist attraction, being a leading visual from the Green Park to the site.

After reading an article on this in Wired Magazine, I grew more curious about how this process functions. While it is gorgeous and truly adds a remarkable component to the design of the space, it does require upkeep and maintenance; especially one of this size (below). This wall has been “Living” for over 40 years. As you can see above, there are measures taken to maintain this with the water arms and the tubes throughout the walls. Unlike a Living Roof, this wall defies the laws of gravity; losing much of the water in a rainstorm (hence the water arms and tubes that replenish the plants).

It seems that Living Walls are actually quite complicated. Read up on it more on a company that specifically does Living Walls. Recently we had an opportunity to go out and visit a potential clients farm. Emory Knoll Hill Farms, we got a first hand look at how these beautiful walls are contained and how they grow. As a designer, I am completely fascinated by how this can be something that we include as part of look and feel of a space.

Here are some other resources on this:
Chemically Green Blog

How to Make a Living Wall

Martha Stewart’s Living Wall Video

One of our favorite parts of our visit to Emory Knoll Hill Farms was seeing how plants grew out of every single available material. In this photo they are coming through an old engine pipe that has been attached to the top of an old tractor trailer.