Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa September 2015 | Page 46

GREEN Vertical Gardens Welcome to the green future BY DREW HOOK A Vertical Garden or ‘Green Wall’ is a partially or completely covered building face with vegetation that includes a growing medium, such as soil and an integrated water delivery system. It is useful to distinguish green walls from green facades. Green walls have growing media supported on the face of the wall while green facades have soil only at the base of the wall (in a container or in ground) and support climbing plants on the face of the wall to create the green, or vegetated, facade. Green walls have seen a recent surge in popularity in the last few years. Of the 61 large-scale outdoor green walls listed in an online database provided by greenroof.com, 80% were constructed in or after 2009 and 93% dated from no later than 2007. Many Iconic green walls have been constructed by Institutions and in public places such as Airports and are now becoming common, to improve the aesthetics. They have become synonymous with energy saving initiatives, while promoting a cleaner, healthier living environment for those living within. A number of iconic green walls around the world have brought more attention to this growing architectural trend. Londons Largest Living Wall Standing at 350 square meters with over 10,000 ferns, herbaceous plants and 16 tons of soil is London’s largest living wall, which has been designed to reduce urban flooding. The Rubens at the Palace Hotel living wall, on the doorstep of Buckingham Palace, reaches over 21 metres 44 SEPTEMBER 2015 SA Real Estate Investor high. It has been packed with over 20 seasonal plant species including buttercups, crocuses, strawberries, spring bulbs and winter geraniums. The flowers have been chosen to ensure the wall is ‘in-bloom’ all year round, attracting wildlife such as birds, butterflies and bees, and the permanent feature will provide a vibrant focal point for the local area. The living wall will be one of London’s most visually impactful and colourful vertical gardens, brightening the popular tourist walk from Victoria station to the Royal residence. The wall’s unique design enables it to capture rainwater from the roof of the building in dedicated storage tanks. A k