photo credit: laurenatclemson’s 

When I first heard the term "green walls" I thought they were talking about paint; boy was I wrong. I had heard of green roofs, but never imagined that you could do that vertically. As with many green innovations, the europeans seem to always be on the forefront of these systems. The more we learn, the more we realize how much we don’t know… amazing paradox!

The next big thing in green building design might be to turn an existing idea on its side. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. recently installed a green wall the size of two tennis courts on one side of its headquarters.

Like green roofs — their perpendicular counterparts — green walls are covered in vegetation and provide the benefits of natural insulation and removal of air pollutants. PNC, which provides banking and wealth management services, estimates it will be 25 percent cooler behind the wall than the ambient summer temperatures.

Green walls also can be visually engaging, by using different color plants to make designs or company logos on the walls.

The PNC wall features more than 15,000 ferns, sedums, brass buttons and other plants that create a swirling pattern of varying hues of green above the company’s logo. They are divided among hundreds of 2-by-2-foot aluminum panels that were anchored onto the building’s frame after part of the granite facade was removed.

"We think it’s the right thing to do for our community, for our customers and our shareholders," said Gary Saulson, head of corporate real estate for PNC. "We wanted to add greenery to an area that didn’t have any. … We really view the green wall as public art."

Steven Peck, president of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, a Toronto industry association, said interest in green walls is growing, though the group does not keep statistics. He estimates green roof installations have increased at about 30 percent a year over five years.

 PNC bills its green wall as the largest in North America. The wall covers nearly 2,400 square feet. PNC officials declined to give a precise estimate of its cost. Irwin said that on average green walls cost about $100 to $125 a square foot.

The structure at PNC requires only 15 minutes a week of watering during peak growing season — less in winter — provided through the building’s plumbing system. PNC has a contract with the installer to prune the plants and replace dead ones if necessary.

Joanne Westphal, a landscape architecture professor at Michigan State University and part of the school’s Green Roof Research Program, said the biggest benefit to green walls is their ability to help cool buildings through shading. They also help capture rainwater and release it more slowly into the atmosphere and stormwater systems.

wow… cooler buildings using less air conditioning, shading, capturing rainwater, and artwork designs out of plants. Can someone point out the negatives here???

http://www.agreenroof.com

http://www.greenroofs.org 

Self-contained Vacuum System

Consider full chain of custody when designing green.  No matter what lengths the manufacturer takes to produce an earth friendly product, the many hands of custody can be just as crucial.  Fancy certifications can be useless when they travel halfway across the world or are shipped to a high-exposure distributor.  The residential construction industry in Dallas is struggling to meet growing demands for green because it’s fairly new here.  Many distrubutors use good practices but have not seen justification to audit for certification.  Will we get there?  Yes.  But for the time being you should expect to pay for it. 

• No environmental exposure policy, certified by the State of  Texas
• 100% of manufacturing waste is recycled to local businesses
• More efficient CNC router replaces 12 traditional shapers
• Computerized line machine is 20% more efficient than previous machine
• Pursuing high efficiency lighting that would use 40% less energy
• Fleet of cab-over trucks replaced flat bed, using 30% less fuel
• Manufacturing glues and seals are non-toxic, water-based
• Delivery/dispatch tracking system minimizes vehicle travel distances
• Damaged and incorrect orders are resold to public or salvage
• High yield machining reducing mill waste
• Usable trim leftover at jobsite is credited back and resold
• Finger-joint trim has no added Formaldehyde
• MDF and flexible trim has low VOC and no Mercury content