The topic that I have chosen to write about this week is one that I have never heard of before. I saw it while reviewing the sheet that we received in the beginning of the semester on topics to discuss. The topic is vertical greening. Not having any prior experience with the topic of climate change, I decided to look up vertical greening and found a good article that explained what it was. I was surprised to find out what vertical greening actually is. Vertical greening is the planting of greenery on the outside of a building in urban areas which restores urban sustainability. Applying vertical greening systems on new and old buildings can have many environmental benefits like energy savings and water management. Vertical greening and green roofs can help improve air quality by the reduction of pollution, and reduce the heat island effect in urban areas. Plants can collect the carbon dioxide produced by the city and transform them into oxygen, as well as filter any fine dust particles. As vertical greening helps to reduce the urban heat island effect it saves energy because plants provide insulation and shade. This reduces the energy needed to cool a building. Vertical greening could also increase property values due to the aesthetic aspects.
Photo Credit: AsiaOne
3 Responses
As an architectural technology major green wall systems is a critical design element that is being more integrated in projects. Not only are they used for exterior but interior walls as well. You pointed out a lot of good benefits, I wanted to also add the effect it has on us. Green walls connect us back to nature, cleaning the air around us and providing a relaxation effect on us.
thanks for the comment, Armin. Hopefully sustainable green walls will be mainstream all over the world in the near future
That is very interesting. I have seen it before on many buildings but I was not aware of the proper name it was called. I think it is worth noting that this process is expanding rapidly as it has taken on many variations. So farmers have even taken to growing crops and raising fish within indoor tanks where the water is circulated between them. I will post a link to the article if I ever find it again.