Greening the building envelope, facade greening and living wall systems

Abstract

For greening the building envelope several concepts can be used, for example green roofs, façades greened with climbing plants or living wall systems (modular pre-vegetated panels), etc. Greening the building envelope allows to obtain a relevant improvement of the its effi- ciency, ecological and environmental benefits as well as an increase of the biodiversity. Since the interest restoring the environmental integ- rity of urban areas continues to increase, new developments in construction practices with beneficial environmental characteristics take place, as vertical greening systems. Applying green façades is not a new concept and can offer multiple benefits as a component of cur- rent urban design; considering the relation be- tween the environmental benefits, energy sav- ing for the building and the vertical greening systems (material used, maintenance, nutrients and water needed) the integration of vegetation could be a sustainable approach for the enve- lope of new and existing buildings

Plant performance in living wall systems in the Scandinavian climate

“…The thermal aspects of vertical greening are, however, still under debate (Hunter et al 2014). One particular type of green façade is living wall systems, which are vertical greening systems where plants are grown without the need for contact with the ground (Koehler 2008, Francis and Lorimer 2011, Perini et al 2011b). …”

Determination of the Suitability of Some American Grapevine Rootstocks as a New Edible Landscape Component of Vertical Gardens

“…The cost, along with one-year fertilizer maintenance, was calculated to between 30-40 €/m 2 for this system ( Figure 10) built with American Grapevine Rootstocks ( Table 9). 39.223 € about 800 €/m 2 , and for the walls on the surfaces of which boxes were used for the habitat, the cost is 1200 €/m 2 for living wall systems [15]. This explains another important advantage of using grapevines on greenwalls: maintenance cost is supposed to be low compared with typical high-tech greenwalls because it is possible to give nutrients to grapevines with just irrigation.…”

“…Plus, it is obvious that damage on walls is nearly impossible when a natural climbing plant like a grapevine is used on greenwalls as they take water and nutrients from the soil while they only require pruning. As for the cost analysis of vertical green surfaces, it was calculated for the studies done so far that the cost was 40-75 €/m 2 , for the walls supported by wires and knitted wire systems, the cost was about 800 €/m 2 , and for the walls on the surfaces of which boxes were used for the habitat, the cost is 1200 €/m 2 for living wall systems [15]. This explains another important advantage of using grapevines on greenwalls: maintenance cost is supposed to be low compared with typical high-tech greenwalls because it is possible to give nutrients to grapevines with just irrigation.…”

Determination of Some American Grapevine Rootstocks’ Suitability for Vertical Gardens as a New Edible Landscape Component

“…Grapevine rootstock supportive system section for building a green wall It was calculated as result of the studies that the cost was 40-75 €/m 2 for the walls supported by wires and knitted wire systems, the cost was about 800 €/m 2 for the walls on the surfaces of which boxes were used for the need of habitat, the cost is 1200 €/m 2 for living wall systems (15).…”