Classification of Green Walls - PART 1

A "Green Wall", also commonly referred to to as a "Vertical Garden", is a descriptive term that is used to refer to all forms of vegetated wall surfaces.  Green wall technologies maybe divided into two major categories: Green Facades and Living Walls.

1. Green Facades

Green facades are type of green wall system in which climbing plants or cascading  groundcovers are trained to cover specially designed supporting structures.  Rooted at the base of these structures, in the ground, in intermediate planters or even rooftops, the plants typically take 3-5 years before achieving full coverage.  Green facade can be anchored to existing walls or built as freestanding structures, such as fences or columns.

1.1 Self-clinging Plants

Self-clinging plants such as English ivy have commonly been used to create green walls.  Their sucker root structure enables them to attache directly to a wall, covering entire surfaces.  In Florida the most common plant is Cripping Fig.  These aggressive plants can damage unsuitable walls and/or pose difficulties when the time comes for building maintenance and plant removal. 

1.2 Trellis Panel System 

The building block of this modular system is a rigid, light weight, three-dimensional panel made from a powder coated galvanized and welded steel wire that supports plants with both a face grid and a panel depth.  This system is designed to hold a green facade a green facade off the wall surface so that plant materials do not attach to the building , providing a "captive" growing environment for the plant with multiple supports for the tendrils, and helps to maintain the integrity of a building membrane.  Panels can be stacked and joined to cover large areas, or formed to create shapes and curves.  They are typically made from recycled-content steel and are recyclable themselves.  Because the panels are rigid, they can span between structures and can also be used for freestanding green walls.

1.3 Cable and Wire-Rope Net Systems

Cables are employed on green facades that are designed to support faster growing climbing plants with denser foliage.  Wire-nets are often used to support slower growing plants that need the added support these systems provide at closer intervals.  They are more flexible and provide a greater degree of design applications than cables.  Both systems use high tensile steel cables, anchors and supplementary equipment.   Various sizes and patterns can be accommodated as flexible vertical and horizontal wire-ropes are connected through cross clamps.

2. Living Walls 

TO BE CONTINUED...