Dating back to the ancient Babylonians, biowalls have served as functional and aesthetic art work. The beautiful scenery and pleasant experience that biowalls provide invite meaningful plant-human interaction. In an increasingly industrialized world, the integration of biowalls in infrastructure is an effective means of improving both psychological and physiological health: in addition to alleviating stress and improving mental wellbeing, they also enhance our living space by purifying the air we inhale.

The terms biowall, green wall, living wall, plant wall, and vertical garden are synonymous and refer to self-sustaining vertical gardens that are installed interiorly or exteriorly in a building. With plant roots imbedded in the structural support, green walls are nourished from the water supply distributed in the vertical assembly rather than from a ground source.

Our free standing living wall design proposal consists of: an internal cellular structure that houses the vegetation and permits modularity and flexibility of shape and size, a support structure that provides a framework for the internal cellular structure, an irrigation system that waters the vegetation and a wide variety of vegetation that require minimal maintenance in the proposed environment (i.e. New SUB Atrium). In accordance with the sustainability theme, most of the plastic, wood, and metal used in construction will be recycled. Recycled rainwater will be the source of irrigation for the plants.

Finally, in an effort to foster campus wide engagement in sustainability projects, the living wall’s construction-team includes students and faculty members from various disciplines. The wall will also include posted information about the design and facts about the selected vegetation. An electronic monitor, that reports information on the current state of the biowall such as the quantity of pollutants being removed from the air, will be available for students to view.

Funding awarded: $2000

Project started: June 2012

Note: This project is one of five sustainability art prototype projects. Each group will submit a prototype for consideration by the New SUB Sustainability Working Group and New SUB Project Committee, and a group will be commissioned to create a scaled-up project for the New SUB Atrium .

Project Updates

• New SUB Sustainability Art: Biowall