| dc.description.abstract | Green infrastructure is the concept of using plants in urban and indoor areas in order
to receive the benefits of their natural biological processes and improve the overall
living environment. One facet of green infrastructure is the “green wall”, created by
integrating plants into vertical structural supports to form a living system. The
following report will look at the feasibility of constructing a green wall in the Student
Union Building of Dalhousie University.
Humans possess an intrinsic connection with nature. This connection has been lost
through the development of urban structures. Plants have been used for centuries to
increase the well being of the community. Incorporating a green wall within the SUB
will provide these benefits to the occupants and provide this space with a more
welcoming atmosphere that is more user friendly.
A values and opinions Interviews with industry leaders, literature review of previous
studies and a survey were utilized in the development of this report.
The space available in the student union building is a west facing wall that only
receives moderate daylight. The green wall has the potential to be 6’ or 21’ tall, since
it is located in an atrium area, the chosen height will greatly affect the scope, scale
and cost of the green wall and its long term maintenance. The Student Union Building
is funded by the students for the students, making their opinion an essential
component of our analysis. The overwhelming response was in favour of a green wall
but there were questions over expected costs.
The primary design objective when creating a green wall is aesthetics. But lots of
research has been conducted on both the quantifiable and qualitative benefits of
incorporating a green wall into an indoor space. These included increased energy
efficiency of the building, noise reduction, improved air quality and improved human
well being. The expected benefits of a green wall will vary depending on leaf area,
leaf density, site conditions and scale. Type of plants, scale of project and location of
the wall can be manipulated depending on which green wall benefits are needed in
the building.
Three green wall companies and one expert were approached to provide estimates
on the proposed green wall project; they were NedLaw, Easy Living Technologies,
Green Over Grey and Sue Sirrs respectively. Information from each of these
manufacturers was included in recommendations to SUB facilities management but are
not included in this report, for reasons of confidentiality.
Sue Sirrs, a local landscape architect provided her knowledge and past experience.
She stated that the highest cost associated with the project would be the ongoing
maintenance of these types of systems, which need to be factored into the business
plan before going forward.
Modern green wall technologies are are still evolving and as such their costs and
benefits are not well-documented. This technology also poses the distinct problem of
transparency within the companies as each company uses different techniques in the
manufacturing and process of the system. Out of the green walls that have been
investigated the main problem has been with faulty irrigation systems, however with
the systems continually evolving this should not be a problem. As it stands the most
important aspect of implementing a green wall in the atrium of the SUB is that it may
attract more community members to utilize this space providing more revenue in the
SUB while making the space warm and welcoming.
A list of seven recommendations has been compiled due to the findings of this report.
This list includes, working with the companies that were investigated as well as
keeping the options open for new business partners, acquiring a lift as well as
certified horticulturalist for maintenance, using this report as a baseline for future
research, live tracking and visible reminders of what the wall is doing, the installation
of rainwater cisterns, the installation of photovoltaic solar panels, and to consider
incorporating this into the proposed addition.
To move forward on this project the DSU will need to conduct broader student surveys
to assess public opinion in regards to the addition of a green wall, get more in depth
estimates from the companies that were looked at in this report as well as look into
more and varied green wall providers and finally look at all of the potential
stakeholders on campus that might want to collaborate on this initiative. | en_US |
