It is an evolution of the garden wall, where an innovative structure, similar to a large honeycomb, hexagonal cells has inside plants. But it is not just an aesthetic issue and ecological environment. It is also an investigation into the role of architecture in ecology, which incidentally, reinforces the commitment to green architectural design.
This project is advanced by students of the Faculty of Architecture, University of Texas (EU), and volunteers Research Center Flora Lady Bird Johnson (Utsoa), who have installed a ‘living wall’ in a corner of the building Goldsmith Hall on campus.
This five-year project, which began in 2015, will serve to beautify the building where it is located and will also be the habitat of different species, offering environmental benefits, according to its designers. The project living wall “seeks to investigate how ecology and architecture can influence each other,” says Fritz Steiner, now dean of the School of Design, University of Pennsylvania.
The thesis is that, often, the buildings have negative impacts on natural systems, but “we believe that this can be reversed by a design to provide better services to ecosystems,” he says.
The designers have selected a variety of Tejano native plants that are not noted for their visual impact, but which are heat resistant Texas, a drought-prone area with a climate that is not exactly lenient with plants, as fruited varieties , shrubs, vines and herbs, according to the Utsoa.
To ensure the success of the living wall, designers developed an architectural structure shaped honeycomb with 148 cells or hexagonal containers earth “specially designed to accommodate a greater amount of substrate or soil that which is commonly used, something vital to nourish plants subtropical climate of Austin, “he adds.
Another unique this wall features, according to Utsoa, is that plants that houses have been carefully chosen to attract and provide shelter for lizards, hummingbirds, butterflies, songbirds and raptors, such as hawks and owls, among other exponents of beneficial insects to the environment.
In addition to aesthetic benefits, the living wall will provide the building Goldsmith Hall greater freshness, will help mitigate the impact of storms and muffle the noise, and it will filter natural air by capturing airborne particles, volatile organic compounds, and carbon monoxide, as they pass through the cells.
