Nova Scotia Community College

Project
Nova Scotia Community College Centre for the Built Environment Green Wall

Location
Halifax, NS

Award Winner
Outside! Planning & Design Studio

Project Team

Growers, Planters, & Design Consultant: Tim Amos, Kingstec Campus NSCC
Irrigation: Greg Keddy, Rousseau Irrigation
Project Coordination & Design: Sue Sirrs, Outside! Planning & Design Studio
Structural Engineering: Roy McBride, BMR Structural Engineering

A Living Building Teaching Tool for Cold All Seasons

Starting in 2008 as a two-year research initiative to see if permanent living walls could be sustained in cold climates, this 1000ft2 structure has not only survived but thrived in a Canadian Zone 5 coastal climate, and is the first permanent, exterior cold-climate living wall in Canada. 6o plant species were tested and five structural prototypes were developed before the design was settled on.

The living wall is a regular part of Ivany Campus tours and is used as a tool to teach students sustainable design techniques. Located at the college’s front doors, the wall is highly visible and engages the broader community, communicating the message that there are alternate ways to build.

Project success was based on two key design drivers, free lateral root run, ensuring plant roots are never confined; and early development of a deep root system, encouraged by watering deep within planting baskets encouraging roots to reach deep into the soil medium. Rhizomatous plants were sought afterwards to provide a contiguous vegetation cover.

Irrigation and over-wintering were key concerns and addressed by installing two irrigation systems. The primary system turned out to be more complex than needed and was adjusted to a simple pump from the roof-water collection tank. Water gravity feeds through the top of the wall to the lower levels and ongoing maintenance is been provided by a group of dedicated college staff.

Judges praised this project for its spirit of innovation and willingness to learn and adapt to traditionally inhospitable environments for the technology.

Breathe Wall

Project
Breathe Wall

Location
Grand Rapids, MI

Award Winner
LiveWall, LLC

Project Team

Designer, System Manufacturer, Plant Supplier, Installer: Dave MacKenzie, LiveWall, LLC
Business Developer: Amber Ponce, LiveWall, LLC
 

“The largest graphic includes a windblown pattern of color in which white flowers spell Breathe O2 and symbolize the air. The green patterns, above and below, represent the forests and fields. And, the yellow in the upper right hand corner symbolizes the sun, which fuels photosynthesis, which yields oxygen. This vital process happens within the leaves, and therefore ‘Breathe’ also features leaf-shaped graphics of Michigan native trees, including catalpa, oak, beech and maple.”

— Dave MacKenzie, Artist

The Fusion of Art and Nature

Entitled ‘Breathe’, this living art project at ArtPrize®, the world’s largest publicly voted art contest, is home to more than 3500 plants and reaches over 20 feet tall at its peak and stretches 150 feet long.  

Using the LiveWall® system as the canvas, the entry surrounds and buffers the noise and odors of the city around it.  ‘Breathe’ was inspired by the idea of restoring the built environment to a more natural state and restore balance to urban settings by reintroducing vegetation lost during urbanization.  16" wide planters were serviced by a spray nozzle which delivered rain-like irrigation to the plants contained within across the 1500 square foot wall with drain holes at the bottom of each planter.

In the first summer, a palette of over 70 different species created an abstract art piece.  After the annuals had been spent by colder temperatures, they were replaced with perennials. The following summer, sections of the wall were planted with 700 square feet of herbs, greens and vegetables. 

That fall, the remaining edibles were harvested, and prefabricated panels were added to the wall to create curvilinear extensions again transforming the structure into a work of art.  The installation was specifically designed to challenge and inspire each viewer to think differently about the constructed world—about how that world might look and feel if integrated with nature.