photo Doris-Maria Heilmann
Driving through a residential area in St. Antonio, Texas I saw beautiful green walls on a home and planned to come back to take photos of this smart use of evergreen plants which cooled this good-looking home. The climbing plants were not directly attached to the masonry, but rather five inches away. A two-foot-high narrow (10 inches/25 cm deep) planter holds a metal lattice on which the plants can climb like on grids, detached 5 inches from the house walls.
In cooler climates, further north, such as in Canada, climbing hydrangeas, especially on north and east walls are your best bet. For south and west sites, blooming clematis would be a good choice.
The Global Climate is Getting Hotter!
The number of hot days and tropical nights in the city area is rising continuously. The city of Vienna must counteract these effects of the climate crisis. An effective means of combating summer overheating in the city is green facades. The vegetation causes buildings to heat up less and creates a pleasant microclimate. In Austria, for example, there are already many examples of houses in Vienna that have been greened even with very simple means. Greening of facades is mandatory in the case of new regulations or amendments to zoning and development plans.
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- Counteracts heat islands as well as noise and pollutant pollution
- Applies throughout the city, including industrial areas
- Applies in existing neighborhoods and new urban development areas
- Prerequisites:
- Specified building height above 7.5 meters
- From 26 meters building height no prescription (fire protection)
- Greening is not prescribed for single-family houses, garden settlements, allotment garden areas
- Exceptions are possible where special local conditions require it.
- The City of Vienna subsidizes street-side facade greening up to a maximum height of 5,200 euros.
https://www.wien.gv.at/stadtentwicklung/strategien/bestimmung-fassadenbegruenung.html
Climbing plants protect the facade from heat, wind, and weather and beautify any house wall. Here comes our selection of the best climbing plants for the facade: clematis, climbing roses, wild vine, ivy, and climbing hydrangea. All are absolutely hardy, robust, and easy to care for.
Evergreen plants prefer shady or semi-shady north or northeast facades, while deciduous climbers feel particularly at home on sunny southwest or southeast facades - like Clematis. Which climbing plants are suitable for the facade?
- Climbing vine
- Climbing roses
- Wild vine or Ivy
- Climbing hydrangea
For small wall areas, or between two windows, you can even use a hanging shoe organizer with 8 deep pockets. Fill them with soil and plant colorful, hanging plants. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BPHVJGNL
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Benefits:
As a kind of natural air conditioning system, the facade greenery
- Balances out temperature and humidity fluctuations and protects against intense sunlight, driving
rain, and erosion - which ultimately also prolongs the durability of the facade. - Evergreen climbing plants protect against wind and cold as an insulating buffer layer, which reduces heating or air conditioning costs.
- In addition, green facades have a positive impact on the microclimate around the house by providing pleasantly humidified air, reducing pollutant levels, and acting as dust filters. The surface area of a planted wall is about six times larger than that of a bare wall and can therefore also absorb six times as many dust particles.
- Some municipalities support green facades with subsidies. It's best to check with your local building department to see what regulations apply to your community.
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Additional Benefit in European Cities:
Every time I am in Europe, it shocks me how reckless young guys are destroying the beauty of buildings (often heritage houses) due to brainless spraying. The cost to remove these tags is immense! Planted walls will deter sprayers from using house walls for their tagging.
Architect Frank Lloyd Wright: “A doctor can bury his mistakes,
but an architect can only advise his client to plant living walls.”
Green Roofs
However, green walls are not all a house or building owner can do to help the climate and produce clean air: Green roofs not only contribute greatly to the creation of green spaces in cities, but in additionally, homeowners save on energy costs due to good natural insulation. Rainwater is retained and can slowly evaporate again. This humidification of the air enables a cooling of up to three degrees Celsius. The retention of rainwater is also an important flood protection during heavy rainfall.
Green roofs can also mitigate noise pollution in townhouses. Evergreen, foliage-bearing plants dampen sound. In addition, green roofs make an important contribution to combating particulate pollution in large cities: one square meter of green roofs can bind up to five kilograms of CO2 annually, and also filters around 0.2 kilograms of suspended particles from the air each year.
Green roofs as a habitat for people and animals. Depending on the size, accessibility, and type of roof, green roofs can be designed to provide a natural recreational and retreat space for people. In this type of intensive green roof, grass, perennials, shrubs, and even trees are planted on the roof. Green seating areas can be created, as well as space for raised beds.
Another plus: Extensive green roofs are very low-maintenance. However, architects and gardeners should always be consulted when planning a green roof. Especially in the case of flat roofs, the load-bearing capacity plays a roof greening is a good way to make a lasting change to the cityscape and make life in cities more pleasant.
Biodiversity, air quality, and microclimate are improved, temperature fluctuations are better balanced, and, in addition, roof gardens give city dwellers a relaxing place to spend their leisure time as green oases. Many municipalities and cities also offer subsidy programs for private individuals for green roofs and facades.
Resources & Inspirations:
DIY Outdoor Wall Building
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQfOHKJLICk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUm2CTdtX_8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaSVugf6IPc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLOxML1dDYU
https://livewall.com/idea-guide/
https://livewall.com/products/outdoor/
https://livewall.com/benefits/#food
Singapore, the Green City
The last part of this video (the commentary is in the German language) shows how the city of Singapore incorporates gardens into and onto high-rises, making it a green city.
https://www.mein-eigenheim.de/gartengestaltung/kletterpflanzen-fassade.html (German language)
https://archi.capital/facades/plants
https://greenroofs.org/about-green-walls
https://greenology.sg/urban-greening/
https://www.futurarc.com/people/veera-sekaran/
https://good2goco.ca/products/earth-studio-modular-vertical-garden-80-pot-kit-garden-set
https://www.amazon.ca/Pockets-Vertical-Hanging-Growing-Planting/dp/B08LGL4V26/
https://www.plantsonwalls.com/
https://www.greenadelaide.sa.gov.au/news/2022-build-green-wall-home
https://www.greencity.de/projekt/justnature/
https://www.greencity.de/projekt/quartierswende/
https://www.s3i.co.uk/facadeplantingadvice.php
https://www.treehugger.com/villa-m-paris-triptyque-architecture-5271129
https://www.verticalgardenpatrickblanc.com/realisations/paris/quai-branly-jacques-chirac-museum
https://www.edouardfrancois.com/
https://www.treehugger.com/why-did-people-build-houses-just-leak-heat-out-4853719
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photo Patrick Hall
However, not only private homes benefit from green walls, but also office and industrial buildings should start to build living green walls to help offset the heat domes that cover our cities and towns in summer. Governments and municipals need to create financial support and a legal framework to prepare for the future greening of our environment.
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