Inaugural International Green Wall Day, February 15th 20201.
International Green Wall Day on February 15th 2021 celebrates and highlights the beauty and environmental benefits of living walls. The date marks the 130 year anniversary of the birth of the living wall inventor and visionary landscape architect Stanley Hart White.
To take part share on all social media, your living wall videos, images and articles, using the hashtag #GreenWallDay. This will create a useful snapshot of the current global state of play for green walls. Everyone is invited. It is free.
Green Wall Day is supported by the major manufacturers and installers of living walls including ANS Global, Scotscape, Terapia Urbana, Biotecture, Sempergreen Vertical Systems, Urban Planters, MMA Architectural / Jakob, Mobilane and Pritchard & Pritchard.
Two decades of rapid growth
Despite the first patent being filed for a living wall in 1938, green walls did not become mainstream until the millennium. Since then, green walls have grown in popularity all over the world, becoming ever bigger and more spectacular.
The current world record for the largest living roof project is Khalifa Avenue, Qatar, including a total area of 7,000sqm. This uses an ANS Living Wall System, installed by Nakheel Landscapes.
Living walls or green walls are created by fixing a framework of troughs, pockets or mats to an indoor or outdoor wall or fence into which a multitude of smaller plants are planted. These plants are maintained by an irrigation system. Living walls can also consist of a steel rope trellis allowing climbing plants to slowly cover the wall.
For more information on the history of the living wall and a showcase of the world’s greatest living walls see the #GreenWallDay video.
Benefits of living walls to the environment and to buildings include:
- Improving biodiversity by providing breeding, nesting and food source for birds and invertebrates.
- Helping to trap dust, particulates and other pollutants from both the air and rainfall on the leaves of plants.
- Providing winter insulation for buildings reducing demand for heating by up to 25 per cent.
- Providing shading from the sun, living walls can reduce temperature fluctuations of walls by up to 50%, helping to reduce Urban Heat Island effect (UHIE).
- Shielding buildings from ultra-violet light and rain, which can damage walls.
- Source: Living Roofs and Walls Technical Report: Supporting London Plan Policy.
How to take part:
On Green Wall Day / Stanley Hart White birthday on February 15th 2021, everyone in the industry – whether a manufacturer, installer, maintainer or owner of living walls – will be sharing on social media images, videos and case studies of living walls, along with thought-leadership extolling the many benefits and best practice of living walls, using the hashtag #GreenWallDay.
#GreenWallDay will create a useful resources for all people interested in Living Walls. This will create a useful snapshot of the current global state of play for green walls.
Everyone is invited. Taking part is free.
Support for International Green Wall Day
Green Wall Day is supported by the major manufacturers and installers of living walls including ANS Global, Scotscape, Terapia Urbana, Biotecture, Sempergreen Vertical Systems, Urban Planters, MMA Architectural / Jakob, Mobilane, Green over Grey and Pritchard & Pritchard.
Supporting quotes:
“It is a common misconception that the living wall is a modern invention, as it was invented over 80 years ago. Imagine how different our cities would look today if architects, developers, planners and governments had made Stanley Hart White’s living walls core to urban development for the past 80 years. Would we still be threatened with such a severe climate catastrophe if, for eight decades, we had built our cities green instead of grey?” James Beattie, Chief Operating Officer of Pritchard & Pritchard and founder of #GreenWallDay.
“Spaces that need nature the most are usually spaces with no room for traditional landscaping. Living walls are the perfect solution to not only improve the aesthetics, but also improve local biodiversity, acoustics and reduce the urban heat island effect.” Steve McIntyre, Senior Urban Environment Consultant, ANS Global.
“Mobilane fully support the Green Wall Day. Using new surfaces such as living walls and living roofs, has never been so important to ensure a greener ,more prosperous, healthy, sustainable urban environment.” Paul Garlick, Commercial Director, Mobilane.
“Biotecture is delighted to supports #GreenWallDay, celebrating the vital role living walls play in transforming our urban landscapes. We’ve been passionate advocates of the scientific benefits of green infrastructure since 2007, and support all efforts to promote greening our cities”. Biotecture.
“Green Wall Day provides the perfect opportunity to focus on the great Green Wall projects that are increasingly forming part of the landscape of our towns and cities. Bringing flora and fauna and essential pollinators back to our urban environments not only provides great aesthetics, but also a host of health, sustainability and biodiversity benefits.” Justin Errington, Managing Director, MMA Architectural Systems, supplier of Jakob Green Walls.
“The world today needs more green spaces, especially in urban areas that don’t have much space available. Outdoor and Indoor living walls are the answer. They help combat climate change by absorbing CO2 and creating oxygen, they promote biodiversity and improve the wellbeing of the people that reside or work near them. It is Sempergreen’s mission to create a green and livable world for our and upcoming generations, using innovative and sustainable green solutions. That’s why we wholeheartedly support #GreenWallDay.” Henriette Vink, Director, Sempergreen Vertical Systems.
For background information, see the Living Wall FAQ