Who makes it: DIRTT Environmental Solutions
Plants do a lot more than spruce up a room. They improve indoor air quality and save energy by lightening the load of ventilation systems.
But how do you get more of the green stuff into the built environment?
DIRTT Environmental Solutions says its Breathe Living Wall system is a simple yet scalable way to introduce more plants into buildings.
Sustainable Industries’ panel of judges agreed. “Trying to bring more plants into an environment is really valuable and this is an interesting modular solution,” one judge said.
The engineers at DIRTT, a Canadian firm known for its modular wall systems, had been considering designing a living wall system since the company’s inception said DIRTT designer Geoff Gosling.
When Gosling looked at other living wall solutions, he felt there was something missing, he said. On one side were very technical and expensive products that required plumbing installation. At the other end were more simple residential solutions that weren’t scalable.
DIRTT’s goal was to create something in the middle – taking an engineered approach to build a living wall system that was accessible, easy to maintain and that doesn’t require plumbing.
Its system works on DIRTT’s modular walls or any flat, vertical building surface. An aluminum slat wall system mounts to the wall to accommodate an interconnected trough network. Plants are watered at one point at the top of the wall. As the water travels through the trough system, wicks from individual pots draw water up to the plants.
The Breathe Living Wall system was released in early 2011. Most of the early installations have been in more conventional projects, which Breathe’s creators said is a good sign for a broader adoption of living walls.
But it also could help designers in meeting deep green building standards, such as the Living Building Challenge.
Said one judge, “When we’re dealing with the Living Building Challenge and trying to find products that allow us to bring in more natural elements into the environment, this is a product that works for the design team.”
