Architecture

"World's tallest" interior living wall unveiled in Quebec

"World's tallest" interior living wall unveiled in Quebec
Green Over Grey says it has created the world's largest interior living wall
Green Over Grey says it has created the world's largest interior living wall
View 13 Images
Green Over Grey says it has created the world's largest interior living wall
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Green Over Grey says it has created the world's largest interior living wall
The wall is installed at the Desjardins building in Lévis, Quebec
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The wall is installed at the Desjardins building in Lévis, Quebec
The installation is visible from Quebec City and Lévis
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The installation is visible from Quebec City and Lévis
The green wall complements the Desjardins building's new eco-friendly concept
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The green wall complements the Desjardins building's new eco-friendly concept
The wall is 213 feet high (65 meters)
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The wall is 213 feet high (65 meters)
This wall spans a total area of 2,139 square feet (198 sq m)
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This wall spans a total area of 2,139 square feet (198 sq m)
The wall uses a fully hydroponic system
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The wall uses a fully hydroponic system
The hydroponic system is made of recycled materials
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The hydroponic system is made of recycled materials
Desjardins says it wanted to demonstrate commitment to sustainability and to enrich the work environment of its employees
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Desjardins says it wanted to demonstrate commitment to sustainability and to enrich the work environment of its employees
The living wall took five months to design
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The living wall took five months to design
The inastallation features 42 different plant species
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The inastallation features 42 different plant species
Plant species include philodendrons, monsteras, fig trees, ginger, snake plants, elkhorn ferns, scheffleras, clusias and banana plants
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Plant species include philodendrons, monsteras, fig trees, ginger, snake plants, elkhorn ferns, scheffleras, clusias and banana plants
In total, 11,000 individual plants are incorporated into the design
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In total, 11,000 individual plants are incorporated into the design
View gallery - 13 images

A design firm has created what it says is the tallest indoor vertical garden in the world. Green Over Grey installed the living wall at the Desjardins building in Lévis, Quebec. Called "The Currents," the installation is inspired by views of the St. Lawrence River visible from Quebec City and Lévis.

Green Over Grey is no stranger to record-breaking green installations. In 2010 it laid claim to the largest and most biologically diverse living wall in North America at the Semiahmoo Public Library and Royal Canadian Mounted Police Facility in Surrey, British Columbia.

This new piece of work is 213 feet high (65 m), spans a total area of 2,139 square feet (198 sq m) and forms part of a broader refurbishment of the Desjardins offices. "We wanted to find a tangible way to show our commitment to sustainable development and enrich our employees' work environment," says Monique F. Leroux, chair of the company's board, president and CEO.

This wall spans a total area of 2,139 square feet (198 sq m)
This wall spans a total area of 2,139 square feet (198 sq m)

The building has an eco-friendly focus and is expected to receive LEED gold certification once its refurbishment is complete later this year. The green wall complements this environmentally-conscious approach. "The wall is fully hydroponic (i.e. soil-free) and incorporates plants that thrive in similar vertical environments found in nature, like on tree branches and next to waterfalls," says Green over Grey co-founder Patrick Poiraud. "The end result is a visually pleasing piece that provides cleaner indoor air and improves both the acoustic quality and the value of the property."

According to Green Over Grey, it took five months to design the installation and select the 42 plant species that it features. Varieties used include philodendrons, monsteras, fig trees, ginger, snake plants, elkhorn ferns, scheffleras, clusias and banana plants. In total, 11,000 individual plants are incorporated into the design and arranged according to color, texture, pattern and size. The hydroponic system used is made entirely from synthetic recycled materials and its panels are built from 1.5 metric tons (1.65 tons) of recycled water bottles and plastic bags.

The video below provides an introduction to the living wall.

Source: Green Over Grey

Desjardins unveils the tallest indoor living wall in the world

View gallery - 13 images
3 comments
3 comments
The Skud
I hope this has been seriously thought through! A lot of these installations fail quickly caused by either lack of continuous or regular maintenance (water supply or nutrient pipes clog up), or plants at lower levels suffering from oversupply of nutrients leached from above or overload/shortages of water. This sort of story needs a regular 6-monthly follow up to see how things went long term.
StWils
Skud is correct. Janitors & Maintenance workers are some of the little gremlins that trouble all architects. Maintenance workers tend to trash, grind off, bend, fold & mutilate any building feature they deem to slow them down on the way to sitting on their backsides whilst whining about how hard they work. This is a get application of research originally done by NASA in the sixties and updated by the original researcher to improve indoor air quality. Good luck surviving the maintenance staff & landlords.
William Carr
@ StWils.
I just finished an Internship with an Electrician working maintenance at College.
Maintenance Staff rarely got to sit down other than at lunch.
This is a hydroponic system and an outside contractor would be routinely hired to come in and maintain it.
Just as outside contractors handle the water softener system, and maintain the boilers.
And they’re pretty motivated to keep their stuff working right. Or they don’t get called back.