Exploring my interests, projects, and research

Here’s a tongue twister for you: Longest Living Wall Lives in Longwood Gardens.  Say that 10 times fast!

I am continually drawn to projects and ideas that bring plants indoors.  In the November-December 2010 issue of Eco-Structure magazine, there was an article about how a horticultural center in Kennett, Pennsylvania opened up the longest living indoor wall in North America – beating out former #1, the PNC Bank building. (Eco-Structure has an additional article as well.)

Today, Longwood Gardens is a charitable 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit corporation.  The land on which the gardens sits was originally purchased for preservation by Pierre du Pont, the great grand-son of Du Pont founder E. I. du Pont.  Longwood’s indoor living wall is a component of the East Conservatory Plaza which is includes five tiers of grass-covered terraces.  The Plaza is surrounded by woodland plantings, including a more than 200-year-old English Yew.

Indoor living wall details:

• Total surface area is 4,072 square feet
• More then 47,000 plants from 25 plant species
• The wall will remove an estimated 15,000 pounds of dust and toxins from the air per year
• The wall will provide an annual amount of oxygen equivalent to that produced by 90 14-foot-tall trees

Wall construction details:

• 3,590 GSky Plant Systems panels
• 24 irrigation zones
• 3,900 linear feet of irrigation drip line

Here is a cross-section illustration of the living wall construction: Read more »