Green Walls | Living Cities

this video was sponsored by the nick moore foundation green walls like this one are popping up in major cities all over the world they're said to have a number of benefits of both our health and the health of our planet so today we're going to be visiting a number of these green walls to see what would happen if all walls in our cities were to be made green [Music] first of all i must explain that making all walls in our cities green would be incredibly difficult to pull off due to the amount of money it would require for installation and maintenance however it's still a concept worth exploring because even if we could turn say 5 of our walls green this would still have a significant impact on our fight against climate change i will begin by showing you the benefits that these walls have and then later on i'll show you a range of interesting examples from around the world so stick around to see those green walls have amazing thermal properties which means they are fantastic insulators in both hot and cold climates this means that they can reduce heat loss in the winter whilst also keeping our buildings cool in the summer in fact they can reduce the need for air conditioning by 33 on average which has a dramatic effect on the amount of energy buildings use plants also lower the outdoor temperatures in the summer through a process known as evapotranspiration cities tend to be warmer than rural areas due to something known as the heat island effect which basically means that the buildings in the city warm up the surrounding air tests have shown that in the same location where there is a hard and a vegetated surface there can be a difference of 17 degrees celsius therefore as our climate gets hotter so will our cities which provides another valid reason for installing more green walls [Music] our cities have been overrun by concrete and steel which is having a negative impact on people's mental health as we are losing touch with the natural world reintroducing plants and greenery back into our cities can help reduce stress and improve people's overall well-being studies have shown that simply having a small view of nature can increase workplace productivity as well as patient recovery rates in hospitals therefore green walls can have a positive impact economically by increasing workers productivity and also freeing up hospital beds green walls also reduce the amount of pollution in the air during the day these plant walls will extract carbon dioxide carbon monoxide and many other toxins from the air this reduces the overall amount of co2 entering our atmosphere but it also reduces the amount of toxins we breathe into our lungs the environmental audit committee estimates that outdoor air pollution can cause 50 000 premature deaths in the uk per year and in places like china this number can be over 10 times greater therefore even if green walls can make just a small reduction in these numbers it would be enough to justify having them [Music] green walls attract native species back into the cities which were once pushed out due to developments for example this living wall is a habitat for a variety of birds as well as bees and insects as you may have seen in my green buildings video these walls can be crucial for a city's biodiversity as they often nesting places far out of the reach of predators so far in this video i have shown you green walls from the city of london so now i want to share with you some of the best examples from the rest of the world singapore is notorious for green architecture as it has a tropical climate all year round which allows for lush greenery to flourish the eurasia hotel is a building which is entirely covered by a red skin which allows for plants to grow up the facade the park royal hotel has gardens and multiple layers which flow over the sides you can find out more about these two designs in my green buildings video one of the most famous green walls is the kf forum in madrid which includes 15 000 plants from over 250 species the largest green wall in north america is the longwood gardens green wall which is over 390 square meters but the largest green wall in the world is located in taipei and measures over 2 500 square meters at one of mexico city's largest universities is this green wall where the different types of plants have been positioned strategically to create a piece of artwork one project that i'm particularly excited about is the city cape house based in london which is being designed by the architect shepard robson this is a project i intend to visit once it has been completed so make sure you subscribe so you can see that video thank you for watching as always hit the like button if you enjoyed this video and make sure you go and check out some of our other videos on sustainable design i'll see you in the next one

Channel: Going Green

Views: 41,927

Keywords: green architecture, the world's greenest buildings, green buildings, how can buildings be made sustainable, green architecture saving the world, green architecture examples, green architecture buildings, biophillic architecture, sustainable design, sustainable architecture, energy efficient buildings, eco design, green technology, green walls, plant walls, living walls, green wall examples, plant wall example, how plant walls work, vertical garden

Id: R9fJ0Rt2Hpw

Length: 5min 8sec (308 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 12 2020