Greening the building envelope, facade greening and living wall systems

Katia Perini, Marc Ottelé, E. M. Haas, Rossana Raiteri

.

DOI: 10.4236/oje.2011.11001                

Abstract

For greening the building envelope several concepts can be used, for example green roofs, fa?ades greened with climbing plants or living wall systems (modular pre-vegetated panels), etc. Greening the building envelope allows to obtain a relevant improvement of the its effi- ciency, ecological and environmental benefits as well as an increase of the biodiversity. Since the interest restoring the environmental integ- rity of urban areas continues to increase, new developments in construction practices with beneficial environmental characteristics take place, as vertical greening systems. Applying green fa?ades is not a new concept and can offer multiple benefits as a component of cur- rent urban design; considering the relation be- tween the environmental benefits, energy sav- ing for the building and the vertical greening systems (material used, maintenance, nutrients and water needed) the integration of vegetation could be a sustainable approach for the enve- lope of new and existing buildings.

Keywords

Façade Greening; Living Wall Systems; Nature In Cities; Environmental Benefits; Environmental Impact; Sustainability

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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