Green fa?ade system: Is it good?

Green facades can attract and lose heat. The plants also induce evaporation, which serves to keep the climate of the town or metropolis cooler. Vertical vegetation is currently gaining popularity. Climbing plants like wisteria and Virginia creeper have been used to beautify building facades for generations. Recently, in larger cities, this vegetation has been used for many other purposes, such as trapping small particles.

The benefit is that it takes up minimal space in a densely populated metropolitan location while providing several vertical meters of green space. It is important to remember that a climbing plant that may cover a five-story building in a few years requires adequate space for its roots to be healthy. The plant does not require much area on the ground, but some underground room is required.

There are three types of vegetation to be found:

• Self-climbing plants that use tendrils, twining stems, or suckers to climb;
• Climbing plants that require a structure in front of a wall to develop and climb;
• ?Hanging plants that grow from pots on the roof or balcony (these plants require extra attention: fertilizer, water, and frost protection).

In green facade gardens, plants grow upward from pots fastened to the facade or from a substrate adhered to it. Because of the rigorous care and maintenance required, such as regular watering and fertilizing, these are often expensive and delicate solutions. The question is whether these remedies are long-term. They should only be used when plants cannot be planted directly in the ground at the foot of a facade.

The issue of structural damage caused by climbing plant roots is frequently discussed. The same logic applies here: plant roots will only be a problem if the facade already has loose mortar or fissures. It is therefore critical to evaluate a building for flaws and get them corrected before planting any greenery. To prevent harm from climbing plants, the building must be inspected periodically, and all roots, tendrils, twining stems, and other infringements must be removed from windows, gutters, and eaves.

Advantages

• Vertical vegetation shields the walls from direct sunlight. At night, the facade heats up less, absorbs less heat, and emits less heat. Evaporation causes the plants to release water vapor, which increases the cooling impact on the surrounding area.
• Vertical vegetation, in short, has a cooling impact on maximum temperatures.?Climbing plants can also be utilized for pergolas to provide shade.
• Green facades minimize street noise by 2.5 to 3 decibels and lessen internal reverberation between facades on each side of the street.
• Green roofs can help to increase biodiversity by creating new urban habitats and specialized habitats for rare or endangered plant or animal species. It can also serve as a link or corridor across urban biological deserts, assisting invertebrates and birds in migrating.
• They also help to remove gaseous contaminants from the air. Plants with dense foliage or textured leaf surfaces that trap tiny particles help to remove particulate pollution through dry deposition on the foliage or rain wash.

Disadvantages

• Green walls are a luxury item and are very costly however, the new systems take a lot of the hard work out of the construction of green walls thus decreasing installation costs.
• Green walls are extremely labour-intensive to maintain, with an average of 50 plants per square meter.
• Keeping soil intact on a vertical living system looks easy, but in reality, cleaning up the soil that falls out daily because your plants are growing is a labour of love.?
• You will also need to regularly replace plants that have died or are root bound.