Design firm “Green Over Grey” focuses on sustainable designs for the 21st Century and beyond, some facets of which are more or less visible than others.
Green Over Grey is currently refurbishing the Desjardins Building in Lévis, Québec, Canada, which is expected to be LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certified when it opens later this year. Part of Green Over Grey’s more visible approach to sustainable design involved the design of a vertical garden, the centerpiece to the Desjardins building.
The vertical garden itself, at 213 ft high, is the tallest in the world, covering a total of 2,139 ft2. Besides being a visual cue to the Desjardins’ sustainable design, the garden itself has also been sustainably designed. For example, Green Over Grey took over five months to design the hydroponic vertical garden, including forty-two plant species that thrive in vertical environments, such as philodendrons, fig trees, and ferns. The hydroponic system itself is made entirely from synthetic recycled materials, over 1.6 tons of recycled water bottles and plastic bags.
Sustainable design doesn’t have to be obtrusive or ugly. As we see from Green Over Grey’s design of the “The Currents” vertical garden in the Desjardins building, sustainable design can be beautiful and functional. The garden enriches the workplace, improves the acoustic quality of the building, and improves the air quality. Over 10,000 plants that make up “The Currents” were arranged to evoke images of the Saint Lawrence River, which runs along Québec City and Lévis.
Image © Green Over Grey
I. Would create a rotating indoor garden that is part of my free electricity that runs on magnetic repulsion to keep spinning the garden and runnig the ligts that are same as sun
Lisa Sutton