Page 67 - I-Plants Magazine special 2021 Biophilic Design Awards issue - regular res

Silver Award Silver Award 67

Green Walls & Vertical Gardens, Green Walls & Vertical Gardens,
Interior & Exterior Interior & Exterior
$10,001-$20,000 $20,001-$30,000

Project: Project:
655 West Broadway Hys Medical Centre

Congratulations to: Congratulations to:

Good Earth Plant & Flower Co., Inc. Greenjeans Interiorscape Ltd.

San Diego, California, U.S.A Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

The story behind this design and installation:

The renovation of the dated lobby in this medical centre (home to
a variety of specialists and services) was overseen by Blue Graphite
Design. They wished to soften the space and add vertical greenery,
so our design team collaborated to achieve an integrated “hybrid”
green wall that is beautiful, practical, and has a sustainable budget
for ongoing maintenance. The idea was to include recessed living
walls in the newly defined seating space. To create balance and
coverage in the asymmetrical lobby, two long horizontal walls were
positioned over the primary seating areas, with vertical walls ascend-
ing up the narrower right wall. The three living walls needed to be
placed low enough so that they could be maintained efficiently
from a ladder, without the need for expensive or time-consuming
lift equipment. The vertical sections at the right of the seating space
required greater height than could be reasonably maintained from
a ladder, so an innovative hybrid design graduating from living walls
through to moss walls was conceived. The lowest piece is solely live
plants. The middle section transitions into preserved moss with natu-
ral embellishments and artificial foliage to echo the living wall, and
then the top panel transitions to moss only. This allows for maximum
greenery with minimized maintenance costs. The vertical design has
an ascending flow, lifting the eye, mind, and spirit upward - perfect
for the nature of this downtown health care facility. The green wall Seating area under the skylight - the living wall offers a fresh, biophilic feature
feature integrates with a calming plantscape in the adjacent hallway to provide a pleasant, calming experience while waiting in this medical centre.
that is limited by low light conditions. The vertical panels transition upward from live plants to moss.

What makes this design
biophilic?
This design brings nature indoors to
define and frame a calming space
to rest and breathe. The living walls
provide an instant connection to
nature in the transition lobby space
that helps reduce stress for clients,
workers, medical practitioners and
patients. The biophilic experience is
emphasized by the vertical wall as-
pect - it lifts the eye through a transi-
tion of live plants and moss walls to
glimpse the light and movement of
the sky through the skylight above.
Biophilic design properties include
three living walls, biophilic mimicry
in the moss wall embellishments and
artificial foliages; preserved life-like
mosses, live plants in the main hall-
way; blooming rotation

The first living wall that welcomes visitors inside the entrance. The lush
organic design pops against the simple, modern lines of the facade and
seating.