Details
Chicago Center for Green Technology
The City of Chicago sponsors The Chicago Center for Green Technology, an institution focused on comprehensive green design and education in the Midwest. Beginning in spring 2011 the Center for Green Technology began hosting a 24-month long installation of over a dozen living wall systems in an outdoor area. The purpose of the installation is to allow homeowners, contractors and architects to get to see a variety of green wall systems in person and to be able to see how they hold up over time.
Design Challenge
The project required each green wall company to cover a 4x8 piece of plywood with a living wall and connect to an existing drip irrigation system. From the Pocket side, this was a quick and easy installation. We screwed (12) Wally Ones directly into the plywood, covering the surface. The bigger challenge was to create a plant palette that could stand up to the harsh Chicago wind, hail and snow and still look great year around. Christy Webber Landscapes developed a plant palette using mid-west native plants and hardy perennials. We continue to observe this installation and will report how the plants are doing in spring 2012.
Date of Install
June 2011
Owner
The Chicago Center for Green Technology
Designer
Christy Webber Landscapes is a full service landscape design, construction and maintenance company in Chicago, Illinois. They have completed a number of high profile projects including the landscape installation at Millennium Park.
Access
Access is available through The Center for Green Technology.
Pockets
The installation uses (12) Chocolate Wally Ones with Reservoir. The install is (2) Pockets wide and (6) Pockets tall. The area covered is 4 x 8’.
The living wall took one person one day to install. This includes stopping at a nursery to purchase the plants.
Climate
The project is in hardiness Zone 5. The installation is outside at ground level on an east elevation of a building. The wall receives direct sunlight in the morning.
Plant List
The initial planting called for (36) 6” and 8” plants. The plant palette is composed of native plants and hardy perennials:
Sporobolus heterolepis, Prairie Drop Seed
Scirpus Lacustris, Bulrush
Heuchera ‘Coral Bells’
Hemerocallis, Day Lilies
Dolichos lablab, Hyacinth Vine
Thymus, Thyme
Lamium, Deadnettle
Hedera helix, English Ivy
Nepata cateria, Catnip
Irrigation
The living wall is watered with a drip irrigation system. The drip line is 1/4” self-regulating ½ gph emitters spaced every 6”. A timer (Hunter XC Hybrid) automatically triggers the system to run 2x a day for 5 minutes, once at 8am and once at 5pm. A backflow preventer is connected to the supply line.
Details
Pockets
The installation uses (12) Chocolate Wally Ones with Reservoir. The install is (2) Pockets wide and (6) Pockets tall. The area covered is 4 x 8’. The living wall took one person one day to install. This includes stopping at a nursery to purchase the plants.
Details
Plant List
The initial planting called for (36) 6” and 8” plants. The plant palette is composed of native plants and hardy perennials:
Sporobolus heterolepis – Prairie Drop Seed
Scirpus Lacustris – Bulrush
Heuchera ‘Coral Bells’
Hemerocallis – Day Lilies
Dolichos lablab – Hyacinth Vine
Thymus – Thyme
Lamium – Deadnettle
Hedera Helix – English Ivy
Nepata Cateria – Catnip
Details
Irrigation
The living wall is watered with a drip irrigation system. The drip line is 1/4” self-regulating ½ gph emitters spaced every 6”. A timer (Hunter XC Hybrid) automatically triggers the system to run 2x a day for 5 minutes, once at 8am and once at 5pm. A backflow preventer is connected to the supply line.