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What Is a Green Facade?
Green facades are created by purposefully growing climbing plants both up and across the facade of a building. While most green facades are designed from plants that are either planted directly into the soil or in pots at the base of the exterior wall, some green facades place containers at varying levels across the building, especially in multistory buildings.
Are Green Facades Different Than Living Walls?
Green facades are different from living walls. Green facades use a trellis system to hold the vines of plants rooted directly into the ground, a living wall has a system of wall modules such as bags or mini containers that hold the roots of each plant. Living walls almost always require a separate irrigation system, which increases the cost and the complexity of the system. Simultaneously, the plants that make up green facades receive their water requirements directly from the rain outside and soil on the ground.
The advantage of self-climbing plants for a green facade is that you will not have to invest in a separate support system such as cables, ropes, or fasteners. The downside is that some of these types of self-climbers will develop aerial root systems to attach themselves to the wall of your home. If there are any cracks in your house’s exterior, these aerial roots can cause damage over time.
Some of the best-known self-climbing plants for green facades include common ivy, American trumpet, Chinese Wisteria, wild hop, honeysuckle, and hardy kiwi. Some of the best twiners include standard wisteria, Virginia Creeper, and Japanese Spindle. In some cases, you can combine both self-climbing plants and twiners. The thicker vines of the self-climbers will serve as a trellis for the twiners.
When Green Facades Might Not Work for Homeowners
Despite the benefits outlined above, green facades are not meant for every home. As we mentioned above, certain self-clinging climbers such as common English Ivy will support themselves with aerial roots that can penetrate cracks and joints in the masonry on the exterior of your home. This can cause structural damage over time, though sound masonry practices will most likely be unaffected. Houses with wood facades would probably do best to avoid green facades, as moisture accumulation could lead to rot and mold issues, both on the exterior and interior of your home.
If you choose a green facade where plant boxes are placed at different levels across your home facade, they will need much more maintenance. Any system that requires extensive irrigation infrastructure also increases the risk of the buildup of moisture inside your home, should the system malfunction.
Bottom Line
If you can live with these risks, green facades offer several significant benefits for homeowners in different climates. They are a relatively simple and cost-effective strategy to beautify your home, attract wildlife, improve the thermal performance of your home, and help clean up urban air quality issues.
Tobias Roberts
Tobias runs an agroecology farm and a natural building collective in the mountains of El Salvador. He specializes in earthen construction methods and uses permaculture design methods to integrate structures into the sustainability of the landscape.
