Happy Earth Day!
Earth day is a good time to reflect on your own personal environmental impact on the world we live in. When assessing how green of a person you may or may not be, you start to think of the obvious elements, such as driving less, reducing plastic waste and reducing consumption. Those are all great things and there are plenty more simple changes you can make to lessen your environmental footprint and go green. What about additions that can make an impact on the environment? As urban settings evolve and new construction and renovations start with a green perspective, we are beginning to see smarter design and eco-friendly details.
Green design has become more and more popular as consumers have begun to prioritize reducing our environmental impact in cities everywhere. Building structures have become more efficient in energy use and products have entered the market to make our work places more eco-friendly.
Go green with the original green! As we have built over our natural world in cities, there is now a beautiful way to re-incorporate real plants back into our surroundings.
In our fast paced and “instant” society, it is difficult to convince people to construct something that takes time and effort to develop until the benefits can be realized, however solutions for encouraging more plant grown have been coming in the form of climbing plants, on building facades and external wire trellises. It is true that it will take time for the plants to take, grow and climb as intended, but the final result is often stunning and the purpose is not just to keep up with the current “green” trends and aesthetics. The benefits include facets of temperature control in reducing thermal gain and helping to cool in summer months; insulation against noise; improving the air quality. Health benefits from working or living in close proximity to plants have been shown to include a reduction in stress, which is something everyone could use these days.
There is a great deal of details that go into planning and designing a green facade or trellis, but there is also abundant resources on the subject as well. It is important to focus on the correct climbing plant species for the specific region first, while also looking into the design which would be the best fit for the building or area. Vertical landscapes are beautiful and can help blend a building into the natural environment. The way we design and interact with our world now will effect generations to come and a little greening can go a long way! Enjoy the project photo inspiration and contact us for your next greening project.
