Designing green façades and living wall systems for sustainable constructions

摘要

The integration of vegetation, with green roofs and vertical greening systems, is a constantly evolvingresearch field. However green envelopes (especially the most innovative vertical greening systems) are notyet fully accepted as an environmental quality restoration and energy saving method for the builtenvironment, due to the lack of data needed to quantify their effects and to evaluate the real sustainability(environmental and economic) of these. The many systems available on the market allow combining natureand built space to improve the environmental quality in urban areas; green façades, living wall systems offermore surfaces with vegetation and, at the same time, contribute to the improvement of the thermalperformance of buildings. From a functional point of view, vertical greening systems compared to greenroofs, demand a more complex design, which must consider a major number of variables. In the case ofvertical greened surfaces there are numbers of systems to green façades with or without windows, startingfrom a simple disposition of climbing plants at the base of the façade. Vertical greening systemscharacteristics and materials involved can either positively or negatively influence theirs performances, withrespect to the improvement of the building envelope efficiency and microclimate conditions (coolingpotential and the insulation properties), and the environmental burden produced during theirs life span(installation, maintenance, disposal, etc.). This paper analyses characteristics, advantages and critical aspectsof four common greening systems, with special attention to micro-scale benefits (the benefits most related tothe systems peculiarities) and to environmental sustainability.