The Green Building in Louisville, KY is a shining example in green building practices. A renovated 110 year old building; it was the first commercial building in Louisville to be LEED Platinum Certified, and it incorporated many innovative building techniques to do so. One of the more intriguing features is garden designer Tracy Williams’ “green wall.” This wall incorporates a hydroponic medium made up of recycled plastic with the characteristics of a spun fiber and living plants inserted into the medium to create a living wall installation. The wall is very practical in its applications. Tracy Williams talks about its potential advantages in an urban environment, specifically in creating a cooling effect in the heat of the city and increasing the air quality by using the plants as living air filters. There is also the obvious practical use of using the space as an urban garden. With this technique you would be able to grow a large amount of food using very little space, something that is in short supply in an urban environment.
The piece is also very artistic and visual appealing at the same time as being practical. Tracy Williams talks about the wall as a “painting of plants.” For Tracy the hydroponic material is simply a canvas for the brushstroke of each plant that is placed upon it. Even more exciting is that this piece of artwork will be always growing and evolving as the plants grow and integrate themselves into the material.
If you are looking for natural beauty matched with modern style and innovation look no farther than The Green Building!
Written by Savannah Miller, Business Development Intern, Spring 2012
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