Building a wall that breathes

I’ve been spending a lot of time the past few months on nature based architecture.

I’m not sure why I find it so interesting — I just think it’s cool that people thousands of years ago had literally the exact same problems that we have today (heating/cooling, water, sewage treatment, etc.), and they somehow creative ways to solve them too:

As we continue to increase the stewardship of our urban canopy in Phase 1 of Mulch (rewilding street space — the community is growing!!!), we’re also looking ahead to piloting some nature-based architecture in Phase 2 (rewilding rooftops, balconies, and walls) for next year.

There’s one project specifically that I’m fascinated by:

Installing a living wall.

While there are a couple in Manhattan, none are as stunning as the examples we’re starting to see abroad:

I’ve been looking at the cost and complexity for executing one of these landscaped facades and — surprisingly — it’s become a lot more simple over the past decade.

It’s not cheap — probably around 50K for a 500 square foot wall — but it’s also not ridiculously out of reach either with grants, etc.

I want Mulch to pilot one of these walls next year. I think it’d be cool to see how it goes.

Over the next few weeks I’m going to start talking with experts to get specs for a pilot — will make those calls public in case anyone is interested in joining/learning.

Till next week,
Mayank