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Retaining walls are evolving and the next generation is - Living!

Thanks for attending our very fast living retaining wall presentationWe believe that the retaining wall market is evolving and the next generation is living retaining wallsA living retaining wall is a system that allows for the incorporation of soil or growth media so that plants can be introduced right into the facing elements of the wall and therefore grow the wall over and what you get when youre done is a wall that doesnt look like a wall because it is totally grown over with plantsThat is what we consider a living wall because it is truly alive

You get Ecosystem Function & BeautyHardscape vs. Landscape

The argument here is which is better hard scape or landscapeWe believe its landscape and more than landscape its plantsYou get ecosystem function and beauty from a living retaining wallHard scape retaining walls only deliver structure and in many cases environmental detriments such as urban heat island effectThe use of hard scape walls eliminates the opportunity to return green space and habitat to the built environment

Reliable Plant Coverage Mitigates Heat Island Effect

Since the plants are coming directly out of facing elements in the walls, reliable plate coverage can be expectedComplete plant coverage mitigates the effects of urban heat islandUrban heat island is what results from so much of our concrete and asphalt in the areas in which we liveThe exposed heat absorbing structures on this particular site can get as hot as 150 during the day and then remain in excess of 100 even after darkBy comparison, this particular living wall stays very close to ambient air temperature day and night, therefore not contributing to urban heat island

Habitat Creation Instead of Habitat Removal

Before2 Seasons Later

Why not take every opportunity possible to create habitat instead of removing habitat when we develop our landThe blocks do not create habitat but they create the opportunity for plant material that becomes the habitatMany creatures depend on particular species of plants for their lifecycle and when we strip the plants from the development site and do not replace them that habitat is lostLiving retaining walls provide the opportunity to return the habitat and green space on every project

Commercial Site Development Diversity and Flexibility

Useful retaining walls need to offer design flexibility and most living walls do that very wellThis particular project was completed and planted in the fall of 1999 and the corresponding after picture was taken in 2001This project has been completely covered with plant material since 2002 and serves as the ultimate example of commercial living walls

Transportation Cost Savings and Reduced Project Impact

Living walls in the slope configuration fit very well into transportation developmentsThese walls in particular were hydras seeded with native perennials and grew over very quicklyEven though this wall is 35 feet tall its impact is minimal due to the varying growth habits of the variety of native perennials that inhabit the wallThis particular living wall was selected because the roadway improvements were designed to bring traffic to newly developing core doorsDevelopers were going to be building houses that would back up directly to these walls and did not want to have their sale value impacted negatively by solid concreteThese living walls have disappeared into the embankment and no one really knows theyre there

Nutrient Up-take by Selected Plantings Improves Water Quality

Living walls provide the opportunity to select particular species of plants to accomplish a taskIn this case the living wall was selected for a shoreline application along the Chesapeake BayWater quality issues are very important in the Chesapeake watershedSpecific types of native grasses were selected for this wall due to their tested ability to absorb pollutants from the waterThis is an 18 month progression of grow out and its easy to see that the grasses love their new homeIf they are happy the bay is happy

Why Not Have a Range of Batter to Build Walls and Slopes

Most living wall systems can be built at a variety of inclinationsThese pictures show the same living wall system built at 50 and again at 70They are plantable in both conditionsDesign flexibility is enhanced by the capacity to conform to a hillside if necessary

Cast in Place Concrete Walls have been the Norm

For most of our lives cast in place concrete walls have been commonplaceThey are very structural and in some cases can be beautiful but they are never environmental and they never create habitat or green spaceCast in place concrete walls are very one dimensional

MSE Panel Walls Are Everywhere in Transportation

MSE panel walls show up on transportation projects around the countryThey are very flexible and reliable in their structure and therefore have gained a great followingBut just like their counterparts, the cast in place wall, they are very one-dimensionalMSE panel walls create no habitat or green space and they do contribute to urban heat island effectIn many cases these walls are built vertically, which is their strong suitMost transportation projects could benefit from living walls away from bridge abutments and in place of vertical walls holding up slopes from the road or beneath the road, rather than vertical wallsIf living walls were selected in these cases, many transportation dollars would be saved and the impact of development would be lessened

Large Wet-cast Blocks are Coming-on But Only Offer Structure

In the last few years large wet-cast blocks have come onto the scene and done very wellThey too are reliable but only have one dimensional benefitsNo green space or habitat is created by these systems either

Dry-cast Block Provide Structure and Design Flexibility but Still Exhibit One-Dimensional Benefit

Try catch blocks in many configurations have been available for the last 20 years or moreThey are perhaps the most flexible in design and the most cost-effectiveEvery time one of these walls is built, a great opportunity to return green space and habitat to the development is lostDry cast blocks re the easiest system to substitute with living wallsLiving walls perform the exact same task as similar price point and have much more environmental benefit

Living Walls Provide Structure, Design Flexibility and Environmental Benefits

Living walls provided the structure, design flexibility and environmental benefits that all of the other systems showcased today do notIts easy to see from these photographs that living walls are quite simply a vessel for holding growth media at an angle of inclination that would not be possible otherwiseLarge verifiable quantities of growth media or soil are what make these systems so goodPlants thrive in the soil contained in these walls and barely even know that theyre not in a flat planting bed

Aesthetic Diversity, Temperature Moderation, Green-Space and Habitat are All Achieved by Living Walls

So many benefits are provided by living retaining walls as opposed to any other type of retaining wallsAesthetic diversity is maximized, temperatures are moderated and kept near ambient air temperature, green space and habitat are maximized as wellIf you could take a moment in the presence of these walls, you would notice honeybees going about their business on the flowers growing within these wallsIf it were not for these walls the honeybees would not have a place to do their businessIf these walls were not there, many creatures would not have the opportunity to live out their lifecycleOur human impact on development is made worse by our consistent use of solid structures such as traditional hard scape walls

Retaining Walls Have Evolved

There is no way to look at these pictures and not realize that retaining walls have evolvedThe products and systems are available and in most cases worldwideWhat consumers and agencies must do is educate themselves in the use of these systemsOnly then can the true benefits be realizedWe all look at a vast amount of solid concrete each day and who among us would not be quick to say that a plant covered wall is more beautiful and could possibly be more beneficialLets get learning

Living Walls are Storm-water Management Tools and Filtration Systems

Living retaining walls are permeable and allow for the infiltration of runoff water into themLiving retaining walls buffer the movement of rainwater toward overflow structuresThe plants within living retaining walls absorb and transpire the moisture that is retained in themAs a result, living retaining walls are becoming known as a storm water management toolLiving retaining walls increase the impervious area of the development site much the same as a green roof or a rain garden

Vertical Parking Lots Should Be a Thing of the Past

If you took this main picture and turned it on its side would it look just like a parking lot?Essentially hard scape retaining walls are vertical parking lotsFrom our point of view living retaining walls are more beautiful than any other type of retaining wallOur opinion comes from a love of plant materialOur particular living retaining wall systems happen to be concrete but we are not so impressed with that factOur systems are a means to an endThe end that we shoot for is a wall that is completely covered with healthy, thriving plantsAt that point the product beneath is merely a means to an end-the plants are what we really want

Living Walls are Tools In the Sustainable Design Toolkit Just Like Rain Gardens and Green Roofs

In this particular photo the living wall system is being used to hold up one side of a rain gardenSome people may think this is innovative, we think this is an everyday usageThis particular site is a Municipal CenterCity offices, fire department and police garage are all located at the siteThey have had the good sense to reduce their runoff water coming from the site by utilizing a green roof on the building, permeable pavement in the parking lot and rain gardens around the perimeters of the propertyThe living wall in this photo is one of many tools utilized on this site

Way More Opportunity Exists to Use Living Walls Than Most Living Architecture --- Take Advantage of It

Many sites have grade changes that necessitate the use of a retaining wallThose same sites have opportunities for green roofs or rain gardens or bio swalesMany times due to budget constraints, all of the other living architecture is cut out of the projectGrade changes must always be managed in order to achieve parking spaces, entrance and exitsLiving retaining walls have way more opportunity to be used in development than most other types of living architectureWe only need to educate ourselves about the systems, their availability and their methods of useOnce we learn how to use these innovative tools they can truly have the impact that they should

Let Your Walls Live!

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