THE AFFORDABLE VERTICAL GARDEN DESIGN AS GREEN ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS FOR SOCIAL - ECONOMY...

THE AFFORDABLE VERTICAL GARDEN DESIGN AS

GREEN ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS FOR SOCIAL -

ECONOMY IMPROVEMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE

MITIGATION

Suwandi, Evanti Andriani*, Suharto, Merry**, Sutanto, Lusiana ***,

Tanuwidjaja, Gunawan****

*) Students of Architecture Program Study, Petra Christian University

**) Students of Architecture Program Study, Petra Christian University

***) Students of Tax Accounting Program Study, Petra Christian University

****) Architecture Program Study, Petra Christian University,

E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]

ABSTRACT Indonesia is known as an agriculture state with abundant farming crops, forest and

plantations crops, and supported the majority farming communities’ livelihoods.

The trend of agriculture development was hindered by limited people interested in

the agriculture careers; because of the perception of office jobs were better than the

agriculture ones. The unbalanced development of urban areas also created office

buildings, shopping centers, housings, reduced green area reduction, also more

traffic jams and pollutions. Therefore, the affordable vertical garden was needed to

replace the horizontal garden.

However, vertical garden was not easy to maintain because of its difficult

cultivation process. Because of that, the innovation of watering system without

massive human intervention was needed. Some products were developed by Antonio

Some products were developed by Antonio Scarponi and IKEA Switzerland, Green

over Grey™, Vespro Inc, and Indogreenwall; but the product prices were too high

for Indonesia. Therefore, a more affordable vertical garden design is proposed.

The hydroponic media also was difficult to find. Therefore a normal media

consisting of fertilizer, soil and gravel could be introduced for more affordable

price. And more people were interested to grow fruit or vegetables crops to meet

daily needs (impacts of social and economic aspects). Furthermore, the

improvement of aesthetics, and pollution reductions would be produced (minimize

the impact of global warming and climate change). Lastly, the vertical greenery is

going to be integrated in house facade design and supplying daily vegetable

consumption.

Keywords: vertical greenery, house facade design

INTRODUCTION Indonesia is known as an agriculture state with abundant farming crops, forest and

plantations crops, and supported the majority farming communities’ livelihoods. The

trend of agriculture development was hindered by limited people interested in the

agriculture careers; because of the perception of office jobs were better than the

agriculture ones. The unbalanced development of urban areas also created office

buildings, shopping centers, housings, reduced green area reduction, also more

traffic jams and pollutions. Therefore, the affordable vertical garden was needed to

replace the horizontal garden.

However, vertical garden was not easy to maintain because of its difficult cultivation

process. Because of that, the innovation of watering system without massive human

intervention was needed. Some products were developed by Antonio Scarponi and

IKEA Switzerland (http://www.conceptualdevices.com/2012/09/eliooo-grow-your-

food-or-how-to-go-to-ikea%C2%AE-and-build-a-device-to-grow-salad-in-your-

apartment/)1; Green over Grey™ (http://greenovergrey.com/index.php)

2; Vespro Inc

(http://www.vesproinc.com/index.htm)3; Indogreenwall

(http://www.indogreenwall.com/)4; but the product prices were too high for

Indonesia. Therefore, a more affordable vertical garden design is proposed.

The hydroponic media also was difficult to find. Therefore a normal media

consisting of fertilizer, soil and gravel could be introduced for more affordable price.

And more people were interested to grow fruit or vegetables crops to meet daily

needs (impacts of social and economic aspects). Furthermore, the improvement of

aesthetics, and pollution reductions would be produced (minimize the impact of

global warming and climate change). Lastly, the vertical greenery is going to be

integrated in house facade design and supplying daily vegetable consumption.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Vertical Farming and Green Wall

Hampwaye, G., Nel, E., Ingombe, L. (2009) study showed that urban agriculture

contributed significantly towards household total income and access to cheap food,

and consequently to poverty reduction. The contribution of urban agriculture

towards poverty alleviation can be further enhanced if the practice is recognized and

supported by all key stakeholders. 5

The limited land in the urban area forced the promotion of vertical agriculture in

densely populated American cities, is the use of grow-bags to raise a wide range of

crops. Many apartment dwellers with no yards to speak of, or people with very small

yards, will set up these bags on a balcony or thin strip of land. The bags themselves

are made from a variety of materials, including canvas, weed barrier fabric, and

polyester, all having semi-porous properties so the soil can drain adequately. The

term "Bagriculture" was coined in 1998 by Rudy Zappa Martinez to describe this

type of agriculture (Fraser, E.D.G., 2002) 6.

Limited land makes improvement to vertical farming. The concept of vertical

farming had been used for producing tomatoes and herbs. It is urgent need to scale

up this technology to accommodate more food. The Vertical Farm must be efficient

(cheap to construct and safe to operate). Vertical farms, with many stories high,

would be situated in the heart of the world's urban centers. If successfully

implemented, they offer the promise of urban renewal, sustainable production of a

safe and varied food supply (year-round crop production), and the eventual repair of

ecosystems that have been sacrificed for horizontal farming

(http://www.verticalfarm.com/more).7

Therefore, the Vertical Farming could be considered for solving the urban food

production problems. This also would reduce the energy for transporting the food as

described by Xuereb, M. (2005) 8, he estimated that switching to locally grown food

could save transport related emissions equivalent to nearly 50,000 metric tons of

CO2, or the equivalent of taking 16,191 cars off the road.

The Vertical Agri-farming was also proposed by Knafo Klimmer architects in

Wuhan, China. Agro-housing combined urban and rural living together by designing

vertical greenhouse spaces within high-rise apartment building

(http://www.kkarc.com/projects.aspx?gp=3/).9 The design challenges the 'new'

strains on energy resources, infrastructure, and community displacement by

presenting a new urban and social vision. The new building typology will create a

new order in the city creates as a space close to homes where families can produce

their own food supply according to "their own abilities, tastes and choices to

promote independent living, freedom and potentially provide additional income".

Moreover, these greenhouse spaces provide a gathering space for the community.

Agro-housing is one project but is meant to become a model for a new urbanity in

China, contributing to the preservation of traditions and community values and

diminishing the trials of rural migration. There are a few advantages for this

innovative building typology, such as (http://www.kkarc.com/projects.aspx?gp=3/)10

:

• Produces food for tenants and the surrounding community.

• Produces organic and healthy food that is disease and fertilizer free

• Creates an abundance of crops for self-consumption and sale for the neighbors.

• Requires no special skill set for greenhouse operation.

Figure 1. Concept or Vertical Agri-Housing by Knafo Klimmer Source: http://www.kkarc.com/projects.aspx?gp=3/11

The hindrances of implementing the concepts above are expensive building structure

and difficult watering system. Therefore, simple vertical greening in the 1-2 stories

house could be proposed (Van Uffelen, C., 2011). 12

Figure 2. Concept or Vertical Greening Source: Van Uffelen, C., (2011) 13.

Figure 3. Concept or Vertical Greening Source: Van Uffelen, C., (2011)14

Vertical Greening typology could be categorized as ivy wall and green wall. The ivy

was normally blamed damaging to buildings and reducing their sale price. On the

other hands, the ivy was found by the scientists from Oxford University, adding

color and character to many of the college buildings. A three-year study concluded

that ivy's web of dark green leaves acts as a 'thermal shield', insulating brickwork

from the extremes of temperature and moisture that often cause cracks. It can also

protect against pollution damage (Viles, H., 2010). 15

Second type of green wall is the Green walls are self sufficient vertical gardens that

are attached to the exterior or interior of a building. They differ from green façades

(e.g. ivy walls) in that the plants root in a structural support which is fastened to the

wall itself. The plants received water and nutrients from within the vertical support

instead of from the ground 16

. Some products implementing this were Green over

Grey™ (http://greenovergrey.com/index.php)17

, Vespro Inc

(http://www.vesproinc.com/index.htm)18

, and Indogreenwall

(http://www.indogreenwall.com/).19

The majority of green walls on the market today utilized thin plastic/metal boxes or

trays. The planting materials were soil, mineral wool, peat, coco coir and they were

pre-planted and hung vertically. A major limitation of modular green wall boxes was

aesthetics because of limited plant varieties, limited design possibilities, creativity

and artistic freedom.

Figure 4. Ivy wall Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-

1278430/Why-ivy-creeping-walls-home-actually-

protect-building-thanks-thermal-shield.html.20

Figure 5. Green Wall Product by Vespro inc. Source: http://www.vesproinc.com/images/success-

stories/Greenwall-1.gif.21

Figure 6 and 7. Green Wall Product by Green over Grey™ Source: http://greenovergrey.com/living-walls/what-are-living-walls.php22

Green over Grey™ proposed a system consisting of a frame, waterproof panels, an

automatic irrigation system, special materials, lights when needed and of course

plants. The frame was built in front of existing wall and attached at various points

with no damage done to the building. Waterproof panels are mounted to the frame;

these are rigid and provide structural support. A lightweight porous material takes

the place of soil and therefore the walls are very light, weighing less than 4 lb/ft2 (20

kg/m2) (http://greenovergrey.com/index.php).

23 Unfortunately, the products are too

expensive for common people in Indonesia.

Adapting from green wall products, the study intended to create pot system for

easier maintenance and control. It would supported by frame to minimize the

damage to the wall. The pots would be from recycled bottle and supported by

automatic self-watering systems. Therefore, it will be more practical and applicable

for busy urban residents.

Self Watering Method

One of existing self-watering system was proposed by Antonio Scarponi, The

planter was named ELIOOO and used hydroponics, a farming technique that can be

used to grow plants in water instead of soil

(http://www.conceptualdevices.com/2012/09/eliooo-grow-your-food-or-how-to-go-

to-ikea%C2%AE-and-build-a-device-to-grow-salad-in-your-apartment/).24

ELIOOO #30 Mob was a circulating hydroponic device able to host up to 30 pots. It

was found ideal for aromatic herbs and leaf vegetables, such as tomatoes, eggplants,

or cucumbers. The overall dimensions are 50x50x160cm, consists of three trays

vertically connected at a distance of max 45 cm from each other. The system

required the use of electricity for pumping the water or supported by photovoltaic

panel.

Figure 8. The ELIOO Source: http://www.conceptualdevices.com/2012/09/eliooo-grow-your-food-or-how-to-go-to-ikea%C2%AE-and-

build-a-device-to-grow-salad-in-your-apartment/25

The difficulty of implementing the hydroponic was the expensive media and

difficult maintenance. Therefore other methods were explored. Therefore, a drip

irrigation was selected because of efficient method of irrigating. While sprinkler

systems are around 75-85% efficient, drip systems typically are 90% or higher

(http://www.irrigationtutorials.com/dripguide.htm).26

There are two samples of

Design – It – Yourself (DIY) drip irrigation were proposed by Sobirin

(http://clearwaste.blogspot.com/2011/08/infus-airmol-untuk-tanaman-di-

musim.html)27

and Borden (http://ayorek.org/en/2013/06/how-to-make-a-self-

watering-planter/).28

Figure 9. Simple DIY homemade drip

irrigation Source http://clearwaste.blogspot.com/2011/08/infus-

airmol-untuk-tanaman-di-musim.html. 29

Figure 10. A Self-Watering Planter

Source: http://ayorek.org/en/2013/06/how-to-make-a-

self-watering-planter/.30

The two innovations above showed the drip irrigation or capillary action can be used

for automatic irrigation of the green wall.

METHODS

The research would be continued to real experiments. But because of limited

financial support, the current phase only included literature review and design

process.

DISCUSSIONS

The proposed concept of Low Cost Green Wall was initiated with recycling the

mineral bottles that were commonly found in Urban areas. The 1.5 liter bottle was

cut in half. This followed recommendation of Borden

(http://ayorek.org/en/2013/06/how-to-make-a-self-watering-planter/).31

The mineral bottles with BPA-free (with label “1″ in the bottom of the bottle) were

selected because they would be safe for planting food. Later, a plastic bottle, cap,

and two strips of cotton (about 6 inches long) were used. First, the bottle must be cut

in half and some drainage holes were made into the upper half of the bottle and one

hole into the bottom half. Some gravel (20%) in the bottom, mix of soil (40%) and

organic fertilizer (40%) were put on the planter. The gravel and mixture positioning

must facilitate the water to rise with capillary action.

The mineral bottles planters were later put on the bamboo mesh, bound by the steel

wires. The planters were put facing 30 degrees upward to prevent dropping of soil

and dripping water. Furthermore, a dripping irrigation system made from recycled

mineral bottles and several aquarium hoses were attached on top of 4 rows of

planters. The system was to facilitate easier and continuous water supply.

Figure 10. Proposed Low-Cost Design of Green Wall Panel for 1-2 Story Houses Source: Evanti at all, images used from http://foto-sansevieria.blogspot.com/2012_06_01_archive.html

and http://gdagussusila.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/11.jpg.32

Although the design was not executed successfully, the experiment was predicted to

produce low-cost green wall planter suitable for low-cost communities in the urban

areas.

CONCLUSIONS

The unbalanced development of urban areas reduced green area reduction, and lesser

affordable food supply. Therefore, the affordable vertical garden was needed to

replace the horizontal garden. However, vertical garden was not easy to maintain

because of its difficult cultivation process. Some green wall designs were evaluated

to prescribe the low cost pot - system were made from recycled bottle and supported

by automatic self-watering systems. Therefore, it will be more practical and

applicable for busy urban residents. Hopefully, the research could be continued in

the following months to be able to ensure the successful and evaluate the design

flaws.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We would like to express our gratitude to

• Architecture Program Study of Petra Christian University

o Agus Dwi Hariyanto, ST., M.Sc. Head of Architecture Program

Study.

o Ir. Joyce M. Laurens, M.Arch., Lecturer of Architecture Program

Study.

• C20 Library

REFERENCES Books and Journals

Fraser, E.D.G. (2002). Urban Ecology in Bangkok Thailand: Community

Participation, Urban Agriculture and Forestry, Environments 30 (1)

Hampwaye, G., Nel, E., Ingombe, L. (2009), "The role of urban agriculture in

addressing household poverty and food security: the case of Zambia".

Gdnet.org. Retrieved 2013-04-01

Van Uffelen, C., (2011), FaçadeGreenery: Contemporary Landscaping, Publisher:

Braun Publishing AG

Viles, H.,(2010), Interpretations and implications of our results, presented in Ivy on

Walls, Seminar Report, May 19, 2010, English Heritage and University of

Oxford.

Xuereb, M., (2005), "Food Miles: Environmental Implications of Food Imports to

Waterloo Region." Public Health Planner Region of Waterloo Public Health.

November.

Website: Borden, M., (2013), How to Make A Self-Watering Planter,

http://ayorek.org/en/2013/06/how-to-make-a-self-watering-planter/

http://clearwaste.blogspot.com/2011/08/infus-airmol-untuk-tanaman-di-musim.html

http://foto-sansevieria.blogspot.com/2012_06_01_archive.html

http://gdagussusila.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/11.jpg

http://greenovergrey.com/index.php

http://greenovergrey.com/living-walls/our-green-wall-system-vs-modular-boxes.php

http://greenovergrey.com/living-walls/what-are-living-walls.php

http://www.conceptualdevices.com/2012/09/eliooo-grow-your-food-or-how-to-go-

to-ikea%C2%AE-and-build-a-device-to-grow-salad-in-your-apartment/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1278430/Why-ivy-creeping-walls-

home-actually-protect-building-thanks-thermal-shield.html

http://www.indogreenwall.com/

http://www.irrigationtutorials.com/dripguide.htm

http://www.kkarc.com/projects.aspx?gp=3

http://www.verticalfarm.com/more

http://www.vesproinc.com/images/success-stories/Greenwall-1.gif

http://www.vesproinc.com/index.htm

1 http: //www.conceptualdev ices.com/2012/09 /eliooo-grow-y our-food-or-how-to-go-to-ikea%C2%AE-and-bu ild-a-device-to-grow-salad-in-y our-apartment/

2 http: //greenovergrey .com/index.php

3 http: //www.vespro inc.com/index.htm

4 http: //www.indogreenwall.com/

5 Hampway e, G., Nel, E., Ingombe, L. (2009), "The role of urban agriculture in addressing househo ld poverty and food security : the case of Zambia". Gdnet.org. Retrieved 2013-04-01

6 Fraser, E.D.G. (2002). Urban Ecology in Bang ko k Thailand: Community Participation, Urban Agricul ture and Forestry , Environments 30 (1)

7 http: //www.verticalfarm.com/more

8 Xuereb, M., (2005), "Food Miles : Env ironmental Implications of Food Imports to Waterloo Region. " Public Health Planner Region of Waterloo Pub lic Health. November.

9 http: //www. kkarc.com/projects.aspx?gp=3



12 Van Uffelen, C., (2011), FaçadeGreenery : Contemporary Landscaping, Publisher: Braun Publishing AG



15 Viles, H.,(2010), In terpretations and implications of our results , presented in Ivy on Walls, Seminar Report, May 19, 2010, Eng lish Heri tage and University of Oxford.

16 http: //greenovergrey .com/living-walls/our-green-wall-sy stem-vs-modular-boxes.php


18 http: //www.vespro inc.com/index.htm

19 http: //www.indogreenwall.com/

20 http: //www.dai ly mail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1278430/Why -ivy -creeping-walls-home-actually -protect-building-than ks-thermal-shield.html

21 http: //www.vespro inc.com/images/success-stories/Greenwall-1.gif

22 http: //greenovergrey .com/living-walls/what-are-living-walls.php




26 http: //www.irrigat iontutorials .com/dripguide.h tm

27 http: //clearwaste.blogsp ot.com/2011 /08/infus-airmol-untu k-tanaman-di-musim.html

28 Borden, M., (2 013), How to Ma ke A Self-Watering Planter, ht tp: //ay orek.org/en/2 013/06 /how-to-ma ke-a-self-watering-planter/

29 http: //clearwaste.blogsp ot.com/2011 /08/infus-airmol-untu k-tanaman-di-musim.html



32 http: //foto-san sevieria.blogspot.com/2012 _06_01 _archive.html

and http: //gdagu ssus ila.files.wordpress.com/20 13/03 /11.jpg

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