During a recent excursion to Seattle I made a stop in Tacoma, Washington to check out the living wall by Patrick Blanc on the new Goodwill-Milgard Work Opportunity Center, designed by BCRA Architects. The installation measures 20 x 40 feet and was completed in September of last year. Like a piece of art there is prime space on the new building dedicated to the vegitated piece and it sits perfectly in line with the walkway up to the front door as well as being visible from the busy nearby street.

The wall sits just a couple feet off the ground so anyone can easily walk right up to it, in fact the sidewalk even encourages it. The wall is still new and therefore the plants are small so the fabric that covers the wall can plainly be seen. The fabric has been completely covered by a slimy green algae that in some places has been taken over by moss, much in the same way a typical rock face might look in a nearby forest or on the edge of a waterfall. This allows the wall to completely mimic those natural conditions that plants native to those types vertical surfaces would be accustomed to, and to provide a natural-like situation for those plants that don’t typically grow up in the air. The nutrient rich water that seeps down through the system to keep the fabric thoroughly saturated and feed the plant material is dispersed through a drip line along the top and middle of the wall. The excess water then simply drips from the bottom onto the gravel below.

The ability to walk right up to the wall allows for an easy close examination of the system involved. Even though I am quite familiar with the construction technique used in this style of living wall, it still continues to amaze me how little plants require for survival in a vertical system and how thin each layer really is. The roots are stripped of their potting soil from the nursery and inserted bare into the pockets that have been slit into 1/2 inch thick fabric layer and stapled into place.

With 96 different varieties of plants running in bands across the wall, it’s no surprise that a couple of them aren’t yet loving their new home but overall, it’s looking pretty good both from a distance and up close. What will really be interesting is to see how the wall continues to take shape when spring rolls around and how it grows together over the years and works itself out among the difference species. While I was wandering around, taking pictures and examing the system, an employee came up to talk to me. He was excited that I was so interested in the wall and told me that they are very proud of it, like the way it looks and look forward to watching it grow in the years to come. It was cool to hear the thoughts from someone who looks at this wall on a daily basis.

While the most visible edge of the wall is completely wrapped in fabric, the edge tucked into the corner of the building is open, revealing the metal structure that attaches the wall to the side of the building. This is the most interesting part in being able to walk right up to a vegetated wall, the ability to take a peek behind the scenes.

The lightweight metal structure holds the vegetated wall out about 6 inches from the building face, making the living wall a completely independant system and keeping any roots or water away from the architecture. On top of the metal structure is a plastic sheet, a layer of fabric mesh and then the fabric which holds the plants. The system in it’s entirety is about less than 1 inch thick. Staples can even be seen poking through the back of the plastic sheet. You can bet that I’ll definitely make more stops in the future to document the progress of this wall.

images (c) Lisa Town