A Really Green Building: Quai Branley Office Wing
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 11.13.06
The office wing of the controversial new Quai Branly Museum, designed by Jean Nouvel in Paris has a "vertical garden" installed by Patrick Blanc. The construction of the vertical gardens include layers of felt, plastic and metal sheeting which provide a barrier against damaging roots. According to Business Week, Le Mur Végétal, or Plant Wall, is a dense sheet of vegetation that can grow against any surface, or even in midair. It works by doing away entirely with dirt, instead growing plants hydroponically in felt pockets attached to a rigid plastic backing. via ::Archidose
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I think this is a great example of three dimensional thinking - incorporating socially responsible practices into an existing business model. It's good to see more and more companies taking this route.
This isn't as nice as it may seem. The same architect erected a "Mur Végétal" inside the main building of the French Embassy in India and apparently the wall requires a massive input of chemical herbicides and pesticides to stay green. According to my father, who worked in the embassy for several years, birds are regularly found poisoned in the vicinity! So the concept is nice, but, by Jove, it needs some refining...
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