GREEN WALLS + GREEN ROOFS:

VEGETATING THE BUILDING ENVELOPE

Grace C. Edralin-Servino;
Gloria T. Lava, Ana Cecilia M. Libed; Osias L. Nieva Jr.;
Enrico S. Robles; Edvin C. Santiago; Julieta L. Santos
Graduate Students, Tropical Landscape Architecture Program
University of the Philippines Diliman
E-mail: gcedralin@gmail.com
Mary Ann A. Espina
Associate Professor, College of Architecture
University of the Philippines Diliman
E-mail: arch_epea@yahoo.com

Abstract
As buildings continuously replace plants once growing on the ground, our urban
communities are becoming dominated by barren and impervious surfaces that
cause urban heat. To serve as insulation material, plants may be integrated to
the building environment.
While there is a passive way or occurrence of plants growing naturally on
buildings, there are active greening techniques that hasten the plant covering on
buildings such as the application of green walls and green roofs.
Our class was tasked to perform and evaluate several experiments on selected
plant species and materials to come up with modules that are simple,
sustainable, cost-efficient and applicable in vegetating the building envelope as
opposed to the more expensive imported systems being introduced in the market.

Keywords: building landscape, green roof, green wall, roof garden, vertical
garden, vertical landscape, green building envelope, vegetated wall, plant wall,
living wall, living roof, vegetal wall, biowall, green façade

I. Introduction
Trees and other plants which give natural shade, filter air, provide interesting
elements and numerous environmental benefits are constantly threatened by
urbanization and have to compete for physical space with manmade structures.
 Designers only include a limited number of plants to enhance their buildings while
building occupants are already content in placing some potted plants inside the
buildings or in some tiny plant boxes outside. Urban dwellers become oblivious or
used to moving about in areas that are devoid of plants. To maximize profit and
cut on maintenance costs, building owners or developers remove or worse, kill
any existing vegetation when converting a land into one of its project
developments. They tend to utilize the whole site as buildable areas and hardly
take into account to leave a patch of land for plants to grow except perhaps on a
small percentage of open space as prescribed in the Building Code. Yet, even
this required open space is not solely devoted to plants and instead used as
paved driveways, pathways, parking and other facilities replacing everything
green with concrete. Designers must be aware of the impacts of the building on
the larger scale. The challenge now for many responsible designers and builders
is to bring back ecological balance that is lost in our built environments. We can
make our existing buildings conducive for plant growth through various greening
techniques. To hasten the plant covering on buildings, green walls and green
roofs are incorporated. They can be installed in many ways depending on several
factors such as site conditions, available materials, budget or technology
available. The concepts, design and choice of materials all contribute to the
success of the project.
II. Green Module Experimentation
For a semester, a class at the UP College of Architecture was required to make
vegetated modules that can be installed on a wall or placed on a roof.
The following activities were done during the first semester of 2008-2009.
Activity Jun July Aug Sept Oct
e
site inspection & analysis
research process
green wall experiments
green wall design
green roof design
material procurement
green wall installation +
planting
green roof installation +
planting
 documentation
The experiments were documented by the students based on the materials (plant
species, planting media, and container), procedure (installation method,
maintenance requirements and special technologies used) and observations
(advantages and disadvantages).
The choice of container was based on availability, lightness and durability. Plant
species were selected based largely on availability, size, micro-climate,
maintenance requirements and aesthetic appeal. The dry and wet weight of the
module was noted and the cost of the whole assembly was computed.
Observations were recorded and rated from 1 to 5 based on the following criteria:
cost (5 - less costly), durability (5 - durable), simplicity (5 - simple to make),
weight (5 - lightweight), appearance (5 - pleasing), availability (5 - readily
available) and plant growth (5 - healthy plants). The results of the rating were
tabulated with the plastic modules having the highest scores. In the process, the
class identified challenges and recommended solutions to improve the
assemblies.
Criteria Ex.1 Ex.2 Ex. 3 Ex. 4 Ex. 5 Ex. 6 Ex. 7 Ex. 8 Ex.9 Ex.10
(foam) (plastic) (tray) (wood) (wire) (pan) (plastic) (wood) (plastic) (sack)
proponent JLS JLS JLS GCES GCES AML OLN ECS GTL ESR
cost 5 4 3 2 3 4 4 1 4 4
Durability 5 4 2 3 2 5 4 2 4 2
Simplicity 4 5 5 3 3 4 5 1 5 4
Weight 5 5 5 3 4 5 5 1 5 2
Appearance 3 3 5 4 4 4 3 5 3 3
Availability 3 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 5 4
Growth 1 5 5 2 5 3 5 5 5 5
Installation 1 2 1 5 3 3 2 2 2 1
Total 27 33 31 27 29 33 33 21 33 25
Table 1: Tabulated Rating for the Green Module
The plants which grew well on the experimented modules are the following
• Alternanthera cv. (cucharita) • Callisia fragrans (basket plant)
• Asparagus densiflorus (foxtail • Chlorophytum bichetii (lourdes)
asparagus) • Cryptanthus bivittatus (star fish)
 • Cuphea hyssopifolia (false • Pilea nummulariifolia (creeping
heather) Charlie)
• Dischidia oiantha (common • Setcreasea pallida (purple heart)
dischidia) • Tillandsia baileyi (tillandsia)
• Dissotis rotundifolia (Spanish • Rhoeo spathacea (Moses on the
shawl) boat)
• Epipremnum aureum (devil’s ivy) • Zebrina pendula (wandering jew)
• Nephrolepis exaltata (pako)
III. Site Analysis and Site Selection
Another task was to do a site analysis of an existing building at the UP College of
Architecture Complex, on which a green wall & green roof were to be installed.
The site analysis was based on biophysical information (climate, vegetation,
utilities, building materials, future developments), SWOT analysis (strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and strengths), site selection criteria. Green roof and
green wall interventions should be placed in an area that will benefit from the
interventions, be visually and physically accessible for students and other
interested professionals so that these demonstration areas will benefit the design
community by contributing to research and promoting sustainable practices in the
profession at large and be easy to access for maintenance workers and future
students.
IV. Green Wall Assembly
Covering about 4 square meters of a wall, the vegetated modules used in the
green wall assembly are composed of 60 pieces of plastic basket (0.31m x 0.22m
x 0.10m) with the substrate covered with filter fabric. The modules are tied by
wire on a steel structural support bolted on the concrete vertical wall. The
substrate is a mixture of 50% coco dust and 50% soilless growing medium. The
plant species used are hardy, requiring full to partial sun, Rhoeo spathacea
(Moses on the Boat) and Chlorophytum bichetii (Lourdes). Other materials used
are garden tie wire and used tarpaulin for wall protection.
V. Green Roof Assembly
The total area of the green roof system is about 29 square meters. The whole
green roof system including the substrate was donated by Ninedots. Some plants
such as peanut plant and carabao grass were donated by Lipa Blooms; other
plants were bought or brought from home by the students.
Materials
Various layers of materials were used providing different functions. The
vegetation layer or growing medium must have a well-balanced structure and
must be light weight. The type and thickness of the substrate soil determines the
plant growth and the structural load for the roof structure. A green roof soil must
be non-compacting, non-clogging, weed and stone free, fire retardant and almost
half the weight of standard topsoil. A filter sheet prevents fine particles to be
washed out of the substrate. A drainage layer retains water in the profiled
troughs. A moisture retention mat is made of non-rotting fiber to retain moisture
and nutrients. It also provides mechanical protection to the root barriers and
waterproof layer. A root barrier prevents roots from touching the slab.
Plant Species
Selected plant species were chosen based on growth pattern, maintenance
requirements and aesthetic appeal.
• Acalypha hispida ( acalypha) • Citrofortunella microcarpa
• Pilea cadierei (aluminum (kalamansi )
plant) • Sanseviera trifasciata laurentii
• Zebrina pendula (wandering (variegated snake plant)
jew) • Arachis pintoi (peanut plant)
• Chorophytum bichetii • Heliconia (heliconia)
(Lourdes) • Arachis hypogaea (peanut
• Schefflera sp. (five-fingers) plant)
• Sanseviera trifasciata ‘Hahnii” • Sansevieria guineensis,
(birds nest sanseviera) 'White Striped Giant' (white
• Coleus blumei cv. (mayana) striped giant )
• Neomarica longifolia (yellow • Coleus blumei (mayana)
iris) • Pedilanthus tithymaloides
• Phormium tenax (silver wall) (zigzag plant)
• Duranta repens ‘Golden’ • Chlorophytum capense
(golden duranta) (spider plant)
• Dissotis rotundifolia (Spanish • Ctenanthe amabilis (prayer
shawl) plant)
• Nephrolepis exaltata • Neoregelia 'Fireball' (Fireball)
`Bostoniensis’ (pako) • Paspalum conjugatum
• Ophiopogon japonicus (carabao grass)
(mondo grass) • Sanseviera trifasciata (snake
• Euphorbia milii cv. (soro-soro) plant)
• Rhoeo spathacea (boat of • Hedychium coronarium
moses) (kamia)
 Weight
The weight load of the roof garden system by Ninedots is 131.13kg/m2. The wet
weight with shrubs is 320 kg/m2. With plants, it is 451.13kg/m2.
Procedure or Methodology
1. Clean the surface as possible, free from any protruding particles. (½ day)
2. Loosely lay the felt layer. (1 day)
3. Hot air weld the layer of PVC waterproofing membrane. (1-3 days)
4. Cover side with PVC sheet using sarna bar and sealant. (1-3 days)
5. Cover with another PVC membrane. (1-3 days)
6. Open holes for the drainage purposes. (½ day)
7. Lay the aqua tray reservoir (½ day)
8. Place the felt filter stabilizer. (½ day)
9. Fill the area with substrate about 2.5” deep. ( ½ day)
10. Grow plants on top. (1-2 days)
Findings
After the green wall installation, the plants on the wall slowly established themselves.
The contrast in color and texture of the Lourdes and the Moses on the boat was
hardly noticeable. The substrate easily dries up and hardens when manual watering
is absent. Lourdes leaves dried up faster than the Moses on the boat.
In the green roof, the planted species increase in number and produced flowers.
75% of the plant species on the green roof established themselves well except for
the peanut plant which dried up on the rear portion by February 2009. The calamansi
which was planted directly in the green roof soil died after a week while the
calamansi in plastic bags are still growing and bearing fruits. In a month’s time,
there are a variety of weeds and new plant species growing on the roof garden. The
maintenance personnel have started growing their own edible plants such as pepper
and tomatoes. Connecting a hose to the nearest faucet has posed a challenge since
the faucet is located 2 stories below.
 Green wall and green roof at the UP College of Architecture Diliman
VI. Conclusion
The green wall and roof can be installed in many ways depending on various
factors such as site conditions, available materials, budget or technology
available. The concepts, design and choice of materials all contribute to the
success of the project.
Ultimately, the class has met its basic objectives during the given semester. For
the green wall setup, the whole class decided which type of technology or system
and plants will be applied to the Building. The planting design was finalized by the
class then applied to the chosen site. The structural support was pre-fabricated
outside while the installation on-site was supervised by the class.
As for the green roof system, materials and manpower were provided by a
sponsor, Ninedots, while the planting design and actual planting on site were
done by the students.
As one limitation of the project, maintenance after the semester is not anymore
covered by the class. Most of the students who were part of this class have not
enrolled the following semester or have taken a leave from school. The system
and the plants are left then to the College Administration and maintenance staff.
 Green
wall

Green roof

Taken last Feb. 11,

2009

VII. Recommendations
Lighting System
To enhance the scenic quality of the green roof and green wall at night, lighting
system should be installed.
The figure below represents the proposed lighted area of the building at night.

Irrigation System
As another option for irrigation, a drip irrigation system may be installed both to
the green roof and green wall. Additional hose bibb faucet is proposed to be
installed right below the green roof at the ground level where the main water
 supply in the building is located. A dedicated hose will be connected to this faucet
going to the second floor.
Careful study of slope, soil, water pressure, and types of plants are needed to
determine the most suitable design for the drip irrigation system and components
to be used. Only a conceptual diagram is presented below.
Proposed Drip Irrigation Concept Diagram for the Green Roof and Green Wall

Green Roof Plan Green Wall Elevation

Books
Cooper, Paul. Interiorscapes: Gardens Within Buildings. Octopus Publishing Group
Ltd. London. 2003.
Madulid, Domingo A. A Pictorial Cyclopedia of Philippine Ornamental Plants.
Bookmark, Inc. 1995.
National Parks Board. 1001 Garden Plants in Singapore.
Robinette, Gary O. Plants, People and Environmental Quality: A Study of Plants and
Their Environmental Functions. U.S. Department of the Interior National Park
Service, Washington D.C. 1972.
Undan, Rodolfo C. Urban Agriculture: A Step-By-Step Guide to Successful
Container Farming in the City. Foresight Book Publishing & Distributing Co.,
Inc., Quezon City. 2002.
Yeang, Ken. A Manual for Ecological Design. Wiley-Academy, Great Britain. 2006.

Website
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_roof (September 5, 2009)
Brochures
Macro Industrial Packaging Products Corp.
Daku System
Elmich Vertical Greening Module

Resource Persons
Alfredo Roberto M. Cortez, Strategic Business Unit Manager, Ninedots, A Division of
Mega Packaging Corporation.
Manny Y. Macavinta, AVP – Business & Project Management Group, Specserv
Incorporated.
Generoso G. Ignacio, Chief Operating Officer, Jan Owen Martin Construction Corp.
Josephine Munoz, Product Manager, Supersonic Manufacturing Incorporated.
Julie Ann Bacud, Project Development Officer, Supersonic Manufacturing
Incorporated.