Green Corner: Climbing Green Walls at 215

Hello from the go-green girl at Urbanspace Property Group! As you know back on March 24, 2004, we installed a 24-square metre living-breathing plant wall (biowall) in the lobby of the building. How do you think it looks? How does it make you feel when you arrive at the building? These are the kinds of questions we are interested in exploring with you over the next year or so. From our perspective the plant species have acclimated very well  in the Roberton environment and have grown and expanded profusely over the past year.

In turn, the biowall has humidified the lobby and surrounding air (particularly in the winter when we were all feeling a bit dry) and has contributed to a healthy indoor environment in the building. The biowall functions for the most part, other than the technical maintenance required by the pumps, lights, and salinity outputs that are monitored through an electronic control centre stored in the basement. The control centre can be acessed remotely by Air Quality Solutions, so that adjustments to water flow and water quality can be made quickly and accurately. The plants themselves require weekly maintenance, including dusting, biological pest control (nema-todes to control fungus gnats), and the removal of dead, or wilted foliage.

The plants require UV light to proliferate and bloom. We've noticed that more daylight enters the lobby than anticipated; hence the light from two overhead 1,000 watt light systems will be programmed for fewer hours during off-peak energy times in the next quarter. Our comprehensive air quality report (2005) validates that we have excellent air quality at the Robertson; something to celebrate!

For more information, or questions on green efforts at the Robertson, please call Beth Anne Currie, Environment, Health and Safety Coordinator at 416.595.5900 x21.