by INHABITAT

The Semiahmoo Library’s Larger Than Life Living Wall Features Over 10,000 Plants

by Tafline Laylin, 08/30/11

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We've featured the amazing Semiahmoo Public Library vertical garden before, but our new pictures show even more clearly just how alive this wall really is. More than 10,000 individual plants representing 120 unique plant species cover so much wall space - a whopping 3,000 square feet - it's kind of surprising that the whole building doesn't keel over. Instead, Vancouver-based design firm Green over Grey has transformed the library's exterior into a totally self-sufficient (and structurally sound) green wall which actually enhances the interior environment while also supporting a healthy urban ecosystem that entices bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds to come out and play!

We’ve seen some pretty cool living walls, including the world’s largest, but we are astounded by how lush the Semiahmoo Library wall looks up close. Featuring ground covers, large perennials, shrubs, and even small trees, this vertical garden requires absolutely no soil. Similar to the way plants and shrubs grow around cliffs and waterfalls, this veritable forest is sustained by water and nutrients delivered directly from within its vertical support system. What was once a standard old wall is now a wonderful ecosystem that insulates the library, thereby increasing its energy efficiency, and purifying the air!

+ Green over Grey

Via Contemporist