Solar Mosaic's office in Oakland, California features a living wall by Habitat Horticulture
Office greenery once implied low-maintenance Swiss cheese plants with dusty leaves. But today’s workspaces feature vertical living walls, salad, herbs, even rooftop “forests.”
Workspace company Second Home has recently unveiled a new co-working space in Hollywood, which incorporates “LA’s densest urban forest”, boasting a lush 50,000 square foot garden filled with 6,500 trees and plants and 700 tons of soil and vegetation.
And architecture firm Sheppard Robson and hotel developer Dominvs Group have submitted planning permission for a pollution-absorbing green wall featuring 400,000 plants to be the façade of a new London hotel with co-working space. If given the green light, it will be one of the world’s largest living walls, with an estimated capacity to absorb more than eight tons of air pollution every year.
Plants, being natural air purifiers, can improve health, productivity and concentration. While air pollution is a hot topic, many forget that in poorly ventilated buildings, indoor pollution levels–caused by things like cleaning products, building materials, carpets, paint, mold and pets–can be even worse than outside.
“There are so many health benefits to having fresh plants in workspace. They release oxygen while cleaning and purifying indoor air, and being surrounded by plants is calming and good for stress.”
According to the EPA, the immediate effects of being exposed to indoor pollutants can include irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, headaches, dizziness and fatigue while other health effects may show up years later, including some respiratory diseases, heart disease and cancer.
So it’s no surprise that experts in biophilic design think we’re on the cusp of a green revolution that will see the outside brought inside, particularly in office buildings where worker productivity and health are pressing issues.
One person who is convinced of the healing properties of plants is John Murphy who started his vertical garden company, Lettuce Evolve, based in Dallas, Texas, after a period of illness left him unable to walk for years.
In a quest to heal his body, Murphy realized he would need fresh food, so he created an indoor garden in the limited space he had in his small apartment.
John Murphy designed a self-watering, self-fertilizing vertical garden for small spaces, and 60% of ... [+]
He recalls: “I designed vertically to maximize the amount of plants I could have. I didn't have a place to have a normal dirt garden, so growing ‘up’ was my only option. I built an aquarium into the system, which allowed me to have a never ending supply of natural nutrients delivered to my plants so I wouldn’t have to worry about fertilizing, watering or weeding them. The fish live happily, and the plants filter the water, returning clean water back to the fish.”
Today, 60% of those buying Murphy’s garden systems–which can pack 100 plants into six square feet and don’t need natural light to thrive–are businesses looking to add fresh salads, aromatic herbs and ornamental plants to their workspaces. His most memorable project was for a corporate customer in India who asked him to design a peaceful green rooftop oasis atop their building after a number of workplace suicides.
He adds: “There are so many health benefits to having fresh plants in workspace. They release oxygen while cleaning and purifying indoor air, and being surrounded by plants is calming and good for stress. The aroma of fresh herbs like mint, rosemary and thyme really make the workspace feel fresh and inviting.”
IDEO's office in San Francisco, California has a living wall by Habitat Horticulture
David Brenner, founder of living wall design and interior plantscaping firm Habitat Horticulture, has outfitted many Silicon Valley workplaces and counts Salesforce, Slack, Cisco, Facebook and Tesla as clients.
He says what might have started with adding a few ferns to offices has evolved into an “entire creative paradigm” for interior architecture and design, and it’s a trend that is only just beginning to take hold in offices, homes, public spaces and schools. In the future, he expects to see more office designers blur the lines between outside and inside.
Brenner adds: “There has been a significant amount of studies showing how biophilic design elements contribute to a healthier and more productive work environment, and many of those studies have focused on plant life and views of nature. These studies show that plants can enhance cognitive performance, increase creativity, reduce stress levels, and provide an increased sense of well being and happiness. They can aid in noise reduction and help filter out harmful VOCs and contaminants from the air.”
