By Nigel George.
‘Integrated Grey Green Infrastructure’, what does it mean and if it’s good how do we make it happen?
It might be easier to start by saying what I think it isn’t! ‘IGGI’ isn’t towering ornate green walls or plant clad lamp posts. It’s not strimmed grass verges or sparsely planted ornamental landscaping outside car show rooms. So if it’s not those things then what is it?
Is this IGGI?
Whether or not something qualifies as IGGI, I think, is a question of ecological value plus sustainability vs maintenance,… a simple enough equation don’t you think? The next time you see a green wall in a town or city ask yourself the following two questions.
1) What’s it for? - Is it mainly a decorative feature designed to soften a place and bring some much needed colour?
2) Does it survive because of maintenance, or is it thriving on neglect?
To my mind these are important starter questions to ask and answer when it comes to the design of new ‘sustainable’ green infrastructure.
Here’s a tick list of things commissioners of new green infrastructure might be thinking about -
Is my project mainly about using plants to create a decorative display?
Am I expecting my green intervention to capture air carried particulate pollution?
Am I hoping my green feature will provide positive biophilic effects for human health?
Is there a requirement to increase ecological value or biodiversity net gain?
Is ongoing maintenance of my new green infrastructure designed in?
Is my new green infrastructure project sustainable….how am I defining ‘sustainable’?
Would I prefer my new green infrastructure project to be low maintenance or maintenance free?
Answering these questions will help you determine exactly what you want out of your project and therefore guide a design brief from the outset.
Whilst I’m the first to admit that modern green walls can be incredibly impressive to look at, it’s no secret that at Artecology we’re not big fans of traditional decorative green walls. This is because we don’t believe they are sustainable in the true sense of the word. We also don’t think they have much ecological value, and, even when biodiversity is considered, i.e. they’re planted with nature friendly plants, a traditional green wall using hydroponic water and feed systems makes for an inherently vulnerable wildlife habitat, in short, if the life support machinery stops or maintenance contract isn’t renewed then the habitat will simply die. In this respect it’s surely better not to create new habitat at all if as soon as it’s completed it’s effectively on the vulnerable habitat list…..we’ve got enough of that already without deliberately creating more!
So is there another way to create this sort of new green infrastructure which is both ecologically functional, low maintenance or even maintenance free and still beautiful to look at? At Artecology we think the answer is yes and the clues about how to do it are absolutely everywhere.
Seeing past the ‘Tyranny of Maintenance’.
To discover how to create self sustaining green infrastructure we must look to the buildings, places and spaces that have freed themselves from maintenance regimes by falling into the realms of neglect! For this exercise you must temporarily leave any internal bias towards tidiness at the door and instead step outside and judge built infrastructure by different standards. Let’s look at things like bioreceptivity, ecological function and sustainability….we’ll worry about how we incorporate what we find into brilliant new designs later!
I think in urban settings there are clues all over the place as to how to create truly sustainable green infrastructure, under your feet, above your head and even hiding a plain site right at eye level! So I’ve been out and about in my local town and found some clues for you (see below). Can you spot the reoccurring features which, I think, can be lifted from these areas of neglect and used as design principles and ideas for a new kind of beautifully created urban greening?
Everywhere I looked where plants were thriving on built infrastructure the same two basic principles seem to be at play -
1) Zero maintenance and 2) Fluid dynamics.
These two things, when it comes to plant growth and plant health, seem to be far more important than factors like porosity of materials or material type, and that, I think, is very interesting indeed.
This suggests to me that all we need to do is take advantage of the life supporting properties of fluid dynamics (air/water movement) over built surfaces and low/no maintenance structures by purposefully designing architectural patterns, textures and forms which exploit these two simple principles.
For us at Artecology creating ‘self sustaining’ wildlife habitat in urban settings is the true description of sustainable ‘Integrated Grey Green Infrastructure’. Self sustaining wildlife habitat makes for healthy ecosystems which in turn benefit people and nature equally. This way we can tick all the boxes that conventional green walls can, shading & cooling, particulate filtering, biophilic impacts etc plus so many more to do with ecological uplift and the benefits of human wildlife encounter. And look, we come this far and I haven’t even mentioned the value and possibilities of low/no maintenance ground rooted plants for green wall design….I’ll save that for another day!
Finally, take a look at this last photo. It’s a naturally occurring zero maintenance green wall in the making that I spotted little while ago. What a beauty and what an inspiration in so many ways! But if you can’t find a living wall like this one to inspire you, just look a the pavements and sidewalks where you live, I guarantee that all the IGGI design clues you need are right there in a thin green line between your feet.
