DEVELOPMENT OF GREEN WALL ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK FROM INSTALLATION TO MAINTENANCE PHASE

Abstract

It has been widely recognized that urbanization has caused environmental issues such as global warming. Warmer temperatures resulting from climate change and Urban Heat Island effect has propelled the adoption of urban greenery in the built environment sector. In Singapore, urban greening solutions, particularly green walls, are gaining popularity. As with most greenery, green walls require frequent upkeeping and may deplete maintenance budgets. In consideration of the growing demand, there is a need for the development of an objective framework for assessing green wall quality. This ensures cost-effective design, installation and maintenance practices. This study aims to develop a framework for assessing green wall quality by focusing on identifying and quantifying the parameters affecting green wall quality. This is achieved by studying how plant and climatic parameters affects green wall quality at four green walls from installation to maintenance phase. Results show that green wall quality is heavily influenced by design of plant palette, performance of irrigation systems, effectiveness of lighting provision, and plant health. In this study, green wall quality is defined as Coverage over Time (CoT) whereby plant coverage of the green wall is quantified, providing an objective evaluation for green wall quality. Nonetheless, CoT alone is not an absolute measure for green wall quality and should be assessed together with irrigation, lighting provision, and plant selection. A workflow for assessing green walls is proposed using the parameters derived from this study. The workflow aims to help minimize maintenance and optimize performance by establishing parameters influencing green wall quality at design, installation, and maintenance phase.