Firewall to Greenwall
Firewall to Greenwall Have you noticed the growing obsession with Green? Yes, emerald was the Pantone colour of the year last year, but that’s not quite the direction I’m going with this one. More and more the idea of ‘Green’ living is taking over. As far as I understand it, the term basically refers to being environmentally mindful of how and what we consume…not necessarily living in the forest off the grid as some kind of deadlock wearing Hippie- although more power to you if you are one of those…literally… More and more It seems that our busy bustling lives are giving way to the idea of getting back to nature and this is one trend that takes form both in food and design. Green juice is all the rage at the moment. Throw a whole bunch of green fruit and veg into a blender, blend and drink. Super healthy and actually tastes pretty good. Try it! Consuming something GREEN is one way to be healthy in body, but how about in mind and spirit? I recently did a piece entitled ‘the outdoor room’ which was all about how to bring the indoors OUT. The idea however of surrounding ourselves with nature and bringing the outdoors IN is becoming increasingly popular in design as well. In recent years numerous experimental studies have be done which suggest a direct link to being in a natural environment and an overall feeling of well-being. Certain studies even suggest that the mere presence of nature diminishes feelings of exhaustion, something I believe we could all attest to feeling when in a natural environment. The idea of creating an oasis amongst the hustle and bustle of modern city life has always been a popular notion and now even more so in the computer obsessed, gadget controlled, Instagramming, Facebooking, Twittering, and uhhhh, blogging World that we have become accustomed to. Enveloping yourself in a green cocoon really isn’t a bad way to get away and have a break from all the technology and one of the latest ways to do this is with a system called ‘Greenwall’. I must admit I do have a particular obsession with this trend and I am just waiting for the right project to come across my desk which I can throw one of the babies into. Basically a Greenwall is just that, a wall lined with plants flowers or shrubs. The Greenwall system is essentially a pallet with rows of holes designed to nest the greenery in, with spaces for watering and drainage. A Greenwall not only creates a beautiful looking piece of natural artwork but also has many other benefits like air purification and insulation if utalised correctly. The idea that we can use nature in our built environments to affect our well-being and overall mood is a very attractive concept for me as an Interior Designer. After all, that is what we seek to do when we design a space for people to live, work, eat or shop in and the Greenwall concept has applications across all of these fields. The most recent example of a Greenwall implementation in Israel is visible at the Isrotels’s newest resort Cramim in the Jerusalem forest. A beautiful oasis just outside the bustling city, and what a stunning application it is! The beauty of the Grenewall system is that it’s adaptable to both indoor and outdoor use. Think of the benefits of utilising the Greenwall system in the urban office environment. More relaxed workers, happier workers and quite possibly more productive workers. What’s not to love about that? Overall, this is one trend that I predict we will be seeing again and again in the coming years and despite the fact that I’m not your typical tree-hugging ‘Hippie’, I am rather enthused about all of the possibilities! Peace out! 😉