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�

Ambius White Paper

Plants in “Green Buildings”Kenneth Freeman

International Technical Director

The cost of energy is at record levels and likely to remain high for the foreseeable future. Add to

that the threats to the environment resulting from the profligate use of natural resources and fossil

fuels, then the need to design and manage buildings to be as energy-efficient as possible becomes

much more urgent. Whilst most new buildings are already designed to be as energy-efficient

as engineers think possible, there are innumerable older buildings where large-scale, engineered

‘greening’ is either impracticable, or prohibitively expensive.

ThisWhitePaperexplorestheuseofinteriorplantsaspartofasustainablebuilding

managementsystem.Byexploitingthephysicalpropertiesoflivingplants,itispossibletoreduce

ourrelianceonenergy-consumingengineeredandmanufacturedproducts:themulti-taskingabilities

ofplantscanbeexploitedtoenhanceindoorairquality,helpregulatetemperatureandevenreduce

nuisancenoise.What’smore,theeffectsofinteriorplantscanoftenbeobtainedatmuchlowercosts

thanspecially-made‘GreenBuilding’products.

© 2008 Ambius. All rights protected and reserved.

2© 2008 Ambius. All rights protected and reserved.

Ambius White Paper - 0� Plants in “Green Buildings”

Green Building rating schemesManycountrieshavesystemsinplacetomeasuretheenvironmental

impactofbuildingsandthereareoftenincentivesfordevelopersto

build‘green’.Themostwell-knownexamplesofgreenbuildingrating

systemsareLEED(LeadershipinEnergyandEnvironmentalDesign),

managedbytheUnitedStatesGreenBuildingCouncil,andBREEAM

(theBuildingResearchEstablishment’sEnvironmentalAssessment

Method),operatedbytheUKBuildingResearchEstablishment.

Aroundtheworld,othergreenbuildingratingsystemsareinplace,

usuallyderivedfromtheBREEAMmethodology.Forexample,the

AustralianGreenBuildingCouncilhastheGreenStarratingsystem.

Alloftheseratingsystemshaveversionsfornewand

refurbishedexistingbuildings,andalsofordifferenttypesof

building(forexample,offices,houses,hospitals,schoolsandeven

wholeneighbourhoods).Theyalsohaveoneothercriticalfeature

incommon-theyaredevisedandmanagedbybuildingengineers,

architectsandconstructors,sohaveanunderstandablebiastowards

engineeredandmanufacturedsolutionstogreenbuildingissues.The

ratingsystemsarealsoheavilybiasedtowardsbuilt-insystems,rather

thananythingaddedatfit-outorpost-occupancy.Thisisneither

unexpected,norunreasonable:itisoftenmuchmorecost-effectiveto

buildsystemsintothefabricofabuildingthatisdesignedwithenergy

efficiencyinmindthantoexpendmoretime,effortandresourcesin

retro-fittingequipment.

How can plants be used as part of a green building management system?Interiorplantshaveanumberofrolestoplaywithinagreenbuilding.

Someeffectsarelargeand,ifrequired,needagreatdealofplanningas

theybecomeanintegralpartofabuilding’sfabric.Otherbenefitscan

beobtainedwiththeminimumofeffort,althoughtheeffectsmaybe

Apart from being locked into existing leases, the main barrier to why businesses don’t occupy green buildings is the lack of available environmentally-friendly buildings. Companies remain convinced that renting a green building is more expensive and that the pay back period is too long.

Cushman and Wakefield 2008 UK Cities Monitor survey

ContentsGreen building rating schemes 2

How can plants be used as part of a green building management scheme? 2

Cooling a building by shading with plants 3

Cooling and humidifying buildings through evapotranspiration 4

Reducing dust with interior plants 6

Carbon dioxide reduction 6

Indoor air pollution 7

Acoustic benefits of interior plants 8

Providing a view of nature �0

What about the lack of formal credits for interior plants? ��

Conclusions �2

About the Author �3

About Ambius �3



onasmallerscale.Whatevertheeffortinvolved,however,onething

iscertain-thebuildingwillbegreenerinmorewaysthanone.

Overthenextfewpages,threemajorthemeswilldevelop:the

effectsofplantsonindoorclimate,airqualityandnoisereduction.We

willstartwithbenefitsthatworkbestonlargescale,relativelycomplex

installationsthatrequireplanning,projectmanagementandsome

constructionconsiderations.Wethenconsiderprogressivelysimpler

solutionsthatcanbeaddedatthefit-outorevenpost-occupancystage.

Cooling a building by shading with plantsAttheextreme,interiorplantsarethebasisofasystemknownas

‘GreenSolarArchitecture’,pioneeredinGermanybyDieterSchempp.

Inthissystem,theinteriorclimateisregulatedwiththeplants,

whicharechosenfortheirsurvivabilityintheindoorenvironment,

andwhichalsoguaranteegoodairqualityandhumidityregulation,

especiallyinthewinterwhentheplantscanhelpmaintaintheideal

relativehumidityof40%to60%.

Thisconceptrequiresagreatdealofplanningand

interdisciplinarycooperation.Buildingengineerstakepartand

contributetheirspecialistknowledge,forexampleplantingmustbe

designedandcarriedoutwithlighting,wateranddrainagespecialists.

Theplantsareselectedtoincludeaproportionofspeciesthatshed

someoftheirleavesinwinter,whichallowsmoresolarenergyintothe

buildingforheating,whilstinsummertheygrowtoprovideshadeand

contributetocoolingbyevapotranspiration.Indoortrees,whichcan

beaslargeas8m(25feet)tall,cancastshadowsandshadewindows

muchmorecost-effectivelythancomplexmanufacturedandengineered

products(Fig. 1).Inpractice,temperaturereductionsoftheorderof

2°C-3°C(4°F-5°F)belowtheoutsidetemperaturehavebeen

achieved.Thisisaresultofthecombinationofinteriorplanting,the

massofthebuildingandairexchangeinsummerthroughventilation

openingsinthebuildingfacades.



Evenwithoutgoingtothelevelsofdesigningabuildingalong

Schempp’slines,interiorplantscanbeusedveryeffectivelytocool

buildings.Availableinalmostanyform,fromtallpalmswithfeathery

frondstodensely-canopiedtreesandbushes,interiorplantdisplayscan

bedesignedtocastasmuchoraslittleshadowasyouneed.Bytaking

advantageofthevarietyofheightsandformsofplants,itispossibleto

createlightorheavyshadeatanytimeofdayandduringallseasons.

Thenaturalabilityofplantstoorienttheirfoliagetowardsalight

sourcewillhelptoensurethatdirectsunlightisinterceptedbythe

leaves.Dappled,diffusedlightwillmakeitswaytotheinsideofthe

buildingaddingatmosphereandinterestingshadowstocomplement

thevisualappealoftheplantsthemselves.

Theshadingbenefitsofplantscanbeexploitedinalltypes

ofbuildingandlocation.Smallplantsnearwindowscanobviatethe

needforblindsandstillprovidethebenefitsofaview.Inatriumsand

otherhighlyglazedspaces,largeplantsandtreescanbeusedtoreplace

manufacturedproductssuchasbrisesoleilsandprovideotherindoor

climatebenefitssuchascoolingthroughevapotranspiration(seebelow)

andimprovingairquality(seepage6).

Cooling and humidifying buildings through evapotranspirationEvapotranspirationistheprocessbywhichwatermovesfromthesoil,

viatheplant(andfromthesoilsurface)intotheatmospherethrough

evaporationandtranspiration.Almostallofthewatergiventoaplant

willbereleasedintotheairduringthetimethatplantsareactively

photosynthesizing.Therateofevapotranspirationisgovernedbylight

levels,temperature,relativehumidity,airmovementandplantspecies

andplantsize.

Aswaterevaporatesintheair,coolingtakesplaceasheat

energyisusedtodrivetheprocess(Fig. 2).Theprecisescaleofthe

Fig. �: shading effects of plants

Fig. 2: flow of water through a plant display, from irrigation water through the soil and transpired by the plant resulting in cooling of the air.

�© 2008 Ambius. All rights protected and reserved.


effectisdifficulttopredictindoorsasfactorssuchasairflowvary

considerably-theremaybelocalizedareasofhighairflowandothers

ofrelativestagnation,andsuchairmaybeamixtureoffreshand

recirculatedair.

Nevertheless,large-scaleinteriorplantinginatriumswillhavea

measurableeffectontemperatureashasbeendemonstratedinalarge

numberoftallbuildingsaroundtheworldandwiththosebuildings

constructedaccordingtoSchempp’s‘GreenSolarArchitecture’

principles.

Plantscanalsohelptokeeptheairinbuildingsfreshandatthe

optimumhumiditylevelofbetween40%and60%.(Fig. 3)Inlarge-

scaleschemes,suchasthosethatarebuiltintoabuilding’sfabric,the

effectcanbequitelarge.However,inmanysituations,especiallythose

buildingsequippedwithair-conditioningsystems,theeffectisoften

smallandlocalisedasanyexcesshumidityisoftenquicklyremoved.

Humidificationbytranspiration(thetransportofwaterthrough

theplant,fromroottoleafandoutintotheatmosphere)isgoverned

byspecies,lightlevels,humidityandtemperature.Themoreactive

theplantis,thegreaterthetranspirationrate.Conversely,plantsthat

areunderstress,e.g.underattackbypests,ortoodry,oftenreduce

transpirationbyclosingthepores(stomata)intheirleaves.The

greatestbenefitisthereforederivedfromhealthy,well-maintained

plants.Thesecondmechanismisevaporationfromthesoil,whichhas

alocalisedhumidifyingeffect.Dryairtendstobeabiggerproblem

inthewintermonths,whenventilationfromtheoutside(evenif

available)isreducedandheatingturnedup.

Althoughinteriorlandscapingwon’tcompletelysolveadryair

problem,itcanmakeausefulcontribution,especiallyifplantsaresited

neartowherepeoplework.Experimentaldatafromseveralstudies

overthelastfewyearshasshownthatinteriorplantscanincrease

humidityinofficesbyasmuchasafifth.

Fig 3: localized humidification around the canopy of a tree.



Reducing dust with interior plantsResearchintheUSAhasshownthatbuildingswithinteriorplants

havelessairbornedustthanthosewithout.Theresearch(carriedout

byVirginiaLohrandCarolinePearson-Mims)suggests

thattheaccumulationofparticulatematteronhorizontal

surfacesininteriorscanbereducedbyasmuchas20%

byaddingfoliageplants.Theirexperimentsdidlittle

toexplaintheprecisemechanismsatwork,although

increasedhumidityandelectrostaticeffectsseemtobe

implicatedaspossiblemechanisms,bywhichparticulate

matteriscanbereducedbyattractionandadherenceto

leafsurfaces.(Fig 4)Thiskeepsofficescleaner,reduces

theriskofallergiesandhelpstoprotectsensitiveelectronicequipment.

Itisevenreasonabletosuggestthatlevelsofairborneparticlessuchas

fungalandbacterialsporeswillalsobereduced,furtherenhancingair

qualityandhygiene(andcounteringsomeoftheobjectionsofusing

plantsinhealthcareenvironments).However,theabilityofplants

toremovedustislimited,andwilldependonthenumberofplants

installedandthelevelofdustpresent.

Carbon dioxide reductionElevatedconcentrationsofcarbondioxideareknowntoinduce

drowsinessandtheconsequentreductioninconcentrationand

productivity.Unlessindooraircanbecontinuouslyrefreshed,human

activityinmodern,well-sealedbuildingscanresultinsurprisingly

highlevelsofcarbondioxide.Plantsnaturallyextractcarbondioxide

duringphotosynthesisandreplaceitwithoxygen,thusreducing

carbondioxideconcentrationsandincreasingoxygenlevels.Research

todatesuggeststhatbushyplantswithahighphotosyntheticrateare

particularlyeffectiveinthepresenceoflight,whereassucculentplants

fromhotaridareas,especiallythoseintheCrassulafamily,aremore

‘... experiments documented that the accumulation of particulate matter on horizontal surfaces in interiors can be reduced by as much as 20% by adding foliage plants.’

from V. I. Lohr and C. H. Pearson-Mims (1996): Particulate matter accumulation

on horizontal surfaces in interiors: influence of foliage plants. Atmospheric

Environment Vol. 30, No. 14,.

Fig 4: interior plants differentially attract dust.



effectiveatnightduetotheirparticularwayofassimilatingcarbon

dioxideduringthecoolofthenight.

Asageneralrule,thecapacityofplantstoremovecarbon

dioxideisdeterminedbytheirabilitytointerceptlight.Factorssuchas

leafsize,overallheight,positionintheoffice,orientationoftheoffice,

andthepositionofthesunduringtheday(orseason)arekeyfactors

indeterminingthephotosyntheticratesofplantsandtheirsubsequent

valueinbuildings.

Precisecalculationsonthecapacityofinteriorplantstoremove

carbondioxidearedifficultduethelargenumberofvariablefactors.

However,usingsomeveryconservativeestimates,webelievethatat

least300g(10oz)ofcarbondioxide(netofthatreleasedthroughplant

metabolism)canberemovedfromtheatmosphereforeverysquare

metreofleafsurfaceperyearintypicalinteriorconditions.(This

equatestoapproximately170litres,or6cubicfeet,ofCO2gas)In

brighterconditions(suchasinanatrium),usingthemostactively

photosynthesizingplants,muchmorewouldbepossible.

Whilstitmaybepossibletousesuchafixationofcarbon

aspartofameasuredcarbonfootprintreductionprogramme,there

areanumberofcaveatsandconfoundingfactorstoincludeinthe

calculations,suchasthecomplexitiesofcalculatingafulllifetime

analysisofcarbonassimilationbytheplant,againsttheresourcesused

duringitsgrowthandpreparationforuseasaninteriorlandscape

plantanditssubsequentdisposalattheendofitslife.

Indoor air pollutionTheworkofBillWolverton,bothduringhistimewiththeNational

AeronauticsandSpaceAdministration(NASA)andafterwards,is

amongthemostfrequentlyquotedinplantbenefitsresearch.He

showedthatplantscanabsorbpollutantgasessuchasformaldehyde,

benzeneandtrichloroethane,whicharereleasedinsmallquantitiesby

“We found that potted-plant presence was associated with significant reductions in both CO2 and CO concentrations in offices without air-conditioning. In the presence of plants, CO2 levels were reduced by about �0% in offices in the air-conditioned building, and by about 2�% in the naturally ventilated building.”

from: Tarran, J., Torpy, F. and Burchett, M (2001). Proc 6th Int. Conf. on Indoor

Air Quality, Ventilation & Energy Conservation in Buildings.

To ensure sustainability of the urban environment, satisfying the ‘triple bottom line’ of environmental, social and economic considerations, it is expected that indoor plants will become standard technology - a vital building installation element, for improving indoor air quality.

from: Tarran, J., Torpy, F. And Burchett, M (2001). Proc 6th Int. Conf. on Indoor




awholerangeofmaterialsandhumanactivities.Mostofhisresearch

ontheseso-calledvolatileorganiccompounds(VOCs)wascarriedout

onplantsgrowninoptimumconditionsonasmalllaboratoryscale,

whichuntilrecentlyhadlittlesupportfromthescientificcommunity

whowantedtoseedatatakeninsiderealbuildingswithsensible

plantingdensities,realisticlightlevelsandairexchangerates.

Suchdataarenowbeingproducedandpublished,notleastthe

workcarriedoutbyDrRonWood,ProfessorMargaretBurchettand

othersinAustralia.Theirexperiments,inrealoffices,haveshown

thatseveralcommonspeciesofinteriorlandscapeplantshavethe

abilitytoremovecompoundssuchasbenzeneandhexane,sometimes

intheorderofa50%-75%reductioninconcentrationoftotalvolatile

organiccompounds.Itappearsthatthereisaninteractionbetweenthe

plantrootsandsoilmicrobes.What’smore,theseeffectshavebeen

observedatplantingdensitiesinofficesthatarebothpracticableand

affordable-indoorjunglesarecertainlynotrequired.

Sopowerfularethenewdatathattheauthorsarebrave

enoughtoassertthat“to ensure sustainability of the urban environment,

satisfying the ‘triple bottom line’ of environmental, social and economic

considerations, it is expected that indoor plants will become standard

technology - a vital building installation element, for improving indoor

air quality.”

Acoustic benefits of interior plantsInteriorplantshaveanimpressiveabilitytomulti-task.Aswellas

lookingbeautiful,wehaveshownthattheyimproveindoorairquality

andhelpregulatetheindoorenvironment.Oneotherimportant

benefitistheirabilitytoreducenoiselevelsinbuildings,reducingthe

needforexpensive(andoftenugly)manufacturedacousticpanels.

Ourownresearch,andthatcarriedoutbyscientistsatSouth

BankUniversityinLondon,indicatesthatplantdisplaysareeffective

“ …our ‘field’ studies in 60 offices, show that potted-plants can reliably reduce total volatile organic compound (TVOC) loads, a major class of indoor pollutants, by 7�%, to below �00 ppb.”

from: Tarran, J., Torpy, F. And Burchett, M (2001). Proc 6th Int. Conf. on Indoor


�© 2008 Ambius. All rights protected and reserved.


atabsorbing,diffractingandreflectingsound.Thebalancevaries

withthefrequencyatwhichthesoundisgeneratedandtheroom’s

physicalproperties.Thetypeofplant,itssize,shape,thecontainer,top

dressingsandthecompostallhaveaneffectonthesoundreduction

capabilitiesofplantdisplays.Thefollowingtableshowshowawide

varietyofindoorplantscanabsorbsoundatdifferentfrequencies.

Aswellasabsorption,plantsaffectroomacousticsby

diffractionandreflection,particularlyatlowerfrequencies.This

worksbecausetheleafsizeofindoorplantsissmallbycomparisonto

thewavelengthofthenoise.Plantswithlotsofsmallleavesareuseful

astheyscatteranddiffusesound.Athigherfrequenciestheleaves

mayreflectsoundtowardsothersurfacesthatmaythenabsorbthe

noise.

So,howcanyoupracticallyuseplantstoreducenoise?First,

uselargeplantcontainers.Thesecontainmorecompostandhavea

greaterareaoftopdressing,bothofwhichhaveasignificanteffect

Plant Species

Table of Absorption Coefficients (�)

Sound Frequency�2� Hz 2�0 Hz �00 Hz � kHz 2 kHz 4 kHz

Ficus benjamina 0.06 0.06 0.�0 0.�� 0.22 0.�7Howea forsteriana 0.2� 0.�� 0.0� 0.22 0.�� 0.08Dracaena fragrans 0.�3 0.�4 0.�2 0.�2 0.�6 0.��Spathiphyllum wallisii 0.0� 0.07 0.08 0.�3 0.22 0.44Dracaena marginata 0.�3 0.03 0.�6 0.08 0.�4 0.47Schefflera arboricola - 0.�3 0.06 0.22 0.23 0.47Philodendron scandens - 0.23 0.22 0.2� 0.34 0.72ComparisonsBark mulch 0.0� 0.�6 0.26 0.46 0.73 0.88Thick pile carpet 0.�� 0.2� 0.�0 0.60 0.70 0.70Plasterboard 0.30 0.�� 0.�0 0.0� 0.04 0.0�Fresh snow, �00 mm (4”) 0.4� 0.7� 0.�0 0.�� 0.�� 0.��

(1) An absorption coefficient of 1 means that 100% of the sound (at the stated frequency) is absorbed, whereas a coefficient of 0.15 means that 15% of the sound (at the stated frequency) is absorbed.

Data produced by Peter Costa (South Bank University, London) in 1995 as part of series of experiments carried out for Rentokil Research and Development

�0© 2008 Ambius. All rights protected and reserved.


onnoisereductionintheirownright,soitfollowsthattheymake

alargerimpactontheroomacoustics.Itwillalsobepossibletoget

largerplants,orseveralplantsintothecontaineraswell.

Secondly,useamixtureofdifferentplantspeciesandsizes.

Experimentshaveshownthatarrangementsofdifferentplantsin

groupsappeartoworkbetterthanindividualplantsandthatseveral

smallarrangementsarebetterthanonebigone.

Next,positionseveralarrangementsaroundaspaceratherthan

concentratetheminonelocation.Inthiswaythesurfaceareaofthe

plantsexposedtonoisemaybemaximizedandindividualworkareas

inanofficespacewillallbenefitfromalocalizedeffect.

Edgesandcornersarebetterthanthecentre.Plantsplaced

neartheedgesandcornersofaspacearebetterthanplantsinthe

middle.Thisisbecausesoundisreflectedfromthewallsstraight

intothefoliage.Troughsandbarrierplantersshouldbeplaceda

fewcentimetres(inches)awayfromthewall,sothattheycanabsorb

reflectedsoundfromthewallaswellassoundreachingthemdirectly.

Anglingthemslightlyawayfrombeingparallelwiththewallwillalso

helptodispersereflectedsound.(Fig. 5)

Finally,considerusingscreenplantsinsteadofofficepartitions.

(Fig. 6)Open-planofficesareoftenverynoisyplaces.Thehumof

computers,theringingoftelephonesandthebuzzofconversationall

makeforasurprisinglynoisyenvironment.Oftenthesespacesare

dividedupwithpartitionsorranksoffilingcabinets.Acousticpanels

canbeused,butthesecanbeexpensive,whereasplantscreensand

barrierarrangementscanbeaneffectivealternatives,cheaperandable

tocontributetotheenvironmentinmorethanoneway.

Providing a view of natureFinally,interiorplantshaveauniqueability-notjustareplacement

formanufacturedorengineeredsolutions,butadirectreplacement

Wall

Plant troughsNar

row

gap

Sound absorbed by foliage and densecompost in container. Sound reflectedand dispersed by container and, to an extent, the foliage. Narrow gap betweenplant display and wall allows sound reflected from wall to be absorbed byback of plant display.

Fig. 6: screen plant display in an open-plan setting.

Fig. �: possible sound-absorbing arrangement of plants.

��© 2008 Ambius. All rights protected and reserved.


fornatureitself.Aboldclaimindeed,butonethatcanbemadewith

confidenceinthecontextofgreenbuildings.

Accesstoviewsofnatureforofficeworkersisbothdesirable

andarecognisedbestpractice-indeed,accesstoviewsfeaturesin

severalgreenbuildingratingschemes.However,itisnotalways

possible,especiallyinbuildingswithadeepfloorplanorinnew

buildingsthattheymaybeconstructedwithfewerwindowstoreduce

heatloss(alsosomethingthatmayfeatureinaratingsystem,although

howthiscontradictioncanbereconciledisnevermadeclear.)

Onesolutionwouldbetheprovisionofgoodqualityinterior

landscaping,whichcanbeemployedtoprovidesubstituteviewsby

givingpeopleaccesstoanindoorgardenorviewsofvegetation,

especiallyifthereisanatriumorotherlargespace.(Fig 7)Byadding

full-spectrumlighting,acombinationofplantsandartificialdaylight

canhelpovercomesomeoftheproblemsoflackofaccesstonatural

daylightandmayevencounteractsomeoftheproblemsassociated

withSeasonalAffectiveDisorder.

What about the lack of formal credits for interior plants?Wehaveclearlydemonstratedthatinteriorplantshaveausefulrolein

greenbuildings-theirusecanreduceenergyneedsdirectlythrough

theirabilitytocoolbuildingsandalsoreducetherelianceonenergy-

intensivesystemsandproductsbytheirabilitiestoimproveindoor

airqualityandreducenoise.Notonlythat,theyachieveallofthese

featswiththeminimumofmaintenanceandwithaproductionsystem

that,comparedwithproductmanufacturing,isachievedwithverylow

inputs.

IntheUKandUSA,itispossibletomakereasonedarguments

togreenbuildingratingassessorsthattheuseofplantsfulfilssome

ofadeveloper’srequirementstominimizeenergyconsumptionand

Fig. 7: large-scale interior landscaping used as a substitute for an exterior view.



providealternativestomanufacturedgoodsandengineeredsystems.

However,suchargumentshavetobemadeonacase-by-casebasisand

willbesubjecttothewhims,prejudicesorknowledgeoftheassessors.

Withoutwishingtodisparagetheprofessionalismofgreenbuilding

ratingassessors,thereisagapintheireducation,andthatofthe

peoplewhodevisetheschemes.

TheAustralianGreenBuildingCouncilhasformallyrecognised

thevalueofinteriorplantsandwillgivecreditsfortheirinstallation

andongoingmaintenance.However,whilstthisisawelcome

recognitionofthevalueofinteriorplants,itispossiblethatinsome

buildings(suchasthosedesignedwithplantsinmindfromtheoutset),

theawardofalimitednumbercreditsfailstorecognisethetotalgreen

buildingvalueoftheplants.

ConclusionsInteriorplantscanno-longerbeconsideredaluxury.Theyarea

demonstrablyvaluableandcost-effectivewayofenhancingtheindoor

environmentbyimprovingindoorairquality,coolingthebuildingand

reducingnoise.Buildingoperatorscanmakeexistingbuildingsmore

environmentallyfriendlysimplybyreplacing,orreducingtheneedfor

manufacturedproductsandengineeredsystemswithplants.Architects

canmakeanevenbiggerimpactbydesigningbuildingswithplantsin

mind,makingbuildingsgreeninmorewaysthanone.

Thereisapowerfulsetofargumentsfortheinclusionofplants

ingreenbuildingratingsystems.Howsuchacontributioncanbe

quantifiedinsuchasystemwillrequireagreatdealofthought.The

inclusionofplantsintheAustralianGreenBuildingCouncil’s‘Green

Star’ratingsystemisagoodstart,butrefinementanddevelopmentof

theconceptinLEEDandBREEAMwouldreallygivethebenefitsof

interiorplantsthevisibilitytheydeserve.

A few things to remember about using plants in green buildings

• Most of the environmental benefits of plants can be obtained without the requirement to specify unusual or expensive plants.

• The costs of installing and maintaining plant displays are a minute fraction of the annual running costs of a typical commercial building.

• Plants that are absorbing noise will be improving air quality and removing dust at the same time.

• Existing buildings can be made more sustainable with plants without the need for large-scale capital expenditure.

• Interior plants don’t need drinking water - they can be irrigated with grey water or rain water, so you won’t be increasing your demand on metered potable water.

• For best results, interior plants need to be cared for by competent people. The benefits of interior plants diminish rapidly if they are neglected.

• Interior plants have very low requirements for inputs of fertilizers and they can be grown in environmentally-friendly composts.

• There are interior plants available that will thrive in all interior conditions - your interior landscape objectives can be met without the need for additional light, heat or cooling resources.

• For new buildings, architects and developers should discuss interior landscaping proposals in plenty of time. Large-scale planting requires a degree of project management expertise and an understanding of the time scales required to source, acclimatize and install large trees.



About the authorKennethFreemanisAmbius’sInternationalTechnicalDirector,basedinLondon.Anexpertininteriorlandscaping,hehasbeendirectlyinvolvedinallaspectsofresearchintothebenefitsofinteriorplantsaswellasthedevelopmentofhorticulturalbestpractices.HehasdevelopedarangeofeducationandtrainingprogrammesandistheauthorofcontinuingeducationprogrammesforarchitectsintheUKaspartoftheRoyalInstituteofBritishArchitectsContinuingProfessionalDevelopmentCoreCurriculumandintheUSAaspartoftheAmericanInstituteofArchitectsContinuingEducationSystem.

E-mail: [email protected]: +44(0)7789273478

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