Vertical Hydroponics for Urban Areas

N. Domurath and F.-G. Schroeder

University of Applied Sciences Dresden
Faculty of Agriculture/Landscape Management, Dresden
Germany

Keywords: urbanisation, Modular Facade Greenery, automation

Abstract
Moving into urban areas demands concepts for the association with negative
impacts on city climate. High-density cities and quarters often cannot provide an
aesthetically appealing and healthy environment. Buffer and recreation areas could
just hardly be established on sealed underground. In face of these developments
facade greenery still lives a shadow existence beside common types of green spaces.
Today the potential of vertical vegetation could be better used because of the
possible combination of adapted hydroponic plant systems and modern high
performance construction materials to standardised modules.

INTRODUCTION
People move together. In 1975 two-thirds of the world population lived in rural
areas, just one-third in cities. After decades of adaptation it is expected that 59.9% of the
world population will live in urban areas in 2025 (United Nations, 2005). While in 2000
both the number and the size of the so-called mega cities (>107 citizens) did quadruplicate
in comparison with 1975, the expectation for the year 2025 goes up to a quintuplication of
the number of inhabitants in metropolises (Deutsche Stiftung Weltbevölkerung, 2001).
In some respects, cities are good for the environment. They concentrate half the
world’s population on about 2% of the Earth’s land surface, and they are undeniably
centres of innovation and economic growth. On the other hand they are centres of
pollution, waste and heat. Particularly hydroponics has the potential to meet the
challenges of architecture, urban climate and so life quality in urban areas. In future
prospects it will be disclosed, how these new plant systems could be structured.

BENEFITS OF URBAN GREEN

Urban climates are defined by the World Meteorology Organisation as the climate
modified by the resulting effects of the development of cities (including anthropogenic
heat and air pollution).
One of the main characteristics of urban climate is the temperature difference to
the surrounding area. This effect on local climates is called ‘heat islands’. They result
from lowered evaporative cooling, increased heat storage and sensible heat flux caused by
the lowered vegetation cover, increased impervious cover and complex surfaces of the
cityscape (Patz et al., 2005). Dark surfaces such as rooftops or roadways can reach
temperatures 10 to 21°C (50 to 70°F) higher than the surrounding air (Frumkin, 2002).
Because of the enormous dimensions of the settlement areas or topographic peculiarities,
such as valleys, the whole urban area can become a heat island. The temperature
differences of such heat islands in comparison to the surrounding area correlate with the
size of the city. Is the amount of variation 6°K on a city with 100,000 habitants so
increases the variation on cities with 10,000,000 habitants up to 10°K (Lauer, 1999).
Green spaces have the ability to counteract the formation of heat islands. The
surrounding area of vegetation is distinguished by lower temperatures and higher
humidity. The radiation balance of green areas is totally different from sealed city
structures. The difference belongs from the absorption of energy for the photosynthesis,
the evaporation on plant surfaces and the shading effect. Additionally vegetation has
already lower surface temperatures during the day. Furthermore at night they cool off a
little more than the artificial structures or stones because of the lower heat storage

Proc. IS on Soilless Culture and Hydroponics 249

Eds.: A. Rodrìguez-Delfín and P.F. Martínez
Acta Hort. 843, ISHS 2009
capacity.
Depending on the texture, plants can reduce wind speed. Plantings on streets and
facades reduce side and fall wind. Among other things dust dispersion can be reduced.
Over the past years the fixation of particulate matter (PM) by plants has been investigated
and discussed. Until now no clear quantitative evidence in matters on fixation capacity of
different plant types could be made, but the potential of PM-fixation respectively to filter
PM by agglomeration and washing up is undisputed (Bartfelder and Köhler, 1987;
Thönnessen, 2002; Pfanz et al., 2006).
Furthermore sound has been reduced by the highly structured texture of plants.
This effect should not be overrated. The sound absorption rate is depending on the
emitted frequencies. High frequencies which can cause noise induced hearing loss is
absorbed stronger by plants than lower frequencies. For example deciduous trees have
their strongest impact on the sound level by frequencies between 2,000 and 3,000 Hz.
Already small green spaces or single trees can reduce so called flutter echoes, seesaw
swinging sounds between buildings (Kühn, 2008).
Not at least plants have a positive impact on people. Health, recreation and vitality
are associated with plants. Options for urban green may be:
a) Individual green (balconies, hanging baskets, roof gardens)
b) Marginal strip greenery
c) Parks, lawn, flower borders
d) Avenues, tree rows
e) Allotment gardens
f) Containers/garden troughs
g) Facade greenery.
It seems to be clear that individual green cannot be a reliable constant with the
view for positive impacts on urban climates. The other alternatives for the establishment
of plant stocks need bigger spaces to be effective. They compete directly with building
development. Simply facade greenery has a marginal need for horizontal space. They are
capable to homogenise the climate of buildings, save energy and protect external walls
against extreme weather, if they are professionally installed and maintained.

CONVENTIONAL FACADE GREENERY

To be effective on urban climate it is essential to achieve a high leaf area index
(LAI) and a high optical coverage. All currently available types of facade greenery fail
because they need long terms to establish a dense stock. They have to conquer the facade
from the basement or terraces. The limitation of altitude because of plant physiological
restrictions along with the dependency on soil and the comparatively slow scale on
building surfaces makes conventional facade greenery often unattractive for architects
and building owners.
The availability of open idle areas is limited by the space situation and land prices.
Because of that the root zone for plants is often undersized and surrounded by concrete.
This hinders an adequate water and nutrition supply and limits the performance of the
plants drastically because of constant stress. An aggravating factor is that because of the
rare green spaces the root zones are often used as ash-tray, litter pan or waste container.
Conventional facade greenery is often based on single plants which have to cover
relative large areas over the years. It often comes to area-measured failures because of
damages on these single plants, which can hardly be repaired. This makes - in cases with
facade greenery as an integral element of the exterior impression - the general concept
obsolete.

HYDROPONICS FOR FACADE GREENERY

The independence from soil and organic materials in hydroponic systems enables
in face of facade greenery the development of modular plant elements in any size and
number of plants. Growers can cultivate these panels within some months so they might
have a high optical density at any time after installing on the buildings surface. Viewers

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will have the impression of a complete green facade. By handing over new buildings and
constructions a green as requested object can be provided which also fulfils the mentioned
functions in its entirety.
The position of the panel on the facade could be almost freely selected. For
example buildings could be partly or at any height upward vegetated. For not limiting the
general functions of vertical vegetation it should be ensured, that the covered surface is as
wide and continuous as possible.
More advantages of a modular system lie in the fast and easy installation on the
ground and the possibility to substitute damaged plants by replacing just the relevant
components immediately. This flexibility could only be achieved with standardised
dimensions. These standardised components could be available at any time in sufficient
quantity. On custom-made projects the plant elements can only be removed and be
replaced later after reconditioning in a nursery.
There are no ready to go hydroponic systems for exterior facade greenery at the
moment. Some technical developments, which are noted in the next chapter, still have
been made. But some successful examples for vertical hydroponics for building surfaces,
which are artistically ambitious with a highly reconcilability value, can be given. They are
primarily used for prestige projects and not for the wide implementation on residential,
industry or business buildings.
One prominent example for such an ambitious project is the ‘vegetal wall’ of the
Musée du quai Branly in Paris. For the coverage of 800 m2 exterior wall and 150 m2
interior wall 15,000 plants from 150 species were placed in a hydroponic system. The
French botanist and garden artist Partick Blanc installed two layers of polyamide acrylic
felt over a 10 mm thick waterproof polyvinyl chloride sheet kept by a metal bearing
structure in front of the buildings surface (Lange, 2006; Musée du quai Branly, 2008;
Blanc, 2008).
Other available systems work entirely different. They use pre-cultivated panels
filled with growing medium instead of the felt. The living wall at the Vancouver
Aquarium in Canada designed by Sharp and Diamond Landscape Architecture Inc. and
the ‘Green Wall’ at the W Hotel Midtown, Atlanta, GA realized with ‘G-Sky’s Green
Wall’ Panels, are only two examples for such facade greenery systems.
An example for interior greenery is the work of the German planning agency
Indoor landscaping. A team of designers, interior designers and horticulturists developed
the ‘Green Wall’ system. By way of example Greens Walls are used at the Astra Business
Center in Luxembourg or headquarter of the HypoVereinsbank in Munich, Germany. The
system is constructed from a stainless steel substructure and pre-cultivated vegetation
panels of 40 × 60 cm (Anonymous, 2008). Each panel consists of three layers: a base
plate (polystyrene), growth medium (3 cm fully harded phenolic resin foam) and the
vegetation layer (tropical and subtropical shrubs like Ficus pumila or Soleirolia soleirolii)
(Anonymous, 2007).

MODULAR HYDROPONIC SYSTEM FOR FACADE GREENERY

To make the step from single projects to standardised hydroponic facilities on a
big scale, corresponding operation algorithms and some technical conditions have to be
developed.
Hydroponics requires more horticultural know-how than plant cultivation systems
in soil. Hence the controlling modules for the nutrient solution have to handle with a
bigger amount of environmental data, to provide optimal conditions for the vegetation on
the facade. The system control has to assure, that the state of the plants is realised
correctly at any time with the help of corresponding technical measurement installations.
So the system would be able to react adequately on changes. The basis for such complex
operation algorithms are growth analyses and water balances. They will be available in a
few months. With the achieved data, programmers will be able to write controlling
software, software for growth expectation and performance analyses. Particularly the
performance analyses will be an important consulting instrument for architects and

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constructers. Specifics on micro and city climate impacts, acoustic characteristics and
expected operating costs can be made with the performance tool.
Green is fashionable and stands for a new consciousness, but the public will not
pay any money for facilities which could interfere with a comfortable way of life. Such a
facility would be an unattractive, scruffy and tangly vertical vegetation. Because of that a
professional conception, implementation and constant maintenance is indispensable. To
ensure an economically justifiable constant maintenance in great heights or on building
parts with difficult access, operations have to be made by machines. These machines
should move and work over the vegetated area independently under the control of
qualified staff. The automat should realise cutting, leaf fertilising, pest management and
other services. Research institutes like the University of Applied Sciences Dresden are
developing such techniques in co-operation with companies.
A provider for hydroponic facade greenery should be able to react any time on the
requirements of facility management, to evaluate possible losses after storms and to
ensure safety to traffic without an ongoing presence. A remote sensing element should be
part of the system. At present infrared cameras can be implemented beside high resolution
optic techniques and conventional techniques. So the provider should be able to notice a
failure of the irrigation system before the plants begin to wilt. There are also new
developments in the field of stress monitoring with measuring the plant hormone
ethylene. A real time monitoring would be beneficial because the hormone is synthesised
within minutes on the spot of stress (biological, chemical, physical stress) (Brohm, 2008).
So it would be possible to evaluate losses for example after hail.
A modular system, which abstains from soil, could be much lighter than soil based
systems. This characteristic advantage could be exceptionally useful on new buildings, if
the module would be extruded on other building functions like fire protection, thermal
isolation to the point of taking building load.
In some states of the USA green spaces are already an integral part of fire
protection. Occupants are committed to keep the green areas intact. Because of the
continuous moisturerisation of the inert bearing medium (with fire-proof characteristics)
in hydroponic systems and the high water content of the plant cells a flash over of fire can
be avoided.
The mentioned positive effect on an equal building climate because of facade
greenery and the associated energy savings could be increased by the intelligent design of
the carrier element. Today common materials for the thermal isolation could be integrated
for that purpose. This would lead to material savings too. The difficulty lies in a durable
and dense connection between the panels. Only when a complete connection over decades
could be guarantied such a composite material could be established in a promising market
position.
To develop a composite device to take building load, the combination of
hydroponic elements with high potential building materials seems promising. To
construct wide or high bearing structures little weight is a must. Mass savings and
therewith savings on the entailed energy can be achieved through light construction
techniques. This becomes more and more relevant under the focus of economical and
ecological point balances (Sobek, 1995). The design of high rise buildings in attention to
light construction principles is often based on tube-systems for primary structure and
gracefully built secondary structures, which minimises the elevation width and the depth
of the piles and bolt structures (Sobek et al., 2001). These structures could only be
achieved with the help of high potential building materials. Ultra High Performance
Concrete (UHPC) and Textile Reinforced Concrete (TRC) should be emphasised beside
conventional materials like high-strength steel, rust-proof steel sheet, titan and
aluminium. Particularly TRC recommends itself by a very thin material thickness, the
higher ability of flue absorption and the notice of collapse by small cracks. Such bonding
modules could also be heated through the implementation of carbon wires in the TRC. A
dry up of the plants during frost periods could be prevented with this technique.

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DISCUSSION
The benefits of facade greenery in relation to the urban climate and the influence
of green spaces on life quality were studied enough. Urban planners, architects and
builders should not let this potential doze unused anymore.
The full efficiency of vertical vegetation can only be achieved by high leaf area
indices per facade unit. By the optimisation of the growing conditions plants could be
established considerably faster. Better growth control of hydroponics allows such high
improvements in efficiency and productivity. Facade modules could be pre-cultivated in
nurseries by the independence on soil und the comparatively little weight. These units
could constitute a dense stock on the building front immediately. The facade becomes
virid and fully efficient with the start of the operation. The technical design bears a very
high potential for a novel standard construction module by the implementation of modern
construction materials under the attention of light construction principles.
To achieve a wide acceptance of vertical plant systems a proper state of the
construction has to be guarantied. The services for that purpose have to be automated as
far as possible to offer them under acceptable conditions. The qualities of the services
have to be equal or even better than manual maintenance. A clear definition of the
requirements is needed for the development of such a care machine. The needed single
technologies are available. They only have to be brought together to a manageable unit.

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