Green walls wall garden
There is both an indoor and outdoor wall garden at 't Centrum.
Different plants were used for the outer wall of 't Centrum than in the classic indoor wall garden. They are fed with grey water (wastewater from hand-washers, showers, kitchenettes) coming from the building. After purification by the plants in the TVW, this water can be used again to flush the toilets.
Greening facades, roofs and the immediate surroundings of buildings is a good way to increase circularity. Indeed, greenery provides buildings with ecosystem services with circularity. These are free services from nature.
"In 't Centrum, we provide two green walls that have their own circular qualities. The function of these walls is much more than ordinary walls. The green wall inside affects the living environment. The exact effect will be accurately measured. The necessary irrigation of the walls will be done with rainwater that we collect near the building," explains Teun Depreeuw, business manager of Muurtuin.
The green wall outside
The green wall outside acts as a building envelope for part of the building, with greenery providing insulation as an additional service. The adapted planting here has the function of vertical water purification, with grey water providing nutrition for the plants. In this way, it contributes to the circular use of water. An outdoor green wall also makes a difference to biodiversity, with the various plants attracting bees, insects and other animals.
For the exterior wall, adapted plants are used in the classic wall garden, which are fed with grey water. This setup uses the results of the previously conducted TOTAL VALUE WALL© test, which gives a version 2.3 result at the 't Centre.
The indoor green wall
Installing a green garden indoors has many advantages. For example, the air quality of the room improves as the green plants purify the air. The plants also improve sound insulation. In addition, it contributes to your physical and mental well-being, greenery in the building reduces stress and people are more productive. Of course, you also get daily viewing and usage pleasure.
Rainwater is collected in a 30,000-litre cistern with overflow to an infiltration zone (= open structure with walls with perforated openings) on the site. It is used to refill the greywater pit. After treatment via a 3-filter system (fine filter + activated carbon filter), it is also used to irrigate the Wall Garden inside, excess water from the Wall Garden is collected at the bottom via a gutter and sent to the infiltration zone.
Normally, wall gardens require maintenance three times a year: replanting, pruning and fertilising. The classic indoor wall garden needs extra light to keep the indoor plants used green.
Indoor tree
By the way, the 2 green walls are not the only plants in 't Centrum. On top of the many indoor plants located throughout the building, there is a large tree in the middle of the open space. This ficus brings extra oxygen into the room and humidifies the air, making for a more pleasant living space. In a mainly wooden building, there is usually a rather dry climate, this is also improved by the plants. Of course, the tree also acts as a nice attention-getter in this space.
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