FEATURE Green Walls
Fraser said that , originally , it was planned that the entire steel structure should be covered in the green wall system but this concept had to be amended owing to the design of the panels of the system . The lower portion of the steel tree has been clad with eight Modiwall sections , each section consisting of 20 panels . One Modiwall panel is 500mm x 500mm and weighs 35kg when the planting medium , the necessary water , and the plants are installed in the pots of the polyethylene structure . The steel structure had to be entirely re-designed to accommodate the fully-installed weight .
The influx of light through the large skylight has been measured at between 240 and 360 lux . The planting medium comprising a coir and peat mixture was specially adapted for this structure at Sun City by Sittigs Nursery , using their standard mix but changing the ratio of the constituents .
Only Schindapsis spp , both the gold marbled Schindapsis aureus ( now named Epipremnum aureum ) and the white marbled Schindapsis , were used on this angled ‘ green wall ’. Fraser said the species was chosen firstly because it had been frequently trialled on green walls and found to perform well , and also because it would trail over the steel tree structure providing dense , aesthetically pleasing vegetation coverage .
TopTurf designed a steel plate ( including a gutter ) to fit in behind the sections to direct the irrigation water and to guard against water spillage . The water is pumped up to the top of the Modiwall panels which hold the potted plants , and nozzles spread the water flow evenly over the steel plate . The wicks then draw up the water by capillary action and this moistens the planting medium thereby irrigating the plants . The standard method of watering the Modiwall only makes use of one wick per pot but TopTurf installed two wicks per pot instead , and these wicks are
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