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chrisb
Joined: 08 Dec 2006
Posts: 18
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 Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 7:00 am Post subject: Trees and Plants |
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| hi im doing my thesis right now on a green office building. Can you suggest what type of plants and trees to use inside the building. (greenery that doesnt require much sunlight and water to survive) Both for aesthetic and practical purposes.. |
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lekizz
millennium club
Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 1103
Location: UK
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| Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 1:20 am Post subject: |
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Believe me, you really need daylight and water for large plants to survive. Without either you won't have very healthy plants. Or healthy office workers - a 'green' office should have access to plenty of natural light and ventilation.
Maybe if it is a dark office where the occupants can't be bothered to water the plants then you could create gardens, balconies or roof planting instead. |
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chrisb
Joined: 08 Dec 2006
Posts: 18
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| Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 3:48 am Post subject: |
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| lekizz wrote: | Believe me, you really need daylight and water for large plants to survive. Without either you won't have very healthy plants. Or healthy office workers - a 'green' office should have access to plenty of natural light and ventilation.
Maybe if it is a dark office where the occupants can't be bothered to water the plants then you could create gardens, balconies or roof planting instead. |
yeah i think ive addressed the natural light issue by putting the trees in a space on the edge of the facade. im just picky because i know that the tree cant have all the natural light because its inside the building. i oriented it in the west and east so that it gets the sunlight and as well as serves as good buffer inside the building. do u agree with me on this?
can you suggest a tree or a project that could serve as a reference? thanks! |
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lekizz
millennium club
Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 1103
Location: UK
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| Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 6:16 pm Post subject: |
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My favorite 'green' office is the NMB/ING Bank Headquarters in Amsterdam. I think it has a series of planted atria with hanging plants. And a stream inside the building. Not sure about trees though.
I remember that the Frankfurt Commerzbank has trees in its sky gardens.
It sounds like an interesting thesis. |
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chrisb
Joined: 08 Dec 2006
Posts: 18
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| Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 5:11 am Post subject: |
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| yeah i saw them in the episode 'bionic buildings' on bbc last year. im really incorporating sustainable technology inside the building like windscoops, double facade with internal circulation, plenums on the ceiling, and of course the plants. its really hard to combine them all knowing that this will be the culminating project of my 5 years in architecture haha! |
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lekizz
millennium club
Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 1103
Location: UK
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| Posted: Sun Dec 10, 2006 5:33 am Post subject: |
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Planting on the outside of the building will be useful too, on walls (or between your envelope layers) as a seasonal shading device. And roofs, as insulation, protection of the roof structure and visual interest viewed from above.
I studied the Okohaus in Frankfurt last year and its sister building in Nurnberg, the Prisma building. The former is a large (slightly experimental) office building with a tall timber frame glasshouse attached to one side, filled with plants and water. The latter is larger still, a mixed use commercial building of offices, housing and shops with an L-shaped planted atrium. Both used the height of the atrium to create natural ventilation and draw heat from the atria into the remainder of the building. |
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chrisb
Joined: 08 Dec 2006
Posts: 18
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| Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2006 10:30 pm Post subject: |
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thanks! ill check on those buildings.
using pvc walls would ruin may whole green concept right? theres an industrial plant of pvc pipes and fittings in the vicinity, and i thought of using it because it can be part of the sustainable concept because the material is abundant in that place. what do you think? |
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ani_7harry
Joined: 30 May 2006
Posts: 26
Location: INDIA, CHENNAI
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| Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 2:25 am Post subject: |
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heya sorry but then,,,,
i read ur post... i didn understand....
windscoops, double facade with internal circulation, plenums on the ceiling,
thank u... |
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lekizz
millennium club
Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 1103
Location: UK
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| Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 7:41 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | using pvc walls would ruin may whole green concept right? theres an industrial plant of pvc pipes and fittings in the vicinity, and i thought of using it because it can be part of the sustainable concept because the material is abundant in that place. what do you think? |
PVC is not a raw material. Unless you can point me to a PVC quarry, or a PVC tree plantation 
The manufacture of PVC involves a chemical process to make plastic, releasing all sorts of harmful gases into the atmosphere. PVC is not recyclable either, from what I know.
Of course there may be one or too instances where plastics are essential to your construction process, but there are usually benign alternatives. |
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chrisb
Joined: 08 Dec 2006
Posts: 18
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| Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 8:40 am Post subject: |
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| ahaha im sorry, i meant the production of it is just in the area of my site. i've seen a few office designs that used pvc walls as their partitions. its kinda nice actually but plastic doesnt fit well in my project. oh well. haha! |
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lekizz
millennium club
Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 1103
Location: UK
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| Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 11:43 am Post subject: |
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AND I just noticed that was my 500th post on DC!! Maybe I will get a prize  |
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beglobal
Joined: 23 Nov 2006
Posts: 5
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| Posted: Tue Feb 27, 2007 11:50 am Post subject: |
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I think you could use some cactus , those help to aborve the energy that machines like computers emit.
Ivancin
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Marketing Agency Edinburgh |
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DiasTan
Joined: 20 Mar 2007
Posts: 2
Location: Singapore
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| Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2007 4:59 am Post subject: |
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| beglobal wrote: | I think you could use some cactus , those help to aborve the energy that machines like computers emit.
Ivancin |
Cactus is a good idea...But if you are looking for something that needs less sun, try the philodendron species or the sinacarpus species...Both are able to tolerate indoor enviroment...
At least thats what we use in singapore...... |
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joelmckellar
Joined: 31 May 2006
Posts: 91
Location: Charleston, SC
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| Posted: Thu Jun 07, 2007 6:52 am Post subject: |
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http://www.plantsatwork.org/
I would definitely check this site out. There should be good contacts for more info
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Joel McKellar, LEED AP
Real Life LEED - A blog devoted to practicing LEED professionals |
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