GSky® Versa Wall® Wins International Living Green Wall Design Competition
Innovative living green wall company sweeps with first, second, and third place
GSky Plant Systems, Inc., a global industry leader in the design and production of interior and exterior green walls, announces that its interior Versa Wall® living green wall for San Francisco’s McGuire Building is the Grand Award Winner, Green Walls, for I-Plants / Urban Horticulture Magazine’s International Design Contest.
GSky’s award-winning Versa Wall® design for the McGuire Building in San Francisco, California, marks the first living green wall of its kind to include three free-hanging columns. Completely suspended with no physical connection to the ground, the columns enliven a two-floor atrium space with a variety of colorful tropical plants. The three columns feature GSky’s innovative Versa Wall® gravity-based irrigation technology for higher water efficiency. The columns can be redesigned at minimal cost to add seasonal color since each Versa Wall® plant remains in its own four-inch pot so full-grown plants can be swapped in quickly and cleanly. The design also integrates an array of LED lights for exquisite lighting at night.
Living green walls designed and installed by GSky® also won the International Design Contest’s Silver and Bronze Awards. The Versa Wall® for the Van Dyk Recycling Solutions Corporate Office in Norwalk, Connecticut earned the Silver Award for its two-story flowing design which creates sweeping wave-like shapes with plants of different shades. Installed in the company’s centrally located Café area between offices, the wall cleans the air and reduces noise pollution. Like all Versa Wall® systems, it is protected by GSky’s comprehensive maintenance program with hardware coverage and plant guarantee.
GSky’s Pro Wall® for the Transwestern office campus in Los Angeles, California, brightens the side of a four-story parking structure with 4,000 ft2 of living foliage. Winning the contest’s Bronze Award, the five-wall installation incorporates an undulating design with curves flowing from one wall to the next. Exterior lighting highlights the lustrous exterior Pro Wall® even after nightfall.
For more information on the Versa Wall® and Pro Wall® and examples of GSky® installations from around the world, visit gsky.com.
See below for project details on the three winning installations.
About GSky Plant Systems, Inc.
Versatile. Reliable. Proven.
Founded in 2004, GSky Plant Systems, Inc. is a leading provider of vertical Living Green Walls in North America, Europe, Australia and the Middle East in our 15th year in business. The company was founded based on the explosive growth of green technology. GSky® Living Green Walls are irrigated by low flow drip emitters on programmable controllers and in many cases can be equipped with recycling components to create an extremely efficient low water usage system. GSky® has offices in Delray Beach, Florida and Vancouver, British Columbia, with sales offices in Denver, Colorado; San Clemente, California; San Antonio, Texas; and Hamburg, Germany. GSky’s Versa Wall®, Versa Wall® XT, Pro Wall®, and Basic Wall® systems offer indoor and exterior options for most environments. For more information about GSky Plant Systems, visit https://gsky.com, call 561-894-8688, or email marketing@gsky.com. Follow GSky® on Instagram and Twitter, visit GSky’s Facebook fan page, and subscribe to GSky’s YouTube Channel.
Pro Wall® Transwestern Sunset
West Hollywood, CA
Winner of Bronze Award Green Walls, $40,000+ (project price)
Story & Installation
The Los Angeles, California area puts a strong emphasis into arts and culture, especially in West Hollywood, home of the world-famous Sunset Strip. The GSky® Pro Wall® qualifies as beautiful addition to this vibrant street, covering a parking structure of the recently remodeled 240,000 square-foot Transwestern office campus. Transwestern and GSky® teamed up to add this living artistic component for the tenants and public to enjoy.
As the Transwestern family of companies have grown to become leaders in construction, design, and sustainability, their desire to have the Pro Wall® installed reinforces their commitment to the health and culture of the local community.
Installation of the wall was completed in three phases: hard material (24 days), Wall A (4 days) and remaining 4 walls (10 days). GSky® had very limited access and was working with an existing active parking structure with an active pedestrian walk below.
Challenges
Having limited access and working around the activity of this parking structure were not the only challenges overcome by GSky® for this project. Obstacles were present as well due to limited space. The space for lift access was very tight and also limited by height, a glass canopy, steps, a thin slab finish that cannot withstand the weight of a lift, and the slope of the parking entrance gate to list a few. A split plant installation was necessary due to having to work over the glass canopy and there was limited plant availability due to the southern California climate, so replacements had to be found.
Working over an active pedestrian pass way that is adjacent from the office building created periodic disruptions for safety reasons. West Hollywood has strict coordination procedures in regard to working hours, noise, delivery, dust and daily clean up.
Versa Wall® McGuire Building
San Francisco, CA
Winner of Grand Award (first place) Green Walls, $40,000+ (project price)
Story & Installation
The McGuire Building is home to GM Cruise, the team of engineers working to build a fleet of self-driving cars for the nation’s largest automaker. The three hanging GSky® living green wall columns are located within an atrium type setting that covers two floors of office space. The bottom of the columns can be viewed from ground level and the tops of the columns from one floor up. The walls were installed in two phases, spending four days on the installation of hard materials and one day to install the plants.
Challenges
Challenges faced during the install include the structural design that was done by others as well as the layout and location of each column. This presented access and maintenance challenges for each face of the wall.
Additionally, due to the hanging design and no physical connection to the ground, the drainage area was a challenge. Excess water management was discussed in detail and it ended up free falling into fully the waterproofed planter bed below. Ample time was spent on the irrigation layout and how to loop the dripline for better water flow management. The planter bed size was also discussed. It is large enough to catch excess water with counting on some spillage, but small enough so the maintenance lift can have access and the technician is able to reach entire faces of the columns.
This is the first living green wall of its type with 3 hanging columns. Measuring 18’x5’, 16’x3.2’ and 14’x3.2’, small LED lights are mingled into the design to allow for lighting at night.
Finally, due to the tight 2-story height display lobby space, an access lift was carefully selected using a 3D model case study. We found that there are specific requirements for which lift can be used. It must be electric and small enough to bring it through the doors of the building. Access to the columns for service is done using a 30-foot aerial work platform (AWP-30).
Versa Wall® Van Dyk Recycling Solutions Corporate Office
Norwalk, CT
Winner of Silver Award Green Walls, $40,000+ project price
Story & Installation
Van Dyk is a unique recycling business that uses the credo, “We solve problems that may not have occurred to others.” Which is why they came to GSky!
Their new corporate headquarters in Norwalk, CT is home to a new GSky® Versa WallÒ system. It resides in the Café area, which is centrally located between offices and meeting areas. They call it their “eating and meeting” space. It is 27’9” tall and 15’8” wide ascending through the 2nd floor. This area’s balcony is open to the first floor with a glass railing so that the entire space benefits from the living vertical plant wall. The area is in an atrium with skylights, but supplemental lighting was also installed to ensure good light levels.
