Spearheaded and designed by the Green Futures Lab with funding from the CSF, the UW Biodiversity Green Wall was completed in the fall of 2012, transforming two blank concrete walls into lush urban habitat. Located in the southeast corner of Gould Hall on 15th Avenue and NE 40th Street, the award-winning project has been widely publicized and has the potential to provide numerous benefits such as reducing building energy needs, mitigating heat island effects, conserving potable water, reducing stormwater pollution, and increasing urban biodiversity. https://greenfutures.be.uw.edu/2019/07/25/biodiversity-green-wall-system/
Early 2019, the required irrigation system for the Biodiversity Green Wall (Green Wall) malfunctioned and has not been able to be repaired. Consequently, there has been 100% mortality of the plantings on the wall, despite considerable effort to keep them alive over the summer by hand watering. Most recently, Covid-19 has barred progress and efforts to get the Green Wall up and running again.
Since Fall of 2020 we have been engaging in conversations with Green Wall stakeholders, including UW Facilities, UW Grounds, PAE Engineering, and TRANE Engineering to deduce issues and determine solutions. PAE was able to determine that there was a communication malfunction between the controller and the transducer electrical systems, resulting in the failure of the potable backup water system. Unfortunately, Covid delayed any further investigations.
There is strong renewed desire in getting the irrigation system functioning again, and the Green Wall planted before students return to campus this coming Autumn term. We have had reputable mechanical engineers troubleshoot the Green Wall System to assess what needs to happen in terms of mechanical and electrical fixes to get it up and running again. Although there is some indication that the controller is working, the wires within the system are not colored according to industry standard and documentation on the system is missing, so PAE Engineering has recommended to us to replace everything (controller, transducer, wiring, and user interface) with a simpler system. While we are hoping to repair rather than replace the system, we have been advised that the labor to diagnose and repair could be a similar cost to replacing it with a better, more straightforward system and so are using the quote we have received for that in this proposal. However, we are continuing our consultation from other experts.
Once the Green Wall irrigation system has been repaired, we will begin replanting efforts which will require replacing the soil and plants. We have worked with Solterra Solutions in the past and will seek a similarly qualified company and prioritize using Pacific Northwest native plants. Plants from the UW SER nursery will also be sought. Re-design and planting efforts will be student-led, with current Green Futures Lab Manager Emma Petersen taking the lead. We are also looking into long-term maintenance solutions to ensure the continued success of the Green Wall and its critical water harvest and irrigation system. While all organization of the project will be student-led, the Green Wall requires the mechanical engineering expertise and continuity of maintenance by professionals who will be able to adequately oversee the unique, sustainable irrigation system, as well as the plant survival and health; we expect these to be two different entities. We have reached out to Campus Stewardship to hopefully provide plant and irrigation system stewardship in the future, but in the meantime we anticipate needing outside expertise and so have included line items in this budget to fund a water system overseer for one year, and likewise, for plant establishment and maintenance for one year.
The Biodiversity Green Wall has proven to be an invaluable resource and asset to the College of Built Environments, the University of Washington, and the surrounding community, but currently the Green Wall is not able to provide any of its prior sustainable and educational services. We feel very strongly that repairing and renewing the Green Wall is a priority for the College of Built Environments, Department of Landscape Architecture, and the UW Green Futures Lab and its revival will be a happy symbol of better times when students return in the autumn.