Assessment of the cooling potential of an indoor living wall using different substrates in a warm climate

The use of vertical greenery systems in buildings is becoming very popular as they provide several benefits. In this work, the influence of an indoor living wall on the temperature and humidity in a hall inside the School of Agricultural Engineering (University of Seville) was studied. Four different substrates, Geotextile, Epiweb, Xaxim and coconut fibre, were used to grow the plants in order to assess their performance. Several parameters such as temperature, humidity, plant growth or water consumption were monitored and analyzed during a 4-month period. The cooling effect of the living wall was proven, with an average reduction of 4°C over the room temperature though maximum decrements of 6°C have been observed in warmer conditions. Higher air humidity levels were experienced near the living wall, increasing the overall humidity in the room. All the substrates tested were suitable for plant growing and their behaviour was similar. Geotextile showed the best cooling capacity but higher water consumption, coconut fibre presented degradation problems and Epiweb performance was the poorest. Therefore, these systems have been proven to be very useful and interesting for warm indoor environments due to the cooling effect observed in addition to their bio-filtration capacity and the aesthetic component

Breakdown in sustainability in Aljarafe County (Seville). The dialectics of olive groves versus urbanisation

En las últimas décadas se ha producido un intenso e insostenible crecimiento urbanístico en muchos medios rurales, entre ellos en la Comarca del Aljarafe (Sevilla). En este trabajo se intenta demostrar que tal intensidad ha ido convirtiendo al Aljarafe en un ejemplo modélico de territorialidad insostenible. Como indicadores de tal insostenibilidad, se presentan datos relativos a la huella ecológica aljarafeña y como factores de todo ello se estudian los cambios de usos del suelo, destacando entre los mismos el aumento de lo urbano a costa del descenso de la superficie del olivar, así como las transformaciones que han ido sufriendo las tradicionales haciendas olivarerasIn recent decades, many rural areas, including the Aljarafe County (Seville), have been marked by intense and unsustainable urban growth. This paper aims to show that the Aljarafe is a perfect example of unsustainable territoriality caused by intense growth. Data on Aljarafe's ecological footprint is used as unsustainability indicators. Land use changes, in particular the shift in land use from rural to urban use, and the changes introduced into traditional olive farms have been analysed as factors affecting unsustainability

Multidisciplinary Education for New Landscape Engineering Concepts using Problem-Based Collaborative Learning. A Case Study in Spain

Problem-based learning (PBL) is widely regarded as a successful educational method. In Spain, most engineering degrees are still based mainly on old style lecture classes where a great deal of information is given to the students. This work assesses the introduction of a PBL strategy as a complement to traditional engineering education. The instructors’ and students’ attitudes towards its implementation are studied. A new approach has been proposed for the PBL strategy: instead of a single problem, a chain of problems was developed that could be solved in a collaborative environment. Results from the experience showed a high level of student acceptance. Response to the PBL initiative was found to be positive both for instructors and students, though lack of time, difficulties in evaluations and an increase in students’ and teachers’ workloads were the main disadvantages. Compared with traditional engineering curricula, the mixed traditional–PBL model appears to inspire a higher degree of involvement in study activities where on-line learning tools played an important role

Naturación urbana y jardinería vertical: de las fachadas verdes a los muros vegetales

En las últimas décadas, las urbes están creciendo considerablemente, dedicándose un porcentaje cada vez más elevado a edificaciones. Se prevé que en el periodo entre 2000 y 2030, la población urbana del mundo habrá aumentado un 72%, mientras que la superficie de las zonas edificadas donde viven 100.000 o más personas podría aumentar en un 175%. En este difícil contexto, la aplicación de los principios de sostenibilidad en las áreas urbanas se erige como uno de los mayores retos de las políticas ambientales del siglo XXI. Su éxito dependerá en gran medida del modelo de ciudad a desarrollar, particularmente en lo que se refiere a la relación entre desarrollo urbano y consumo de recursos ambientales

Assessment of different LED lighting systems for indoor living walls

Building-integrated vegetation systems, such as living walls (LW), are becoming common tools for improving the sustainability of cities as well as an aesthetic resource. When used indoors, LW usually require a lighting system to ensure both an adequate plant development and a correct appearance. In this study, six commercial LED lighting systems are tested in order to assess their suitability for the proper performance of LW. The LW monitored were composed of two plant species (Soleirolia soleirolii and Spathiphyllum wallisii) frequently used in indoor LW. All the lamps tested (Aster and Dahlia of Ignia Green, Logar CMH, CLH and Forum of Lledó) proved to be apt for their use to light LW (except for the case of CF-UT01 of Panda Grow), as they showed a favourable performance in terms of plant development, with few differences between them in biomass production and green cover. The tested Aster (Ignia Green) and Logar CMH (Lledó) lamp models were not efficient for long distances between the vegetation and the light source. Despite these results, as illumination is one of the factors that determines the indoor ambience, aesthetics and viewers’ preferences were also studied. According to the observers' perception, the Dahlia model (Ignia Green) was preferred by 54.4 % of the respondents, while the rest of the lamps were preferred les

Water management assessment in a historic garden: the case study of the Real Alcazar (Seville, Spain)

Irrigation plays a very important role in a Mediterranean garden. In spite of this, there are not many studies assessing irrigation water management of landscapes. Moreover, historic gardens represent a special challenge due to their unique characteristics. The aim of this work is the characterization and evaluation of water management in a historic garden. For that, the gardens of The Real Alcazar of Seville were used as a case study. They comprise a total of 20 gardens of different styles with a total area of nearly 7 ha. Landscape water requirements and irrigation volume applied were estimated and used in conjunction with other descriptive and financial variables to calculate 6 performance indicators. Only 20% of gardens showed adequate irrigation in the spring-autumn period, being 10% during summer. However, the two well-watered gardens represent 30% of the total irrigated area. Management, operation and maintenance costs are 0.63 €·m−2 representing 0.58 € per volume of irrigation water used (m−3). Results obtained support the need of improving irrigation management. For that, simple solutions such as installing metering devices, calculating actual water requirements or optimizing irrigation schedules can be implemented. Other more complex actions such as modifying the irrigation network or creating hydrozones might also be explored

Improving the performance of felt-based living wall systems in terms of irrigation management

Vertical greening systems are becoming a new reality worldwide in urban areas in order to increase and enhance green spaces. Commercially there are many systems employing various materials which aim to enable an ade quate development of the vegetal cover, ensuring long-term successful performance. Irrigation represents one of the main key factors, but there is a knowledge gap involving the performance of commercial systems in terms of water management. Felt-based systems present more difficulties due to the smaller water retention capacity, which is an important drawback, especially in warm climates. This work aims to improve an existing commercial system (Fytotextile) in order to optimise water retention and vegetation performance in harsh climate condi tions. Therefore, three evolutions of the Fytotextile system were tested in terms of water retention capacity, drainage and vegetation performance. Fytotextiles 3 and 4 vastly improved the initial water retention capacity of the commercial system (2.9 and 5.8 times that of Fytotextile 1, respectively) but the former exhibited a lower volume of water drained and a slightly better behaviour of the plants

Suitability and optimization of FAO's small-scale aquaponics systems for joint production of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and fish (Carassius auratus)

Aquaponics is a developing technique that combines the simultaneous production of plants (hydroponics) and fish (aquaculture). With it, the use of resources (i.e., water, nutrients, land) is reduced whilst at the same time minimising residues’ discharge to the environment. Among its benefits, it allows the production of healthy vegetables and fish in reduced spaces by means of small-scale systems. In this work, three of them based on FAO models with different hydroponic subsystems (nutrient film technique -NFT-, floating raft, and vertical felt) are tested to produce lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and goldfish (Carassius auratus). Water parameters as well as the growth of plants and fishes were monitored in two different production cycles. The hydroponic subsystem that outperformed the best was the NFT, both in terms of crop production and water consumption. All systems showed similar results in fish production. Further research is needed to corroborate the outputs obtained when using other combinations of plants and fishes. Small-scale aquaponic systems are particularly interesting for self-production and even more so in urban environments with reduced available space

Vertical Greening Systems and Sustainable Cities

Urban development is causing environmental and social concerns that are compromising human welfare and cities sustainability. New urban greening concepts are appearing in order to mitigate these problems in a sustainable and natural way. Vertical greening systems can be defined as structures which allow vegetation to spread over a building facade or interior wall. These systems are becoming popular though they are still evolving and more knowledge on some of their particular impacts is required. In the last five years, the number of studies published in the scientific literature on this topic, especially involving living walls, has significantly increased. This scientific interest has been corresponded with an increased and parallel attention by the general public. This work offers a broad description of the different systems and a comprehensive review of the particular benefits of these green infrastructures. Knowledge gaps and shortcomings have also been identified and discussed

Wind tunnel analysis of artificial substrates used in active living walls for indoor environment conditioning in Mediterranean buildings.

In this paper, a low-speed wind tunnel was used for experimental analysis of water volume retained, pressure drop, saturation efficiency and water consumption for three types of synthetic substrates used in active living walls: polyester (PR), polyurethane (PU) and polyamideepolypropylene (PAePP) The substrates were of a similar thickness and were tested for different water and air flows. The water retained increases with higher water flow. The pressure drop increases with the presence of vegetation and when air speed and water flow is higher. Cooling efficiency is enhanced with vegetation and low air speed. Specific consumption of water is greater with vegetation at higher air speeds. (PDF) Wind tunnel analysis of artificial substrates used in active living walls for indoor environment conditioning in Mediterranean buildings. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280232473_Wind_tunnel_analysis_of_artificial_substrates_used_in_active_living_walls_for_indoor_environment_conditioning_in_Mediterranean_buildings [accessed Sep 18 2018]