‘Green Walls’ Are Environment-Friendly Way of Ensuring Sustainable Development: Dr Niranjan Hiranandani, Co-Founder and MD - Hiranandani Group

Green Wall at Adonia Hiranandani Garden Powai

Business Wire India

In a scenario where the term, ‘eco-friendly building’ tends to get mixed up with ‘Green’ walls, a wall actually covered with greenery might just appear to be something very different – but that is not the case. A wall covered with greenery in form of creepers and plants actually provides the interior with a cooler temperature, as compared to the ambient temperature in that location.
 
Ensuring ‘Greenery’ within the township has always been an integral part of the planning process, and is always ‘in-focus’ during the planning and implementation process at any project by the Hiranandani Group. While planning an integrated township, it is largely about making sustainable buildings, with a holistic approach. It is not just about building townships, but ensuring that the quality of life of people who live in them gets enhanced with eco-friendly aspects.
 
At Hiranandani Gardens, Powai; and Hiranandani Estate, Thane; Green Walls have been implemented in a couple of projects – and it has been successful in lowering the temperature within the structure. Undoubtedly, it is a challenging task – ensuring that the plants and creepers cover the wall fully, as also maintaining aspects like watering and maintenance of the plants and creepers which are vertical is not easy.
 
Largely, it is time and effort taken to maintain a Green Wall which results in so few of these being seen in cities like Mumbai or Thane. In theory, green cover or gardens can be grown vertically. Green Walls are increasingly becoming visible in luxury real estate projects, and the green patch/ garden which grows on the wall and partially or completely covers the wall with vegetation. This simple task of creating a ‘green wall’ has many aspects, but at projects by the Hiranandani Group, ‘sustainable development’ easily tops the list.
 
The experience till now has been that Green Walls do reduce temperature within the structure. The primary cause of heat build-up is absorption of solar radiation by buildings. The Green Walls, as a result of transpiration, ensure that the temperature do not rise above the ambient temperature, and the interior is cooler.
 
The Green Walls, apart from being visually appealing as also cooling the sides of a building from direct sunlight, provide an extra layer of insulation, reduce outdoor noise, improve air quality and provide additional points for Green Buildings. The Green Walls at the Hiranandani Estate, Thane’s Sales Gallery as also Hotel Melhua in Powai have been created following a strong structural design which ensures the walls are not affected by moisture as a result of the Green Wall.
 
Striking an attractive balance between greenery and construction is where Green Walls play an important role. Incidentally, the practical side to this is that Green Walls can reduce electricity bills up to 20 percent, as also shield the building from sun, rain and thermal fluctuations. Given that space is a major constraint in Metro Cities, buildings go vertical to make most of the available space. Ideally, we should also create more of Green Walls.