TX to Host Continent's Largest Living Wall
FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2020
A 26-story high-rise is planned for Dallas and, according to reports, North America’s tallest “living wall” is slated to come with it.
Founder and CEO of Rastegar Property Company, Ari Rastegar, announced earlier this year that the development slated for the intersection of McKinney Avenue and Akard Street will aim to change not only the city’s skyline, but its air quality as well.
“What was most important to [my wife], Kellie, and I when visualizing this project was community enhancement, walkability, and on a small site, to do something artistic, beautiful,” Rastegar said in an interview with D Magazine. “This kind of green wall, living wall came up in a visualization brainstorming exercise with SCB (Soloman Cordwell Buenz), which is our architecture firm out of Chicago."
The Plan
In addition to SCB, Turner Construction, GFF, Kimley-Horn and Associates and Zauben are other companies listed on 319,000-square-foot high-rise project so far.
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A 26-story high-rise is planned for Dallas and, according to reports, North America’s tallest “living wall” is slated to come with it. |
The 320-foot wall will reportedly include more than 40,000 plants that will add approximately 1,200 pounds of oxygen to the environment, as well as absorb roughly 1,600 pounds of carbon dioxide.
"The CO2 absorption and air purification were taken by the city of London Citicape project that we're also in conversations with, but the study did an estimate on 40,000 plants and the impact of air purification and CO2 absorption," said Zauben CEO Zachary Smith.
"These are supported by industry research and the Environmental Protection Agency, but what we're excited about is what our sensors will report. Will it be more than we estimate? Will it be less? We don't have a clear answer now. This is very much a case study but from everything we know about plants, we're confident that they will at least absorb 1,600 pounds of CO2."
The wall will include the sensor technology from Zauben, which will monitor moisture and lighting for the plants, which will be housed in mineral wool instead of soil to optimize water use and provide additional building insulation.
The tower itself is slated to be mixed-use with 270 condominium units and retail space at the bottom.
Restegar hopes to break ground on the project within the next few months, and construction is estimated to take up to three years. Total costs have not been finalized.
In London
Renderings for the aforementioned Citicape House, in London, were released late last year by design firm Sheppartd Robson. That project is reported to host Europe’s largest living wall.
Located on what will be London’s “Cultural Mile,” the 11-story mixed-use structure will reportedly include a 382-key five-star hotel, 40,000 square feet of workspace, a 10th-floor sky bar, meeting and event spaces, spa, restaurant and co-working spaces.
According to Sheppard Robson, the Citicape House will be covered with over 400,000 plants that are projected to "capture over eight tons of carbon, produce six tons of oxygen and lower the local temperature by three to five degrees Celsius.”
Tagged categories: Color + Design; Condominiums/High-Rise Residential; Green building; Green walls; Mixed-Use Facility; Sustainability; Upcoming projects
