Sterile workplaces, institutional spaces and government buildings started undergoing a gradual transformation about two decades ago, as office managers recognized the soothing effects of plants on the human psyche. And in some cases, they did more than just add a few house plants on waiting-room end tables. Entire walls that once hosted bland corporate artwork became professionally designed plant ecosystems, requiring novel irrigation systems and horticultural upkeep.
In New Orleans, the “living walls” sprouted in the Audubon Aquarium atrium entrance as part of a $41 million renovation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Unveiled to the public in 2023, towering walls totaling more than 800 square feet are filled with more than 3,000 plants, purposefully arranged to give the feel of a wild habitat. It’s a fitting greeting for visitors embarking on a tour of rain forests, jungles, coral reefs and other habitats.
“It’s a way of using space that otherwise is just blank. You can hang art there. But you can also hang 3,640 plants,” said Troy Whitfield, the aquarium’s senior horticulturalist, as he pointed out the various ferns, spider plants, philodendron and other species.
Horticulture marries the science of growing plants with the art of presenting them, Whitfield said, and the science has always come naturally to him. Now he’s refining the artistic half as some of the initial plants start to die off and need replacing. Whitfield is eyeing some flashier colors with anthuriums and richly scented orchids.
In addition to being filled with organisms, the wall is also “living” in that it constantly evolves. About 15% of the plants on the wall have been installed since the original installation.
One of Whitfield’s staff members recently suggested crotons and Justicia, which have been added to the mix.
“Every horticulturalist that comes through here has an effect on the wall,” Whitfield said.
Seeing how original designs shape-shift over time is a pleasure for Matthew Hills, an architect with Pennsylvania-based Ambius, a national landscaping firm that specializes in vertical gardens like the one at Audubon Aquarium.
Hills said he’s designed about 100 living walls over the last 15 years, and he recently visited a few from several years ago while visiting family in San Francisco.
“It’s super cool to see,” Hills said. “After five, six years, those plants mature into very big, dense plants, and they start to mix together with the other species on the wall, and it just continues to evolve and look different.”
Hills’ clients usually provide him with rough sketches, which he then matches with curated species selection and irrigation design to fit the space. Corporate clients sometimes want a tidy look incorporating a brand logo. For the aquarium, Hills aimed for a wilder presentation to pair with the aquarium’s aesthetic.
“We chose a more organic look, very patchy, with different plants spread apart in blocks,” Hills said. “There's a lush tropical environment throughout the aquarium that we tried to mimic.”
The aquarium design is among the larger — though far from the largest — of Hills’ designs. The plants are set out in trays, with an automatic irrigation system that trickles from top to bottom. Thirstier plants that dry out more quickly are near the base, and those needing less at the top.
The aquarium atrium, which had multiple wall spaces to fill, presented a couple of unique challenges. One of the walls is more than 30 feet high, and the very top isn’t accessible for routine pruning and other maintenance, so the aquarium had to settle for fake plants at that height.
That wall also slants out at a 20-degree angle, presenting a challenge for irrigation, which works best while dropping straight down. Hills adjusted by putting special wedges behind the plant trays keep them aligned.
“It still appears to be on an angle, but all the trays are actually pushed out and kept on a vertical plane,” Hills said.
The trays are useful because they’re easy to switch out, he said, and he’s looking forward to seeing what the aquarium’s horticulturalists do with the walls over time.
“I'm happy that people take it upon themselves to maintain it, change the species,” Hills said. “The green wall is a living, evolving entity.”