G-O2™ Creates Resource Display
at the Chicago CGT
 

The Chicago Center for Green Technology (CCGT) was established to provide a resource for the City of Chicago, and demonstrate ways to live sustainably at home, in the workplace, and with communities, while enhancing the quality of urban life. In both the center and the outdoor exhibition area, visitors can learn many practices and technologies that improve the environment and promote a greener lifestyle. 

Plant Connection was asked to participate in the demonstration gardens and display their G-O₂^TM Living Wall System. The CCGT also presents other green wall systems from across North America, allowing visitors to understand how each works and grows within the Chicago climate.  

Photo Courtesy of Facebook/Chicago Center for Green Technology

The CCGT is the first rehabilitated municipal building in the nation to receive the LEED® Platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. It has become a national model for sustainable design and technology and serves as the most comprehensive green design educational resource in the Midwest. The CCGT hosts seminars, workshops, exhibits and other events on site throughout the whole year. Most of these events are free and open to the public. 

When designing the G-O₂^TM display wall, green wall designer, Sabrina Buttitta of Plant Connection, drew inspiration from Chicago’s well-known street grid system.

Concept for CCGT 

Ajuga represent the "streets" with its neat, compact form, while its maroon foliage provides a striking contrast against the other plants – or the “city blocks”! The plant palette consists of other low-growing groundcovers able to withstand Chicago’s harsh winter winds, such as sedum and pachysandra.

GRHC's Green Walls 101 Course
a Success in NYC
 

On February 23, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities offered its Green Walls 101 Course at the Horticultural Society of New York. Plant Connection is proud to share that our very own VP, Melissa Daniels, was the instructor. The course’s attendance turnout was a great success, and it provided updated material on the design and construction best practices for green facades and living walls, as well as the latest environmental benefit research findings.

To find out when the next training course is being offered near you, visit Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and view their upcoming educational programs. If you don't see a city near you, contact Jordan Richie, GRP for more information. He is the Manager, Education and Accreditation of GRHC and is available at 416-971-4494 ext. 221 or jrichie@greenroofs.org.
 

Kent Denver School Achieves
LEED Platinum with G-O2™
 

Kent Denver School in Englewood, CO, is the first LEED Platinum certified dining hall in the United States! Completed in March of 2011, the new dining hall for grades 6-12 features a cafeteria, event space, kitchen, private offices, conference rooms, a loading dock, an orchard, and a student garden.

Photo © Ron Pollard Photography

In addition to incorporating beehives to pollinate the orchard that produces fruit for meals, an interior G-O₂^TM living wall measuring 14 feet by 18 feet grows herbs used in cooking, as well as other plants. After serving 700 meals to students, faculty and staff, the dining hall only generates a single bag of trash every school day!

To learn more about the project, read the complete article by Green Source.
 

Stay tuned for our next e-newsletter's feature of a G-O2™ Living Wall installed at another restaurant in Boston!