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Team of 12 Design Edible Wall
A team of 12 talented students from ENST designed a green wall for a solar-powered house, named Watershed, the University of Maryland’s entry into the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2011 Solar Decathlon.
Watershed will embrace an ecosystem model and draw inspiration from natural systems, such as the chesapeake bay Watershed, which stretches over 64,000 square miles of Maryland, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Key Elemenent- Edible Wall
To be built on the National Mall in September 2011, WaterShed will be formed by two rectangular units capped by a butterfly roof, which is suited to capturing and using sunlight and rainwater. Moreover, what might set the UM team apart from the 20 other college teams taking part in this competition, is an edible green wall, also known as a living wall or vertical garden, which was inspired by Dr. David Tilley’s research.
"The green wall is to be completely edible and completly vine-based, so plant selection is key for the project," says Dr. Tilley.
“The WaterShed’s green wall will be part of an integrated living system that will help save water and make use of it on site to create edible and medicinal products, clean water and an eye-catching outer facade,” tells Dr. Tilley. Tested in the Ecosystem Engineering Design Lab in ENST and supported by a grant from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, Dr. Tilley’s green wall research promotes vertical gardens that reduce energy consumption and improve the environmental performance of a building.
Michael Satoh worked on creating a design for an edible green wall on WaterShed. The wall, located on the Western facade of the house, is meant for both shading the neighboring kitchen from the western sun and providing a local source of food for the house’s inhabitants. “The green wall is to be completely edible and completely vine-based, so plant selection is key for the project,” says Michael. Crossvine, Trumpet Honeysuckle, Carolina Jessamine, American Bittersweet are just a few species being considered for the wall.
Scott Tjaden constructed a working model of the treatment wetland to test its capabilities. It consisted of a replica of the two roof materials (solar panels and green roof) and two wetland models that function differently. These two roofs will affect runoff differently to the wetland and surrounding areas with respect to water retention (green roof) and direct runoff (solar panels). “The wetland will run through the spine of the house and help to filter the rain and greywater produced by the house,” explains Scott. “This scale model of the house’s functionality has allowed the whole team to further our thoughts and design work.
Isabel Enerson has invested her efforts in the species selection and educational value of the wetlands. The east wetland was selected to mimic a tidal marsh, while the west wetland remains a working example of greywater filtration. “Wetlands are a part of our environment that are incredibly important and provide a diverse array of ecosystem services,” enthuses Isabel. “With this house, we have a chance to celebrate and educate individuals about both the natural vitality of wetlands and their ability to recycle grey water into a resource for irrigation and internal plumbing.”
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Last updated: 09/7/2011
