Green wall, green tower – 1 Bligh Street Sydney

A small section of the glorious living green wall outside the new Cbus tower. What a fantastic addition to Sydney CBD

A few weeks ago we went to the CBD to see a green wall.  It is at the new 29 storey, 43,419 square metre Cbus tower at 1 Bligh Street Sydney.  The wall was receiving the finishing touches when we visited so I was lucky enough to have aspects of the wall & how it is managed explained to me by the builders.  They were very proud of their work & deservedly so.

The living green wall is likely the best & largest that we have in Australia at present. I haven’t seen anything like this before.  It is stunning to say the least & once fully-grown will be even better.  I predict this green wall will be a tourist attraction at least until green walls become the norm.  I hope that time arrives soon because the benefits are great.

The wall itself is 9.7-metres high & 40-metres long.  It is watered by black water generated from the Cbus tower & has a system of pumps incorporated into small cupboard rooms hidden as part of the wall.  The doors are almost invisible once they are closed.  I guess there will be subtle clues as to where the handles & keyholes will be, but unless you knew there are doors here, you wouldn’t know.

The plants are wild tropical water-loving plants.  They are planted into boxes made up of geo-textile & filled with exceptionally light potting mix & polystyrene balls.  These boxes are fixed to the wall & the plants planted into small cuts into the material.  They naturally grow roots inside the potting material & some also on the exterior of the geo-textile itself.

Showing one of the rooms behind the green wall & the geo-textile squares

Apart from being very beautiful to look at, the air around the green wall is cool & likely full of negative ions.  It has been made into a place where one can get the benefits of being in a park with running water while being in the busy CBD.  It’s a great area to eat lunch. I was surprised to see a couple of butterflies flitting around exploring. Somehow insects know.

The 42,000-square metre Cbus tower itself is a fantastic achievement with its sustainability features.  It has been built to world’s best practice 6-Star Green Star rating & a 5-Star Australian Building Greenhouse Rating (5 Star NABERS Energy).  The designers were German company ‘Ingenhoven Architekten’ & Australian company ‘Architectus.’

The north-facing building has a double-glazed all-glass façade, thereby utilizing natural light. Inside the double skins are adjustable horizontal blinds that work by automatically shading the internal skin & preventing solar heat gain & keep the building cool.  The 2.85-metre ceiling height of each level also promotes natural airflow. An artistic aluminum curtain protects the building from the western sun.

All water used in the tower will be recycled for use elsewhere on the property.  Recycled black water is used for toilets.  If needed, they can tap into the city’s black water supplies.  The green wall & other landscaping features are watered by collected rainwater. The building will be heated by a tri-generation system using gas for cooling, heating & electricity as well as solar panels.

The atrium is the tallest in Australia & reaches the full height of the building (29 storeys) bringing fresh air to the upper levels. There is an internal ‘winter garden,’ plus an external 375-square metre terrace. A 700-square metre ‘sky garden’ crowns the building.  The sky garden is shielded from the wind by a 10-metre glass wall.  There are also numerous living internal landscaping features throughout the building.  Apart from the usual underground parking for cars, there is also covered parking for 300 bicycles.

What a building!  Hopefully this will become the norm.  It is a mighty achievement for sustainability & creating the least possible impact on the environment.  It also shows what is possible & how we can change the way we build & manage buildings.  I love it & can’t wait until I have an opportunity to go inside.

I made a short video of the living green wall – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc_c37HtBbk

& the Cbus Building here – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jSIwj70a9E

If you want to know how to make your own green wall, this short YouTube video explains how it is done – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp8YyQqVTSI&NR=1

The aluminium curtain at the Cbus tower. It does not move, even though it looks like it should. The curtain lets light & air in, but keeps the heat of the sun out. I think it's beautiful. How it looks would change throughout the day adding interest & more beauty. Mature palm trees can be seen in the background. These are new & are outside the main entrance.