Experimental Prototype of an Indoor Green Façade for Assessing Its Effects on Building Climate

Green infrastructures are a sustainable solution for improving overall quality of today’s urban and peri-urban living environments. Among these systems, green façades involve the application of vegetation on the buildings’ vertical walls. These can provide various benefits, such as the improvement of the building aesthetics, air quality, wall acoustic insulation and the energy performance of the building, thus reducing energy costs and promoting microclimatic well-being. Benefits can be achieved in both outdoor and indoor applications. These technologies can be applied following different construction solutions and to buildings with various uses. Most of the available research has focused on outdoor applications, while this study focuses on an indoor green façade, with the aim of studying its functioning. The first step of this research, the design of the system realized at the University of Bari, is presented. The experimental prototype consists of a sealed chamber to thoroughly investigate thermal and gas exchanges, thus analyzing the ability of vegetation to improve the quality of the confined environment. Evergreen plants of Syngonium podophyllum are placed inside the chamber. Several sensors are integrated for detecting and monitoring physical parameters of air, soil, and plants. The system is provided with ventilation. The designed system could be further developed during the research. The analysis of the measured parameters will help to clarify the functioning of the system and to quantify the induced effects. This will be useful not only for designers and experts, but also for all those who wish to implement indoor green façades.