Phipps Conservatory Production Greenhouse Living Walls
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
290 sf Greenwalls
(Video)

Greenroofs.com Featured Project March 9, 2022

Phipps Conservatory Production Greenhouse Living Walls. Photo courtesy Phipps.

We are happy to be re-featuring the Phipps Conservatory Production Greenhouse Living Walls, a leafy urban ag demonstration project showing how much produce can be grown in a relatively small space! Known fondly as “The Green Heart of Pittsburgh,” the state-of-the-art public conservatory and garden is widely acclaimed for its great collection of lush plantings and dedicated pursuit of excellence in sustainability.

In 2012, the production greenhouses became the first in the world to achieve LEED® Platinum for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance, and one of approximately 20 buildings across the globe to reach the Platinum level.

The Phipps Production Greenhouse before greening. Photo © Lofty Views.

Image: Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens with Production Greenhouse after adding the living walls in 2019; Aerial Photo © Lofty Views.

The Center for Sustainable Landscapes. Image: Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, by Denmarsh Photography

Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens continues to improve their beautiful landscape with ecological designs ranging from greenroofs to greenwalls to their the Center for Sustainable Landscapes (CSL) – the first and only building in the world to meet five of the highest sustainable building standards: LEED® Platinum (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), SITES Platinum, WELL Building Platinum, BREEAM Outstanding In-Use and Living Building Challenge; the Nature Lab which achieved Living Building Petal Certification in the categories of Site, Water, Energy, Equity and Beauty in 2017 from the International Living Future Institute; and most recently in 2019 the Exhibit Staging Center (ESC), designed to achieve three of the most rigorous building standards in the world: LEED Platinum, WELL Platinum and Living Building Challenge certifications. Read more about its history and accreditations.

Phipps Conservatory Production Greenhouse Living Walls. Photo courtesy Phipps.

Excerpt from the Greenroofs.com Project Profile:

Founded in 1893, the LEED Silver (2006) Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens has been Pittsburgh’s green oasis for more than 120 years. The Conservatory is a green leader among public gardens – recognized for its commitment to sustainability including environmental conservation, renewable energy, green building design, and healthy living.

Built in 2006, Phipps Conservatory’s 36,000-square-foot Production Greenhouse earned LEED Platinum for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance in 2012, becoming the first greenhouse in the world to achieve this certification.

A view of the Production Greenhouse Living Walls at left and Phipps’ Center for Sustainable Living (CSL) at right. Photo by Michael Tessler, courtesy Phipps.

In 2016 Phipps’ latest step forward in its outreach mission was the installation of green walls to demonstrate how families and community groups can grow their own fresh, healthy produce even where garden space is limited.

Designed and installed by Michael Bechtel, the Display Horticulturist at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, they have the opportunity to study, evaluate, and learn about growing edibles on space-efficient vertical gardens.

Phipps Conservatory Production Greenhouse Living Walls. Photo courtesy Phipps.

After completing testing with several living wall systems on the south facing wall of its Production Greenhouse Facility, Phipps now boasts 10 LiveWall Inspire standard panels with a total of 240 LiveWall planter modules.

In the spring, beets, carrots, collard greens, kale, and kohlrabi grow in the vertical garden. Summer plantings include basil, rosemary, thyme, celery root, and various peppers.

Phipps Conservatory Production Greenhouse Living Walls. Photo courtesy Phipps.

More

Phipps Conservatory puts vertical food gardening on display with its living walls, and growing fresh produce on the outdoor vertical garden both educates and inspires visitors.

And, a visit to Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens to see the green walls can be tasty as well as inspiring. Guests can see vegetables and herbs growing organically on the green walls and then taste them in delicious dishes served at Café Phipps, named by Food & Wine magazine as a “Best Museum Restaurant.”

Phipps Conservatory Production Greenhouse Living Walls. Photo courtesy Phipps.

Year: 2016
Owner: Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Building Program: Park
Type: Living Wall
System: Single Source Provider
Test/Research: No
Size: 290 sq.ft.
Slope: 100%
Access: Accessible
Privacy: Public

Image: Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

Credits:

GREENWALL SYSTEM:
LIVEWALL

GREENWALL DESIGN & INSTALLATION:
MICHAEL BECHTEL, DISPLAY HORTICULTURIST, PHIPPS CONSERVATORY AND BOTANICAL GARDENS

PLANTS:
HORTICULTURE DEPARTMENT, PHIPPS CONSERVATORY AND BOTANICAL GARDENS

Satellite Image: Courtesy of Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Photo © Lofty Views.

See the Project Profile

See the Phipps Conservatory Production Greenhouse Living Walls to view ALL of the Photos and Additional Information about this particular project in the Greenroofs.com Projects Database.

Phipps Conservatory Production Greenhouse Living Walls. Photo courtesy Phipps.

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Love the Earth, Plant a Roof (or Wall)!

By Linda S. Velazquez, ASLA, LEED AP, GRP
Greenroofs.com Publisher & Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summits Host