PUBLIC SECTOR SUSTAINABILITY
more psychologically comfortable. Access to views of nature is both desirable and a recognised best practice – indeed, access to views features in several green building rating schemes. However, it is not always possible, especially in buildings with a deep floor plan or those in congested urban locations.
One solution is the provision of good quality interior landscaping, which can be employed to give people access to an indoor garden or views of vegetation, especially if there is an atrium or other large space.
CREDITS FOR INTERIOR PLANTS IN GREEN BUILDINGS? We have seen that interior plants clearly have a useful role in making buildings greener. Their use can reduce energy needs directly through their ability to cool buildings and also reduce the reliance on energy-intensive systems and products by their ability to improve indoor air quality and reduce noise. Not only that, they achieve all of these feats with the minimum of maintenance and with a production system that, compared with product manufacturing, is achieved with very low inputs.
different plants in groups appear to work better than individual plants and that several small arrangements are better than one big one.
• Position several arrangements around a space rather than concentrate them in one location. In this way the surface area of the plants exposed to noise may be maximized and individual work areas in an office space will all benefit from a localized effect.
• Plants placed near the edges and corners of a space are better than plants in the middle. This is
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because sound is reflected from the walls straight into the foliage.
• Planters should be placed a few centimetres away from the wall, so that they can absorb reflected sound from the wall as well as sound reaching them directly.
• Angle rectangular planters slightly away from parallel with the wall to help to disperse reflected sound.
PROVIDING A VIEW OF NATURE Interior plants have another unique characteristic; they help people reconnect with nature. Plants are a powerful way to promote well-being by making people feel
PUBLIC SECTOR SUSTAINABILITY • VOLUME 1 ISSUE 3
It is possible to make reasoned arguments to green building assessors that the use of plants fulfils some of a developer’s requirements to minimise energy consumption and provide alternatives to manufactured goods and engineered systems. However, such arguments are made on a case-by-case basis and might take some engineers out of their comfort zone. The Australian Green Building Council has already formally recognised the value of interior plants and will give credits for their installation and ongoing maintenance and it might only be a matter of time before LEED and BREEAM follow suit.
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