Stanford’s Graduate School of Business in Stanford, CA tasked Habitat Horticulture with implementing their living wall design – an outdoor installation in an already verdant space. Key to the design and placement was that the wall should be visible from a majority of vantage points in the building above, and that it should provide a multi-sensory experience to those walking through or stopping to relax.

The wall is mostly ferns in a variety of shades of green, with the striking pink inflorescences of Aechmea fasciata bromeliads adding highlights. A misting system was installed to provide water to the plants and create a lush environment, for an almost tropical effect. That system helps the wall to engage sound, texture and even smell. It enhances and amplifies the courtyard’s feeling of being one with nature – calling to mind the Bay Area’s forests in an otherwise developed area with lots of foot traffic. The cutouts in the wall add an unexpected twist to the plain of greenery, offering views to Stanford’s buildings beyond, further opening up the space.