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Green Roofs/Walls in Sustainable and Resilient Building

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Green Building".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 November 2022) | Viewed by 5159

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Cristina Matos Silva

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Guest Editor

Department of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Georesources, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: green infrastructure; green roofs; green walls; ecosystem services; energy and water efficiency; rainwater harvesting; economic evaluation of green infrastructure; payback period
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Vitor Sousa

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Guest Editor

Department of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Georesources (DECivil), Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: data minning; water consumption patterns; water efficiency; alternative water sources; water–energy nexus; life cycle costing; life cycle assessment

Dr. Uri Nachshon

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Guest Editor

Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, the Volcani Research Center, 68 HaMacabim Rd., P.O Box 15159, Rishon Lezion 7528809, Israel
Interests: Soil; Soil degradation; Soil Salinization; Soil erosion; Soil quality; Sustainable agriculture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Today, it is well known that nature-based solutions are decisive to address urban challenges, as they are resource-efficient and resilient to environmental changes. Since most cities show space constraints, the contribution of green roofs and green walls is decisive [UN1]. Research on these solutions has proven that technology of these systems has evolved and they can now provide different types of ecosystem services. Additionally, green roofs and walls must be adapted to local conditions and included in urban green infrastructure plans to mitigate climate change.

The potential topics for submissions to the SI include but are not limited to:

Green roof/wall solutions, environmental, social and economic assessment;
Green roof/wall contributions toward urban resilience;
Green roofs/walls as part of the green infrastructure of cities;
Green roofs/walls and runoff amounts and quality;
Green roofs/walls and energy performance of buildings;
Green roofs/walls coupled with other technologies in buildings (e.g., rainwater harvesting);
Green roof/wall policy measures in planning practice of urban centres;
Green roofs/walls and urban agriculture, farming, and gardening.

This SI will contribute to evaluating the best solutions for green roofs/walls in buildings within the scope of the resilience and climate adaptation plans needed for cities and passing on this information to decision makers.

Prof. Dr. Cristina Matos Silva
Dr. Vitor Sousa
Dr. Uri Nachshon
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

green roof
green walls
climate change
energy efficiency
water efficiency
cost–benefit analysis
life cycle assessment
rainwater harvesting
health
biodiversity

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 8029 KiB

Open AccessArticle

In the Search for Sustainable Vertical Green Systems: An Innovative Low-Cost Indirect Green Façade Structure Using Portuguese Native Ivies and Cork

by Pedro Talhinhas, João Cunha Ferreira, Vera Ferreira, Ana Luísa Soares, Dalila Espírito-Santo and Teresa Afonso do Paço

Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5446; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065446 - 20 Mar 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1835

Abstract

Green façades in the urban environment represent points of biodiversity value, contributing to species conservation, acting as urban wildlife corridors connecting elements, and also aiming at sustainability, when the materials and structure are thoughtfully chosen. Ivies (Hedera spp.) are perennial climbing evergreen plants that are easy to cultivate and demand little input, and their use in vertical green systems is much appreciated but may lead to damage to the constructions in the long term. Among the 14 species of Hedera currently recognized, a few have been bred into cultivars and are available in the market for cultivation, often as exotic species. Four Hedera spp. are native to Portugal, but most cultivated species in this territory are exotic and the suitability of native species for their use in green façades has not been documented. Thus, in the present work, we describe the installation of a low-cost indirect green façade structure supported on cork panels using plants belonging to the native H. iberica and H. hibernica. The structure is installed at the Ajuda Botanical Garden, under Mediterranean conditions, on a brick and cement wall, and will enable researchers and landscape architects to follow the development of this structure as a long-term experiment, prompting the use of native species toward increased biological and technical sustainability. The preliminary results indicate that the cork structure is able to provide adequate support for the plants and that these were able to climb and develop in this structure, avoiding direct contact with the wall and the possible subsequent damage. Therefore, the structure provides a viable solution to implementing sustainable green façades with native species, on brick-cement walls, able to be replicated in other urban locations under similar environmental conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Roofs/Walls in Sustainable and Resilient Building)

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Review

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36 pages, 5184 KiB

Open AccessReview

Vertical Green Structures to Establish Sustainable Built Environment: A Systematic Market Review

by Ozge Ogut, Nerantzia Julia Tzortzi and Chiara Bertolin

Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12349; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912349 - 28 Sep 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2716

Abstract

Vertical Green Structures (VGS) emerged as a building skin Nature-based Solution (NbS) aside from green roofs. The motivation underlying this VGS exploitation is fast urbanisation and the need to limit both land consumption and vegetation loss. These structures can provide several ecosystem services like air purification, biodiversity enhancement, and noise reduction. Although the usage of VGS offers different versatile and multi-scalar benefits in the built environment, they still need to respond to all the requirements of social, economic, and environmental sustainability. Over the last decades, technologies of VGS have been developed and new product types have become available in the market. This paper presents the overall development and benefits of VGS, and aims to provide a taxonomy by considering a systematic and interdisciplinary approach. The current market overview analyses and compares different aspects (i.e., environmental and economic features) of the products for a better understanding of the current state-of-the-art—from single component to system scale. The findings of this review lead to some suggestions to enhance the level of sustainability and increase the potential benefits. They look at both research and practice requirements to orient the users in selecting the most optimal VGS solution available in the market. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Green Roofs/Walls in Sustainable and Resilient Building)

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