"You can connect a living wall to rainwater harvesting," Poiraud says, discussing methods to further reduce a home's ecological footprint.
Many homeowners seem to picture creeping ivy and the dangers it can pose to a solid structure, according to Poiraud.
"One of the misconceptions is that it can be damaging to the building. But the way it is built it's actually protecting the building," he says, adding that ivy is not one of the plants utilized by his company.
A large green wall can also substantially decrease the heating and cooling of a building due to the additional insulation, according to Poiraud.
While some homeowners are concerned about the mess from soil trickling out of the wall, Green Over Grey's hydroponic system does not use dirt.
Besides eliminating the possibility of pathogens that can cause disease to many species of plants, the lack of soil also keeps the green walls fairly light at approximately 20 kilograms per square metre.
Originally from France, Poiraud says he witnessed the first vertical gardens in Europe in the 1980s.
"I've always been intrigued by plants growing vertically in nature," he says. "You have thousands of plants which have evolved to grow vertically."
While the majority of Green Over Grey's installations are done in libraries, hotels, and restaurants, Poiraud says the residential market might start to boom.
"Maybe 10 per cent of our installations are residential, 90 per cent are commercial," he says. "I think definitely you will see more residential."
The appeal of living walls may be limited by the expertise required to install a green wall, as well as the prevailing lack of knowledge about green walls, according to Poiraud.
"I wouldn't say it's really a do it yourself garden experience where anyone can do it, as such, it limits its spread," Poiraud says. "Most people do not even know about the existence of living walls."
The company recently completed work on an exterior living wall in West Vancouver, and Poiraud likens the potential of green walls to the recent popularity of rooftop gardens.
While some cities now mandate architectural projects include a green roof, Poiraud is hopeful green walls will achieve similar status.
"You have all the benefits of bringing back biodiversity into an urban environment," he says. And if you put your living wall indoors, you have the added benefit of reducing air pollution, according to Poiraud.
"Plants are actually very efficient at recycling common indoor air pollutants... anything which comes from paint, from glue, from flooring."
For more information on Green Over Grey, visit www.greenovergrey.com.
