These new-wave urban gardens are the brainchild of Toronto biologist Wolfgang Amelung. The larger corporate applications represent a major leap forward. You can't simply bring the outside inside, you have to recognize all the relationships that are involved. In the breathing wall, water flows over a lava rock wall covered by moss and other plants, then into a small pond. Contaminants in the air are absorbed by the vegetation and consumed by micro-organisms in the soil.
Any excess waste is carried to the pond, where it is eaten by fish, frogs or insects.
Club Monaco CEO Joe Miriam says there was a noticeable improvement in air quality shortly after the installation opened. The plants helped increase the humidity and eliminate the dryness common to office buildings. But bringing the technology inside and having it address air quality is Amelung's special innovation. Once people align themselves to this way of thinking, the technology will take us to places we have yet to imagine. When dockside gaming was approved by the Mississippi legislature in 1991, state regulations required that casinos locate only in coastal waters and along the Mississippi River.