Passengers arriving in Edmonton will be greeted by a breath of fresh air produced by the largest living wall inside any airport terminal in the world. Artist Mike Weinmaster, of the design firm Green over Grey, gained inspiration from high altitude cloud formations to create the artwork of the 1,420-sq.-ft. living wall (also referred to as a vertical garden, green wall, biowall or plant wall). For the upper walls, Weinmaster based his designs on famous Canadian paintings by The Group of Seven and Emily Carr. The colours, patterns and textures were created using 8000 individual living plants, representing 32 unique species.
The wall will continually evolve to become more and more three dimensional. Some of the larger species (such as Lacy-Tree Philodendrons, Staghorn Ferns and Octopus Trees) will be allowed to grow up to 10 feet out of the wall.
Stantec were the architects and engineers that came up with the concept for incorporating a living wall into the design of this world-class Airport Terminal, and were responsible for integrating it into the project so that it enhances the overall passenger experience and substantially improves indoor air quality. It is the first major living wall to be built into the interior of a North American airport terminal.