Alterations in use of space, air quality, temperature and humidity by the presence of vertical greenery system in a building corridor

Abstract

Urban greenery is valued not only for its aesthetic value but also for environmental services and the overall health benefits that follows. A large portion of the world population now resides in built environments, and there is growing need to provide a conducive and healthy environment for the dwellers. Vertical greenery systems (VGS) provide greenery opportunities in cities even when there is limited land space especially as recent technology enables people to grow plants outdoors as well as indoors. Indoor vertical greenery (iVGS) was installed to monitor any alteration in the temperature, humidity, particulate matter and use of space. The present study used an actual environment, included paralled corridors in the same building. The movement in both corridors were significantly (p < 0.05) correlated and post green wall establishment data showed the relationship changed significantly (r2 = 0.8748, P < 0.0001, RMSE = 23.4521) with relatively more people using the corridor after the iVGS installed. Significant difference was seen in the humidity levels but not in the temperature after the installation. Particulate matter levels dropped 48.5%, 82.6%, 5.5% (PM2.5, PM10,>PM10 respectively) in the corridor with iVGS by the end of the data collection. These findings suggest larger green coverage would have a greater positive impact on the environmental conditions of an indoor environment.