Standing on the Shoulders of Blanc
The concept of the modern living wall was pioneered by French botanist and designer Patrick Blanc in the 1980s. Working at the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), Blanc observed how plants in tropical rainforests thrive on vertical surfaces — clinging to rock faces and tree trunks with virtually no soil, sustained only by moisture, nutrients and light.
His key insight was radical in its simplicity: soil is not what plants need — it is merely a reservoir for water and minerals. Replace it with an inert substrate that retains moisture and you can grow almost anything, vertically, on any wall.
Blanc translated this observation into an engineered system: a waterproof backing layer, a felt substrate in which roots anchor themselves, and a recirculating nutrient solution delivered from above. His installations now span museums, hotels and public buildings across the world — some covering thousands of square metres.
The system documented here follows the same core principles, scaled down to a DIY context and extended with automated control.
The Basic Principle
The underlying principle is elegant in its simplicity. A backing panel made from PVC foam sheets (1220 × 600 × 10 mm) forms the structural base. Two layers of filter fleece (3.5 mm) are stapled onto it using stainless steel staples — these fleece layers serve simultaneously as root substrate and water reservoir. A solid wooden frame holds the entire construction together, with aluminium profiles providing the lateral and upper edging.
The Irrigation System
The irrigation system follows the natural water cycle. A box-section rain gutter along the lower edge collects the draining water and channels it back via tubing to a nutrient tank. From there, a pump delivers the enriched solution at defined intervals through supply hoses, distribution pipe and drippers back to the wall surface — a closed loop with minimal waste.
The entire panel is mounted using hanging aluminium rails of the same type used for kitchen wall cabinets, making it removable and straightforward to service.