[Michaelangelica]

More interesting indoor plants are urgently needed. especially in hotels, lecture theaters, cinemas and office blocks. they reduce polution, oxgenate the air and lock up CO2 reducing our greenhouse problem(even better if in a Terra preta potting mix)

The Benefits of Indoor Plants

Adjunct Professor Margaret Burchett at the University of Technology Sydney led a number of trials with plants placed inside large airtight glass containers or chambers.

Common pollutant chemicals were pumped into the containers and the researchers were astonished at how much of the pollution was gobbled up – totally gone. It turned out that the microbes in the potting mix in association with the plant were doing the work.

Three large pot plants per room (that’s floor-standing sized plants like these) are enough to clean the air to the point where contaminants are negligible.

. . .

In what Professor Burchett terms a “dungeon” (basement) or window-tight situation, there is a toxic mixture of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in indoor air. Although these compounds are present indoors in low individual concentrations, they are capable of producing toxic symptoms in humans — and the cocktail can be addictive, or even synergistic in its effects.
. . .

Dominant VOC toxicity symptoms are sore eyes, nose and throat; a feeling of dizziness; loss of concentration; headaches; mild nausea; faint disorientation; and mildly depersonalised feelings. These are the same symptoms present in “sick building syndrome” or “building-related illness”.

. . .

can achieve a complete removal of VOCs in 24 hours in a closed chamber with no ventilation, and a 10 to 20 per cent reduction in flow-through conditions.

These removal rates rise with increasing VOC concentrations, which have been tested from five to 1000 parts per million in the case of benzine (where the occupational maximum indoor concentration in Australia is five ppm, averaged over an eight-hour day)
. . .

. . .
it was found that pot plants reduced by one third the build-up of nitrogen oxides in houses with gas fires and stoves, which produce these compounds.

A recent Swedish study to improve the indoor environment in an x-ray unit situated in a hospital “dungeon”, demonstrated conclusively that pot plants not only achieved a substantial reduction in total VOCs in the indoor air but also reduced worker absenteeism by 60 per cent.

According to Professor Burchett, UTS research has confirmed the potential of potted plants as a portable, mass-marketable, integrated biofiltration system to improve indoor air quality.

“Urban dwellers often spend more than 80 per cent of their time indoors, so indoor air quality is a major health consideration. Potted plants will be increasingly used as a flexible indoor biofiltration system, as well as for beautifying indoor spaces.”

The World Health Organisation report, The Right to Healthy Indoor Air, published in 2000, highlights increasing recognition of a legal obligation on the part of owners and managers to supply healthy air for the occupants, and consequently the trend to using customised plant boxes as part of that solution has already commenced in some countries.


See also http://www.aih.org.au/mburchett_transcript_040305.pdf for a transcript of a talk Prof Burchett gave to the Australian Institute of Horticulture

The Benefits of Indoor Plants - Sustainable Gardening Australia

[ronthepon]

Didn't know plants got rid of VOCs.

It would be excellent if plants became a totally integral part of the house. Perhaps it would be possile to genetically engineer plants specifically for the purpose of household atmospheric cleaning?

(Cool idea for science fiction in any case.)

[Ganoderma]

i grew up being told that spider plants were great for cleaning the air. especially if there is a smoker in the house. i know nothing about it, but since i can remember i have always had a couple spider plants in my home, even now.

the only hard part with this is not all houses are light enough. in cold climates, lots of windows (good light) would lead to lost heat and you would need to use more power, more greenhouse gases, to heat your house (unless your the proactive type and buy a sweater).

i have recently planted a few hundred seeds of various plants, so i guess we only need 999,999,999,700 more

[Michaelangelica]

Originally Posted by ronthepon

Didn't know plants got rid of VOCs.

It would be excellent if plants became a totally integral part of the

Apart from soaking up co2

Indoor plants improve office air

Wednesday, 28 August 2002

Sydney researchers have found that indoor plants improve the air quality of rooms with little or no airflow.

A team led by Adjunct Professor Margaret Burchett at the University of Technology, Sydney, have found that common indoor potted plants such as the Peace Lily and the Kentia Palm improve indoor air by reducing levels of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.

The scientists found that indoor plants reduce VOCs by up to 100 per cent over 24 hours in a closed environment.

VOCs include compounds such as benzene and hexane, and are known to be toxic to humans at high levels. They are present at low levels in many indoor environments. Some, like benzene, make their way inside buildings through pollution from traffic outside. Others are present as a result of their use in paints, carpeting, and furniture fabric, especially in new or recently refurbished buildings.

According to Dr Stephen Brown of CSIRO Built Environment, VOCs can contribute to 'sick building syndrome' — a phenomenon in which a higher proportion of occupants experience symptoms such as dry eyes, dry nose and throat, headache, lethargy, and nausea.

News in Science - Indoor plants improve office air - 28/08/2002

Research Findings: Overall and Men vs. Women

In an eight-month study, the Texas A&M University research team explored the link between flowers and plants and workplace productivity. Participants performed creative problem solving tasks in a variety of common office environments, or conditions. The conditions included a workplace with flowers and plants, a setting with sculpture and an environment with no decorative embellishments.

During the study, both women and men demonstrated more innovative thinking, generating more ideas and original solutions to problems in the office environment that included flowers and plants. In these surroundings, men who participated in the study generated 15% more ideas. And, while males generated a greater abundance of ideas, females generated more creative, flexible solutions to problems when flowers and plants were presen

Flowers & Plants Improve Workplace Productivity

[Michaelangelica]

Alexandra de Blas: Imagine city skyscrapers, covered in greenery that you can walk up like mountains. Green facades, instead of granite, and rows of apartments concealed by shrubbery and mounds of earth. Well that�s happening, and Emillio Ambnasz is one of the leaders in the field. He�s been designing buildings like this for three decades. An Argentinian by birth, his New York based firm creates radical buildings that put green over grey across the globe.

Emillio Ambasz: I believe that land belongs to all and a building that occupies a piece of land should give back the land to the community and should give it back in the form of gardens, which are accessible to everybody.
Second, I think that the emotional needs that people have for decoration, for ornament, are provided certainly by plants.
People like plants and feel peaceful close to plants, and serenity with plants. Also there are a number of very practical advantages if the building is covered with plants or with earth or with flowers or anything of that sort, it can reduce the amount of heat that goes into the building, so it becomes much cheaper to maintain the building because it doesn�t require so much heating or cooling. It purifies the air outside. It is a situation where every party wins.

Flowers & Plants Improve Workplace Productivity


Research: Biophilia

"The indoor trees must provide the same sensations that I am feeling now [in Planterra's greenhouses]: relaxed, breathing fresh air and enjoying the sights of natural green sculpture," says Purd'homme.

"The earth made these trees, not a factory" he continues, suggesting that if he wanted a fourteen-foot sculpture or furniture piece it would cost a whole lot more than a tree. He adds, "That's the financial bottom line. We must rediscover how to responsibly enjoy nature's gifts."

Health Benefits of Gardens in Hospitals
TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY, Dr. Roger S. Ulrich

Prompted by soaring hospital construction cost, the College of Architecture and Medicine at Texas A&M University conducted a joint study on the influences of plants in hospitals and healthcare facilities. The study found that the presence of plants in hospitals improves client and staff satisfaction. Dr. Ulrich discovered that simply viewing nature and green garden scenes can relive stress in 5 minutes or less.

For more information read, Dr. Ulrich Symposium

Curative Benefits
Therapeutic gardens are spaces created to benefit a specific user, such as residences in cancer center. The gardens are designed for both mental and physical relaxation.

According to the American Horticultural Therapy Association, the benefits of therapeutic garden environments have been understood since ancient times.

In the 19th century, Dr, Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and considered the "Father of American Psychiatry," asserted that garden settings hold curative effects for people with mental illness. Some benefits include reduced stress, lower blood pressure and exposure to vitamin D from the sun.

Many hospital spokespeople say gardens are an escape for patients to reclaim their dignity, noting that nature provides universal familiarity and comfort.

Research: Biophilia

Sache echoes these kinds of consideration for patients based on the medical oath, "Do no harm." The landscape must be safe for the population "the more plants the better," she says. The lusher the garden, the more likely patients will be able to mentally escape.

Flexibly and water are the next suggestion on Carman and Sachs' list. The garden should be able to evolve and adapt to the needs of the users. Carman acknowledges that some facilities have budgeted for changes better than others, and having good donors can certainly help.

Based on "our primordial relationship" with water, Sachs suggests adding a water feature. Even adding a small fountain in the waiting room can calm patients by helping to mask the unpleasant sounds sometimes associated with medical facilities.

lots of info at this site
Planterra - Interior Landscapes

[Michaelangelica]

Or the roof
Imagine every city roof with a garden!

This is a good start and example
SF Gate: Multimedia (image)
A GARDEN IN THE SKY / S.F. museum's roof puts green building techniques to the test

San Francisco Chronicle

A GARDEN IN THE SKY

S.F. museum's roof puts green building techniques to the test

Carl T. Hall, Chronicle Science Writer
Saturday, May 12, 2007

The roof of the California Academy of Sciences building p... Beach strawberries are among the nine species of native p... Cooper Scollan of Rana Creek Wholesale Nursery in Carmel ... A self-sustaining, colorful top to the new California Aca... More...

Work crews are about to start planting the roof of the new California Academy of Sciences museum in Golden Gate Park -- an architectural capstone that also qualifies as one of the world's most ambitious biodiversity experiments.

[Michaelangelica]

More green roofs!

In all, the shopping center will have 47,180 square feet of retail space on the first floor and 20,250 square feet of office space on the second floor of the two-story building. Additional parking will be offered in an underground garage.

The green roof will encompass about 40,000 square feet, making it by far the largest green roof in the southeastern Pennsylvania area. Other green roofs in the area include a planned 18,000-square-foot green roof on the new headquarters of Dansko Inc. in Jennersville. The state Department of Environmental Protection’s office in Norristown has a 688-square-foot green roof. There is also a green roof on a private residence in Kennett Square and at the Kimberton-Waldorf School.

DailyLocal.com

[Ganoderma]

nice roof gardens! i tried that and ended up with a leaky cracked concrete roof....now i just keep green decks

i still wonder about some of those plants usefulness as air cleaners. some need much light....and things like cacti grow so slowly, how can they clean the air much (referring to some of the pics with cacti in their office). pretty, yes, useful not really.

[Michaelangelica]

Originally Posted by Ganoderma

nice roof gardens! i tried that and ended up with a leaky cracked concrete roof....now i just keep green decks

Yes I had problems too mainly because my Crazy Irish Electrician cut a hole in the roof to put the electrical wiring in.
Me: Talking to him on the roof looking at a 4 foot diameter hole.
"But I have spent thousands putting the power underground Look down there"
"O"
"How am I going to waterproof this!!!
I doon't know. It ain't go'n ta be easy"

Never did water proof it, leaked down into the power box no-matter what I did

I did this 25 years ago and roof waterproofing polymers have gone a long way since then. They were hard to find when I was building. (You can always use copper sheets-talk to me first.)

Another Crazy Irish Electrician story.
He was very high up on tip-toe on top of a ladder putting in a light-fitting when the was a tremendous BOOM!
He was thrown though the air for about 30 feet
He picked himself up; shook his head; and said
"I must remember to use an insulated screw driver." (TRUE STORY, I aged 10 years building. The builder helping me was also retarded. My answer if I din't know something as to go and find out. His answer to anything that didn't work was to bung a six inch nail in it.
MORAL hire a German electrician not an Irish one( or never build anything.)

I still wonder about some of those plants usefulness as air cleaners. some need much light....and things like cacti grow so slowly, how can they clean the air much (referring to some of the pics with cacti in their office). pretty, yes, useful not really.

Good question; Glad you asked.

Here is some work that NASA has done on plants. (formaldehyde has been banned in alot of countries now but it was/is/ a major air-pollutant in office blocks.) recently the ABC closed down one of it's buildings as a dozen women came down with breast cancer. The prof who investigated it said the chances of that happing by chance was more than a billion to one.

NASA

NASA Study shows common plants help reduce indoor air pollution....

Common indoor plants may provide a valuable weapon in the fight against rising levels of indoor air pollution.
Those plants in your office or home are not only decorative, but NASA scientists are finding them to be surprisingly useful in absorbing potentially harmful gases and cleaning the air inside modern buildings.

NASA and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) have announced the findings of a 2-year study that suggest a sophisticated pollution-absorbing device: the common indoor plant may provide a natural way of helping combat "SICK BUILDING SYNDROME".
. . .
Philodendron, spider plant and the golden pothos were labeled the most effective in removing formaldehyde molecules.
Flowering plants such as gerbera daisy and chrysanthemums were rated superior in removing benzene from the chamber atmosphere.
Other good performers are Dracaena Massangeana, Spathiphyllum, and Golden Pothos. "Plants take substances out of the air through the tiny openings in their leaves," Wolverton said.
"But research in our laboratories has determined that plant leaves, roots and soil bacteria are all important in removing trace levels of toxic vapors".
. . .

TOP 10 plants most effective in removing: formaldehyde, benzene, and carbon monoxide from the air.

Common Name Scientific Name
Bamboo Palm Chamaedorea Seifritzii
Chinese Evergreen Aglaonema Modestum
English Ivy Hedera Helix
Gerbera Daisy Gerbera Jamesonii
Janet Craig Dracaena "Janet Craig"
Marginata Dracaena Marginata
Mass cane/Corn Plant Dracaena Massangeana
Mother-in-Law's Tongue Sansevieria Laurentii
Pot Mum Chrysantheium morifolium
Peace Lily Spathiphyllum "Mauna Loa"
Warneckii Dracaena "Warneckii

More here:_
NASA Study - Plants Clean the Air!!!

Plants "Clean" Air Inside Our Homes

A team of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) researchers lead by Dr. Bill Wolverton tested the effect of fifteen house plants on three pollutants known to be present in spacecrafts.
These same three pollutants--benzene, formaldehyde and trichloroethylene--are present in homes and office buildings.
They occur because they are emitted from furnishings, office equipment and some building materials.

Under controlled conditions, in the NASA study, certain houseplants were found to remove as much as 87 percent of indoor air pollutants within 24 hours.
. . .

More HERE: (There is a good chart at this site showing where the main pollutants come from and the best plants for getting rid of each one.
Plants
NASA is having trouble funding future research This is a experiment (propaganda) exercise for kids
:: NASA Quest > Space ::
and
Teaming Up on Space Plants

More NASA

After 24 hours, spider plants removed:
96% CO, 99% NO2
After 24 hours, Golden pothos removed:
75% CO

Indoor Air Quality in Florida: Houseplants to Fight Pollution

Third photo across is plants growing in space
If we can grow them in space we can grow them anywhere.

Right: When building a "greenhouse" in space, the light source needs to be as efficient as possible to reduce energy demands. This picture shows wheat growing under Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) -- the same technology used for indicator lights in consumer electronics. LEDs save energy by only releasing light in frequencies that plants can use for photosynthesis.

Leafy Green Astronauts

Some Australian Research

"It is important to know that indoor plants can reduce the number of contaminants by up to 75% down to completely negligible levels," she said on 774 ABC Melbourne’s Saturday Morning Gardening segment. "As far as we know, any standard indoor plant will do it, because it’s mainly the micro organisms of the potting mix which actually do the sucking up and degrading them harmless carbon dioxide. The plant does play a direct role, but its main task is feeding and supporting the micro organisms, and so you have a little microcosm there, a symbiotic relationship with the plants and microbes cooperating."

Indoor plants taking up volatile organic compounds :: ABC Melbourne
To me that sounds like a Terra preta style potting mix would be ideal!!

This is about the ABC 'sick building' I mentioned
[QUOTE]ABC to shut down Brisbane HQ amid cancer concerns
Reporter: Kathy McLeish

HEATHER EWART: In a dramatic and unprecedented move, the ABC has announced that its Brisbane headquarters is being shut down.
Relocation of hundreds of staff is already under way after experts confirmed high levels of breast cancer among workers.[/quote] 7.30 Report - 21/12/2006: ABC to shut down Brisbane HQ amid cancer concerns

[Michaelangelica]

It's time to bring the dirt inside as indoor plants become the latest retro fashion.
Consider the fiddler's fig, named because its cabbage-sized leaves are shaped vaguely like a violin. It grows to a towering six metres. "They are a design feature in themselves," Unsworth says.

Wollemi pines, he says, work well in bright areas and their towering size and prehistoric, round leaves make for a striking room feature. Such singular, oversized statement plants are ideal for light wells and atriums.

The best way to use indoor plants, he says, is by "keeping it simple and, if you are using more than one plant, using just one species". Unsworth suggests a row of identical miniature ponytail palms on a window sill or giant mondo grass massed in a long trough-shaped vase or dish for a "lush and grassy" effect.

The indoor gardener must always pay attention. Plants should be kept inside "for no more than two weeks then give them a bit of sun outside. But be careful when you put [plants] outside that you don't shock them by putting them in bright sunshine."

Garden designer Peter Fudge also has advice. "I suggest you double up on chosen plants and swap them over, giving each some time outside."

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