The new Living Wall (yes, it has a name) was recently unveiled at S.F.'s 505 Howard, taking the concept of going green to the next level. 12,600 plants of 25 types are growing across 2,500 SF in Tishman Speyer's lobby, Habitat Horticulture principal David Brenner tells us (David and his firm designed and created the wall). We heard the landlord's chairman Jerry Speyer liked the idea of a Tuscan garden backdrop, hence the Roman-esque sculpture juxtaposed with the vegetation. (The Romans popularized more than wine.) What's a project like this cost? Sources say somewhere around $150/SF.

The "guts" of the complex irrigation system sits a few feet away, shown to us by Hyphae Design Lab founding principal Brent Bucknum (the project's irrigation and control systems engineer/designer). The goal was to reduce runoff and essentially create a re-imagined cooling tower, he says, with a water recycling system that gets resupplied to the wall. The wall is treated like a big hedge, with upkeep needed twice a week. David knows of another living wall that's very lengthy and may be bigger but can't think of another that is quite as impactful at first glance as the one at 505 (don't crash during rush hour staring at it). The team's currently working together on a living wall for the S.F. MoMa.