Living-wall system
VeraWall
SolTerra's patented living-wall system
VeraWall is the modular living-wall system invented by SolTerra co-founder and CEO Brian Heather and used on SolTerra's buildings. It grows plants on a vertical surface using layered fabric instead of deep beds of soil, with irrigation built in. VeraWall is not available to other builders.
The design emulates the way plants grow on vertical surfaces in nature, where all they have is a nook in a branch or a crack in a wall. Seattle Business magazine reported in 2017 that it uses less water and weighs significantly less than other systems on the market.
How it works
Modular panels
Each panel is a frame of rails with fabric mounted on it. Panels sit edge to edge, so a wall can be almost any size.
Fabric instead of soil beds
A water-absorbing mat is fixed to the frame, with a second fabric layer over it. Plants sit in openings in the outer layer and their roots spread across the mat behind.
Built-in irrigation
Non-woven geosynthetic fibers carry water and nutrients to the roots, fed by irrigation integrated into the wall.
Room to breathe
The back of the mat is open to the air between the rails of the frame.
A little soil
VeraWall is not a true hydroponic system. It uses some soil and applies ideas from hydroponics to bring light, air, water and nutrients together, the way a plant grows in a crack in a rock face.
Where to see it
- Woodlawn
1,100 sf of living walls on an 18-unit LEED Platinum building in Portland.
- The SolTerra Building
Interior and exterior living walls at SolTerra's office building on SE Division in Portland.
- Brooklyn Yard
A living wall at the entry of a 46-unit building in Portland's Brooklyn neighborhood.
The patent
- Patent
- U.S. Patent 9,565,807
- Title
- Modular living wall system
- Inventor
- Brian Heather
- Assignee
- VeraWall, LLC
- First filed
- 2011
- Granted
- February 14, 2017
VeraWall: quick answers
What is VeraWall?
VeraWall is SolTerra's modular living-wall system. Plants grow on panels of layered fabric mounted on a frame, with irrigation built in, rather than in deep beds of soil.
Who invented VeraWall?
Brian Heather, SolTerra's co-founder and CEO. He began patenting the system in 2009 and is the inventor named on U.S. Patent 9,565,807.
Is VeraWall patented?
Yes. U.S. Patent 9,565,807, "Modular living wall system", was first filed in 2011 and granted on February 14, 2017. It is assigned to VeraWall, LLC.
Is VeraWall a hydroponic system?
Not strictly. VeraWall uses a small amount of soil and applies concepts from hydroponics, carrying water and nutrients to plant roots through non-woven geosynthetic fibers.
Is VeraWall available to other builders?
No. VeraWall is not available to other builders.
Where can I see a VeraWall living wall?
In Portland, Oregon: at Woodlawn (909 NE Oneonta St.), which has 1,100 sf of living walls; at The SolTerra Building (959 SE Division St); and at the entry of Brooklyn Yard (4798 SE Milwaukie Ave).
Living walls are one way we connect people to nature.