Lowes Foods » GSky Plant Systems Inc. -

OVERVIEW

Lowes Foods is a unique chain of supermarkets based in Winston Salem, North Carolina. As of August 2010, they have over 100 stores in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. Everything they do is designed to offer the freshest and most appealing products to their customers. The Lowes Foods slogan is “good for you”. These three words are much more than their slogan. They are the heart of everything they do.

Lowes Foods decision to incorporate over 1,100 sqft of Green Walls into their new Hickory, NC store, is proof of that in their commitment to improving the environment while making their stores not just big boxes, but beautiful buildings with green walls that people can proudly shop at.

There are three Green Walls on this building, two at the front entrance consisting of a rectilinear design in the plants, and a third interior Green Wall with a mix pallet of plants with the Lowes Foods logo and slogan cut out in metal painted white hung in front of the panels.

Location	260 14th Ave NE Hickory, NC 28601
Client	Lowes Food Stores Inc.
Architect / Interior Designer	BAI-Architects
Landscape Architect	None
Green Wall Designer(s)	Debbie Kotalic
General Contractor	Hickory Construction Company
Green Wall Contractor	GSky Plant Systems Inc.
Grower	River & Rail Micro-Nursery
Maintenance Contractor	Holbrook Landscaping, LLC
Date Installed	August 2010
Product Type	Pro Wall System
Total Size	1,102 Sq Ft
Climate	USDA Climate Zone 7b
Plants	Exterior Walls: Euonymus fortunei ‘Coloratus’ Euonymus japonica ‘Microphylla Albovariegatus’ Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald & Gold Interior Wall: Philodendrun cordatum Pothos 'Neon' Pothos 'Golden'

THE PROCESS The wall was included into the original design by BAI Architects early on in the design process and Lowes committed to implementing the Green Wall from early on. After the contract for the installation and maintenance of the wall was issued, GSky undertook the plant design with the Architects and Owners. The plants were selected based on their hardiness to the summer heat that can often take hold in Hickory. The plants were grown for 12 weeks before delivery to the site during the spring and summer months. Given the walls height of close to 40 feet, a boom lift was used in conjunction with a scissor lift to install the exterior Green Walls. The interior Green Wall is only 12 feet high and a small scissor lift was used to install it. The installation took a total of 12 working days. As the exterior Green Walls are located in a freezing climate zone, it has the GSky Irrigation Automated Winterization and Recharging system installed.

MAINTENANCE The Green Walls maintenance is performed using a boom lift provided by Lowes Foods for use by GSky's maintenance subcontractor at the site. The photo on the right shows the boom in use. The photo on the right shows the Green Walls top and side covers, which protect the panels along the Green Wall's edges from the intense summer heat that would otherwise quickly dry out and kill plants on the edge if not protected properly.

LOCATION