Living Wall Urban Infrastructure: Ecological Care & Post-Occupancy Performance

Abstract: This paper revisits the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture Living Wall (UTLW) pilot project as an operating ecological installation whose significance now lies less in its original Building Information Model (BIM) workflow than in its subsequent intersection of living infrastructure, ecological maintenance, and new environmental sensing. This paper treats earlier developments as project history and examines later changes and data gathered, including a maintenance review, replacement of planting-cell material, soil testing, revised plant recommendations, and thermal observations. Accordingly, the paper interprets maintenance as a form of ecological care and shared architectural stewardship.