Davidson College is an institution of higher learning established in 1837 by Presbyterians of North Carolina. The liberal arts college is located north of Charlotte in the town of Davidson.

In 2016 Living Roofs, Inc. collaborated with Nedlaw Living Walls to install a towering 40′ high living wall in the entry atrium of the new E. Craig Wall Jr. Academic Center at Davidson College. The E. Craig Wall Jr. Academic Center enhances transdisciplinary activity, enables innovative forms of learning, and provides a premier, collaborative space for chemistry, biology, psychology, neuroscience and environmental studies as well as gathering spaces for the arts, lectures and community building.

The living wall was one of many innovative contributions to the facility’s LEED Gold certification. The living wall was designed to pull interior air through the system and filter pollutants before releasing clean air back into the building. The wall is a soilless green wall system. Prior to installing the plants into the media layers, all plants were washed to remove all soil.

The irrigation system pumps water to the top of the wall and continuously circulates the water creating a ‘waterfall’ to maintain moisture. Four fans are located at the top of the wall to pull air through the plant roots, up the back of the wall, and finally pushing cleaned air out into atrium.

Plant material includes Philodendron sp., Ficus sp., Dracena sp., Croton sp., Calathea sp., and Schefflera sp.