A Leafy Lobby Hits Chicago's Lakefront

In Chicago, this living wall lights up an Embassy Suites lobby
Photo courtesy of: Ambius, interior landscaping solutions

I dream of vertical gardens. There's something so serene about the fresh leafiness of a giant, living wall and the one that's taunted me as of late is the curvaceous herb wall in Atlanta Botanical Gardens' "Edible Garden."

A bit closer, however, is Chicago's newest and largest indoor green wall at the Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown Lakefront. Next to its proximity to Navy Pier, the hotel now boasts another stunning differentiator - the 720-square-foot living wall, which serves as a lovely soft spot for your eye to rest upon, as well as a testament to the hotel chain's sustainability efforts.

Seventy feet long and peppered with more than 3,840 plants representing six species, the green wall provides as much clean oxygen to guests as 16 trees that were each 14-foot-tall would, while also helping to muffle noise pollution in the cavernous lobby. While investments (in both time and money) like LEED certification mean a tremendous amount to me, it's just plain fun to see such a cool visual smack dab in the middle of a lovely, urban hotel.