OTTAWA – A woman-owned business has recently installed a 77-foot living wall inside the University of Ottawa.
Ashley DeMarte, owner of Livescape Inc. and resident of Arthur, began the project in the middle of February.
She started her company back in 2015 as her experience and knowledge working with living walls and tropical plants exceeded 20 years.
Throughout the two-and a-half-month project, she removed the previous built-in system and got the area prepped for the new installation, planned a unique design and created a piece of art.
As demolition began DeMarte ran into small delays as the old system had been at the university for around 10 to 13 years.
“Anytime that you remove something that’s been there for a long time you really don’t know what to expect,” said DeMarte.
“We did find some things as we were removing it and that kind of delayed our project a little bit.”
Although bumps in the road did arrive, Livescape ended up getting the project done in time for the students and faculty members to enjoy.
The design itself has a special meaning to it as it includes Indigenous aspects. Once DeMarte got in touch with the university’s Indigenous Affairs Office, she started workshopping ideas with an Algonquin artist named Stephanie Tenasco.
“The drawing itself is representative of the beaded floral work Indigenous artists do,” said DeMarte.
Tenasco works specifically through beading techniques she learned within her community as a child.
Her focus is passing down the practices and Indigenous knowledge of beadwork and leatherwork she learned from her grandmothers, to the next generation.
The design also includes strawberries as the fruit is often referred to as the heart berry in Indigenous cultures.
DeMarte and Tenasco decided between two drawings provided by the Algonquin artist and found one that would fit the theme as the six-storey living wall resides in the faculty of social sciences building.
“It’s just amazing watching the students come in and seeing it and explaining it to them, they’re all just so happy and grateful that it’s looking the way it does,” said DeMarte.
The main idea of a living wall is to bring plants indoors through irrigation control systems and lighting, which makes the plants self-maintainable. Along with a nice view, the plants also provide other benefits.
“It helps with mental health by having that connection to nature,” said DeMarte. “Having this in an institution is an incredible statement.”
When viewing pictures of the finished wall, Tenasco was amazed by the magnitude of the floral design.
“I have never seen anything like it, I was very honoured they picked an Algonquin artist to fill that space,” said Tenasco.
