Green Wall Lattice

Plants are awesome! and we should have as many as possible!

When I was a kid I had this toys called Knex, they where fine but I never had enough pieces to build something awesome. By 3D printing small joint and using wooden sticks now I can go as big as I want! I'am using this structure to put plants but it can also be used for other purposes.

Step 1: Hyper-Static Structure

I am not going to lie to you, this build took a bit longer than I expected. Basically the structure is in a hyper-static state.... that means that every dowel has to be glued perfectly to the plastic joints otherwise its going to be hard to close the loop.

But!! Once it is donne, the structure is really solid.

Step 2: Design the Lattice!

I made mine very tall because I have high ceilings. But you should probably doit a bit smaller.

The structure is basically two layers joined together. As you can see in the pictures, one is for the back layer (with the red dots) and the other is for the front layer. The red dots represent the joints that will be anchored to the wall. Therefor, you should use the 3d printed joints with holes on it.

I tried to make if asymmetrical for esthetical reasons.

Step 3: Get Supplies!

1. Glue
   • Gorilla Glue: I hadn't try many glues but this one works pretty well
   • Hot Glue: Not so good
2. Dowels
   • I'am using 6mm (About 1/4 in) dowel you should use smaller than this otherwise it becomes very fragile. I you use a different size you will need to scale up the STLs for 3D printing
3. Wood
   • Any wood is fine
4. Pots
   • They have to fit perfectly inside the triangles of the structure
5. Wood Screws
   • About the size of the wood
6. Drywall Screws

Step 4: Print It!

According to your design print the right amount.

The are three different types:

1. Diamond Joint: Completely symmetrical
2. Anchor Joint: Like the diamond but with a hole for a screw
3. Pyramid Joint: Only three holes

Get the files on Thingiverse:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3655520

Step 5: Start Gluing

So, if you want the structure to be awesome we will have to glue every pieces perfectly. I used some chord to attach the pieces wile they the glue was drying. Because of this I could only glue 2-3 and sometimes 5 pieces at the time. Yes, it requires a bit of patience.

Step 6: Hang It to the Wall!

First I use the joints with the holes on them to attach the structure to two pieces of wood.

Then I screwed the wood into the wall using drywall screws. I used two screws for each piece of wood, four in total

Step 7: Choose Awesome Plants!

I mostly got plants that grow long like vines, that way the plants will grow into the structure.

Step 8: Enjoy!!

Et Voila! You have a green wall at home now!

Next project? maybe using a pump to irrigate the plants. The ones on top are higher than 3 meters...