A gorgeous living wall purifies the air inside this groundbreaking building in the Bronx

Active Modular Phytoremediation System was installed in the call center to provide an ultra healthy interior environment.

AMPS living wall prototype by CASE.

At first glance, <a href="http://www.som.com/">Skidmore, Owings &amp; Merrill Architects'</a> design for the new <a href="http://www.som.com/projects/public_safety_answering_center_ii" target="_blank">Public Safety Answering Center</a> in the Bronx may seem like just another grey office building. However, hiding inside the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/?s=recycled+aluminum">recycled aluminum</a>-clad building is a gorgeous, ultra high-tech <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/tag/living-wall/">living wall</a> that cleans the air as it enriches the building's microbiome.

The 450,000-square-foot building, which will take 911 calls on a 24-hour basis, was designed to be used as a secure base in case of any type of emergency.

On the interior, the idea behind the green wall installation was to provide a healthy atmosphere for employees on a regular basis, but especially in the case of an emergency situation.

Apart from the impressive green wall, the call center has a number of additional sustainable strategies such as recycled building materials and reduced water use systems that were installed to meet LEED Silver certification criteria.

"Conventional HVAC systems are almost like antibiotics. They take the air streams and filter them, and they can take the good out with the bad," says Anna Dyson, director of RPI’s Center for Architecture, Science, and Ecology (CASE).

AMPS living wall prototype by CASE.

Active Modular Phytoremediation System was installed in the call center to provide an ultra healthy interior environment.

Plant systems are effective air cleaners thanks to the phytoremediation process. <em>(Image via CASE/RPI)</em>

PSAC II: Bronx NY, Architect: SOM Architects

"We’re essentially looking to transition building systems from antibiotic systems to probiotics systems, if you will. It’s a very different approach."

The high-tech green wall is comprised of a soil-less Active Modular Phytoremediation Wall System (AMPS) that serves as an integral part of the building's overall air quality engineering plan.

PSAC II: Bronx NY, Architect: SOM Architects

For security purposes, the blast-resistant structure has a metallic serrated exterior made out of recycled aluminum and sits inside a protective wrap-around berm of wild grasses

PSAC II: Bronx NY, Architect: SOM Architects

PSAC II: Bronx NY, Architect: SOM Architects

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AMPS system prototypes by CASE. <em>(Photos via Jason Vollen)</em>

AMPS prototype by CASE. <em>(Photo by Ted Ngai, via CASE/RPI)</em>

AMPS components and the modular cartridge assembly. <em>(Image via CASE/RPI)</em>

SOM Call Center has an impressive living wall system on the interior. <em>(Photo via SOM Architects)</em>