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An affordable housing project being built in Tigard will take a cue from living walls to make a more energy efficient building.

The building, called The Knoll, is being developed by Community Partners for Affordable Housing. To help keep electric bills down for residents, Sheila Fink, executive director of Community Partners, worked with Lando & Associates Landscape Architecture and Carleton Hart Architecture to create a shading structure for the building.

The structure will incorporate plants like a living wall, but the structure will be more like a column. Plants will span the space between the column and the building, creating a sort of living screen that will shade the building. If the building is kept cool, air conditioning will be needed less in the summer, Fink said.

“We explored doing a living wall, but we didn’t want any fear of water penetration,” Fink said. “Instead, we’ll have a freestanding column with leafy vines that will provide the same benefits in terms of energy efficiency.”

The Knoll will be the first housing project built since the city of Tigard created its downtown urban renewal district. It is expected to be completed in March.