In our office we have a plant wall (see pictures). The plant wall is located under window skylights, so it receives plenty of sunlight. We've recently noticed a bad smell to the plants and we aren't sure why it's happening. The wall is linked to a filtration and watering system (see pictures) The plants weren't doing well, so they're being watered more frequently now to try and combat that. I've attached some pictures below to show how the plants are fixed in the wall. Each plant is in an individual felt pouch (see pictures). Please let me know what your thoughts are and how we might fix this bad smell.

wayfarer!

Is this a fairly new wall/planting? Could be that more water is not what is needed. The plants that you have there prefer to "somewhat" dry out. Looks to be maybe Pothos? If that's the case, then they really prefer to dry. Pothos (Epipremnum aureum)

The filtration system. Is it similar to an aquarium filter system? Is it charcoal based? Charcoal generally helps with taming odors.

That's all I have at the moment...

Hope someone else pops in with more... I'm curious about this now too!

The bad smell would indicate rot.

Or it could be just stagnant water. Empty and refill the reservoir. I haven't done any hydroponics, but maybe they have something that could be put into the water to keep it fresher?

If the timer is keeping the wall wet continually, some of the plants may be rotting. Plants like these could probably be watered much less than it's getting watered.

I neglected to say that this is a wonderful idea for an office! It helps get rid of the often sterile environment and helps keep the air better. I hope this smell problem is something easily solved.

Yes there's no way those plants should essentially be in water all the time.

@wayfarer
Have you been able to check the water supply, and how often the wall is being watered? It would be a shame to give up on the idea if it's a simple fix.