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Posts Tagged ‘Greenery’

Potential Greenery: Topsoil & Time Shape ‘Empty Lot’ Artwork

04 Apr

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

emptylotdec2015

A recently-completed, six-month art installation in the Tate Modern imported soil from parks all around London, arraying them in the museum’s Turbine hall to show what weeds, grasses and ferns would grow from seeds and spores already present in the dirt.

Abraham Cruzvillegas_ Empty Lot.-25004509915 (1)

Empty Lot by artist Abraham Cruzvillegas involved equalizing conditions for the various samples of topsoil, which were evenly lit by lamps and consistently watered for half a year.

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The installation was set up as a large geometric sculpture placed on scaffolding, supporting an array of triangular planters. The samples were brought together from six parks, and kept separate between beds, growing in parallel.

Hyundai Commission 2015_ Abraham Cruzvillegas_ Empty Lot-24171950432

The outcome was unknown in advance, just like growth in nature or the evolution of a city, with elements of chance revealing the hidden potential in different park spaces (images by Sara~, Jennifer Morrow and Alexander Baxevanis)

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

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Silicon Greenery: World’s Largest Green Roof to Span City Blocks

16 Sep

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

largest green roof

Aiming to turn Cupertino into the green center of Silicon Valley, this expansive green roof design rolls over 30 acres of central urban real estate, capping a massive mixed-use redevelopment project. The resulting street-crossing expanse is set to include miles of walking trails, vineyards, orchards, playgrounds and an amphitheater.

silicon vally green roofs

Developers from Sand Hill Property Company assembled the constituent real estate, including a partially abandoned Vallco Shopping Malls, from separate owners.

silicon valley green rooftop

Their proposal to create nearly 1,000 apartments and over a million square feet of office space was developed in part by architect Rafael Viñoly with the assistance of OLIN Landscape Architects.

largest roofs

In the buildings below, a cinema, gym, shopping center and ice rink are slated for construction, revitalizing the downtown area and integrating with outdoor elements above.

silicon valley theater amipheather

“The Hills at Vallco features an unprecedented 30-acre community park and nature preserve, which will not only be the largest community park in Cupertino, but also the largest green roof in the world” according to the developers behind the scheme.

cupertino california silicon valley

The plan has been pitched to the city as a way to secure its position as a hub for technology and innovation in California. The project is currently entering a public review phase. Critics note that feasibility may be an issue, citing the architect’s record with a London skyscraper known for blowing over pedestrians and lighting cars on fire.

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Forested Facades: 13 Buildings Bringing Greenery to the City

07 Aug

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

Vertical Greenery Main

Why stop at parks when we could make cities lusher and greener by integrating thousands of plants right into the facades of urban buildings? Vertical greenery improves air quality, shades the buildings, adds privacy and creates habitats for native birds and insects. These 13 examples include a parking garage, private residences, retail spaces and the world’s tallest vertical garden.

Vo Trong Nghia House Renovation

Green Facades Vo Trong 2
Created as an example of how greenery can be incorporated back into urban Vietnam, this house renovation incorporates a galvanized steel screen that acts as a trellis for climbing plants, enhancing privacy and security while also filtering air and sunlight.

Stacking Green by Vo Trong Nghia

Another approach by the same architecture firm, Vo Trong Nghia, uses 12 layers of concrete planters to create a vertical garden around a tall and narrow home that’s 65 feet deep but only 13 feet wide. Staggered spaces between the layers offer room for different heights of plants.

Bosco Verticale: Twin Green Towers

Vertical Greenery Bosco 2

Vertical Greenery Bosco 3

Nearly 1,000 trees, 5,000 shrubs and over 10,000 other small plants have been added to the city of Milan in these two urban towers alone. The twin towers of the Bosco Verticale by Stefano Boeri were designed to meet all of the needs of a heavy load of plants, including irrigation, root systems and weight. The greenery brightens up the city, provides shade and cleaner air for residents, and offers habitats for regional birds and insects.

Biological Concrete Absorbs Water & Grows Moss

Green Facade Moss Concrete 2

Building materials could be made with the growth of greenery in mind, making a layer of moss or ivy on the exterior a natural part of the structure rather than a potential problem. Scientists at the Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya in Barcelona are developing a ‘biological concrete‘ that captures rainwater to create living walls of moss and fungi.

Green Cast by Kengo Kuma

Kengo Kuma and Associates created a patchwork aluminum facade with spaces for plants to grow for a pharmacy and clinic in Japan. Ventilation shafts and rainwater downpipes are concealed within the panels to keep the plants healthy.

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Forested Facades 13 Buildings Bringing Greenery To The City

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Living Staircase: Spiral Stairs Wrapped in Organic Greenery

21 Nov

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

living stairs viewing platform

Boldly curved and cantilevered into midair, these plant-wrapped stairs are designed to provide more than just a means of moving from one floor to another.

living steps atrium view

Stepping onto them takes occupants temporarily away from concrete floors and columns, then into and through a unique miniature ecosystem of warm and living materials.

living staircase concrete floors

This staircase by Paul Cocksedge for the Ampersand building in London is punctuated by platforms overlooking a central atrium.

living steps top floor

These circular areas act as impromptu self-contained break and gathering spaces removed from the bustle of each main office floor.

living hand rail supports

Standing out not just physically but also materially, the lively-grained wooden curves are bedecked with thin stem-like strands of white metal. In turn, these support planters that supplant the role of traditional hand rails while still providing physical and psychological safety and support.

living stairs axon drawing

Each set of stairs is supported by the floors themselves, thus rendered structurally independent of a more ordinary central-column approach.

living steps design diagram

living steps upper level

Further interactivity is woven into the biological side of the design in the form of herbs that employees can nurture, grow and ultimately pluck from the rails, facilitating a sort of in-office garden and adding a bit of mint to their tea or spice to their lunch.

360Photography

Posts Tagged ‘Greenery’

Potential Greenery: Topsoil & Time Shape ‘Empty Lot’ Artwork

Silicon Greenery: World’s Largest Green Roof to Span City Blocks