CNN gets Vegitecture

A recent article from CNN is notable for two reasons... more mainstream coverage of living walls, and the use by another major media outlet of the term 'Vegitecture'... The article, 'Green walls: the growing success of 'vegitecture' gives an overview of the technology, and some interesting criticism. Now if only they'd remember to cite where the reference to Vegitecture came from...



:: Hotel du Department, Patrick Blanc - image via CNN

With references to Patrick Blanc and Ken Yeang, as well as some of the new architectural imagery that features more verdant surfaces, the article outlines some of the benefits: "Designers claim that plants not only provide a beautiful alternative to other materials used in construction, they also offer additional benefits, including noise reduction, natural cooling, air conditioning and a psychological boost to those who use the buildings."

The article also quotes from Richard Sabin, from UK firm, Biotecture (nice!) which specializes in the installation of a range of living walls. Definitely check out their system, and the conceptual framework of their term BioTecture: "Biotecture is an abbreviation of “Biological Architecture”, so far used by a small number of alternative builders. We believe that the concept of green walling and “biomembranes” is ready - and required - within the commercial realm as architects, developers and town planners seek to find more sustainable methods of creating buildings with lower or zero carbon footprints."

As mentioned, there are some nameless references to some drawbacks: "Critics argue that the thirsty nature of living walls detracts from their environmental credentials and they require more maintenance than conventional materials" Really, plants do need water and maintenance, because they are a living thing, but the also have a ton of benefits as seen above beyond any other type of skin materials. I'd be curious who this criticism is coming from and what the motivation is?

And again, CNN - if you use the term, give us some props...!

Now this is Rooftop Agriculture

A post via Urban Greenery linked to an amazing urban farm atop a roof in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn. The story in New York Magazine is part of a ridiculously named summer special 'Urban Hippies on the Rise', immediately marginalizing any of the solutions... or maybe it was a tongue in cheek reference?


:: image via NY Mag

Apart from a hippie aside, this roof is a great example of the evolution of rooftop gardening from a few raised beds in boutique fashion to a more integrated and efficient agricultural model. It does have the twist of using harvested rainwater, 'intercropping' beds with different plants, imported earthworms - and and an aim of selling the produce to local businesses.

Some excerpts: "The roof has sixteen four-foot-wide beds irrigated by rain (a particular boon to the city, Goode points out, since it takes stress off New York’s overtaxed sewer system)... volunteers have planted corn, salad greens, radishes, herbs, nasturtiums, and peppers, to name a few. The soil will be composted with a mix that will come from scraps from local restaurants. And so far the yields are promising."

JPL Green Roof

Proving once again that the concept of rooftop greening is really smart - the rocket scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have included a vegetated roof at their new Flight Projects Center building on their campus in Pasadena, California.


:: image via JPL

"A green, living roof will keep the building cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The green roof will also help minimize storm water runoff into the Arroyo Seco, a dry riverbed near JPL... The plants do more than enhance the view; they are part of the building's many "green" features. In fact, the building is so green that JPL is going for the gold -- a gold certification, that is, under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system, set up by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council."

I just had a conversation with a landscape architecture student from Cal Poly Pomona about more arid climates and the viability of green roofing - so this is good to see in SoCal, and it will be interesting to see the level of effort, particularly irrigation needed to maintain this roof, as well as how plants do in this particular environment.

Lexiconography

I was delighted to see this posting about Veg.itecture, from Schott's Vocab Blog on the NY Times Opinion Page defined as such: "Vegetated architecture – building design that incorporates vegetation as an integral element of construction."



The post references this blog as well as Landscape+Urbanism - particularly looking back at the work of Ken Yeang, which is more than can be said for the site called dornob and the alliterative reference to 'vertical vegetecture' along with a long and unreferenced post from WebEcoist - featuring a number of notable vertical greening projects. Pretty much what we've been saying the whole time, no?


:: image via dornob

The notice validates the lack of a single non-hyphenated word to express what we're talking about when referencing the realm of vegetated architecture. As mentioned, "Schott’s Vocab is a repository of unconsidered lexicographical trifles — some serious, others frivolous, some neologized, others newly newsworthy." Trifle, yes, but I'm a bit concerned about the alternate spelling - as Vegetecture just doesn't make sense... and changing a vowel doesn't make it unique. I do like the bonus reference to 'verdant cladding' though... has a nice ring to it.

Roots of Veg.itecture: Introduction

One of the aims of the blog is not just to regurgitate what is new and interesting from the web, but also to provide some definition to the concept of Veg.itecture and the myriad forms that it takes. This is loosely organized into nine typologies that I plan on expanding upon in an ongoing series that lays out the forms of expression, based on a recent presentation for the Oregon ASLA that I gave this spring.


:: image by Jason King

As seen above, the typological investigation yields the following categories:

1. Green Rooftops
2. Roof Terrace
3. Vertical Greening for Aesthetics
4. Interior Vertical Greening for Aesthetics
5. Vertical Greening (Bioclimatic)
6. Interior Vertical Walls (Bioclimatic)
7. Rooftop Agriculture
8. Vertical Farming
9. Site Insertion

These are a work in progress and have evolved from some previous incarnations on definitions of these typologies, but essentially make up the chapters, with an obligatory preface and epilogue, of the book that I am currently working on about Veg.itecture (ahhh, the blog spinoff makes so much more sense now, no?). Stay tuned for some key points of these nine typologies - and I would definitely love some constructive feedback on how this sums up the genre.

Veg.itecture In Action (VIA 1)

A loosely related set of projects that have been realized, aka Veg.itecture in Action - showing that the visual is indeed possible, in this case in simple grass-covered planes (read the definition of VIA and the related VIVA here). Enjoy, and stay tuned for regular updates while I clear out the backlog.


:: Art and Exhibition Hall in Bonn, Germany - image via Urban Greenery


:: Hof House - image via CoolBoom


:: Ecological Shelters at Finca El Retorno - image via Arch Daily


:: Hanamidori Cultural Center - image via Arch Daily


:: OS House - image via Arch Daily


:: Hole 19 – Golf Club St. Oswald - image via Arch Daily


:: Shopping Square Meydan - image via Clean Air through Green Roofs


::Laugalaekjarskoli secondary school extension - image via Arch Daily


:: Historial de la Vendée - image via Clean Air through Green Roofs

Put a Green Lid on It

Not a totally original idea (see Portlander Bill Badrick and his visions of vegetated bridges here and here) but a more fully realized vision from Toronto, spotted via Urban Greenery. The idea is from Architect Les Klein from Quadrangle Architects via the Toronto Star: "His idea, dubbed the Green Ribbon, calls for the addition of a new level about 8 metres above the highway's elevated section from Dufferin St. to the Don Valley Parkway. Columns would be added to the side to anchor a new level, which would become a linear park stretching for 7 kilometres."


:: image via The Star.com

Read the rest of the article from the Toronto Star.

Veg.itecture News RoundUp

:: Mountain Equipment Co-op, Toronto - image via Clean Air through Green Roofs

Some interesting news on the Veg.itectural front. Last week has the opening of the High Line - coming to much love, and of course, the backlash. Some highlights:

:: There’s always a hater (Inspiration Wall)
:: At Least One Person Hates NYC’s New Highline Park (Infrastructurist)

Funny, but if it was coming from anyone else than James Howard Kunstler, I'd probably respond - but I just don't care enough about his opinion to give a rats ass. Interesting reading though, and definitely worth a follow-up. And On the heels of the latest sedum-love fest at the Atlanta Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities conference, Linda Velasquez at Sky Gardens gets to the bottom of this with an in-depth interview with the chair of the GRHC Training and Accreditation commitee about the new Green Roof Professional Accredition. Hoops, we've got hoops!

:: The GRP Accreditation: An Interview with Jeffrey L. Bruce (Sky Gardens)

The distinction between roofing and green roofing has always been an interesting dichotomy. Turns out it's legally nebulous as well - as pointed out in Shari Shapiro's Green Building Law site:

:: Green Roofing--Landscaping? Roofing? Controversy! (Green Building Law)

And relatedly - with all this talk of green roofs, a call for the white... ok fine, but at least think about green first. Maybe it's even the law, as is the case in Toronto, and parts of Japan and Switzerland, amongst others, have on the books.

::Where Green Roofs are the Law (Clean Air through Green Roofs)
:: Now That We All Agree White Roofs Are A Great Idea–Let’s Use Stimulus Money To Make It Happen! (Infrastructurist)

Farewell Chapel

Contemporist recently posted a thorough post of a project by OFIS Architects. The Farewell Chapel offers an fairly sparse patch of green at the curvy roof plane - with the cross shaped skylight being the most interesting part of this view.




:: images via Contemporist

I'm more intrigued by the optical illusion from the photographs of the project juxtaposed and layered with the surrounding vegetated cliff side behind - making for what seems like a much more interesting and rich idea of rooftop greening with this borrowed landscape.




:: images via Contemporist

Vegetal Graffiti

A link via ArchiSpass to the Wooster Collective: "Edina Tokodi has installed her latest living wall portrait (made completely out of succulent plants) in Brooklyn for the recent Fort Green Garden Walk event. The piece is currently located on the rooftop of Green Spaces NY and will be moved to a public spot in a few weeks"


:: image via Wooster Collective

Roof Forest

I remember seeing the Metropolis article on the rooftop pine forest at 101 Warren Street in Lower Manhattan and wondering how this project would be interpreted into the genre of rooftop greening. The Dirt followed up with a bit on this project, by noted NY Landscape Architect Thomas Balsley and it seems like there is little critical dialogue over this project (or many, many, many other built ones). Should there be?


:: image via Metropolis

It seems like we just accept most of the projects out there with little critical discussion. Part of it is that we are happy to see these project get built - especially amongst all of the riff-raff of photoshoppy goodness out there in the digital world. I'm using this as an example, which not be warranted, but it's illustrative of the path of dialogue and the usage of simplistic descriptors for benefits. For example, the description of the project goals, where Metropolis mentions that Balsley: "...created a monoculture of evergreens that emulates northern forests. The goal was to achieve a tranquil place rather than a pretty or functional one."

:: image via Metropolis

How many projects can get away with a description like that without being thoroughly skewered, aside from the landscape architectural. I really do like the design in it's utter simplicity - but we need to frame it in terms that reference both the design intent and the potential. Does the implementation of a monoculture make sense? Is something that is visual and not useful for residents in an interactive way? Does it actually fulfill the stated environmental benefits such as the "...addition to the standard benefits of storm-water retention and insulation for the building, the trees improve air quality."?


:: image via Metropolis

It's a question of the difference between the artistic and environmental, and how the line often gets blurred. This is not a social or environmental solution... it merely inherits those benefits from the use of landscape materials in an urban setting. While realistic (and built!) it is an artistic solution, and a good one at that. But is that the point? This seems like one of those trees and ivy solutions that worked in the 1970s, and we are ripping out for their dated and overly simplistic palette that perhaps may but probably won't age well. Either way, it'll probably pick up an ASLA award next year, so whadda I know? :)

NYT on Rooftop Farming

The amount of people that forwarded me this article in the NY Times today made me think that I may have finally crossed the line into Veg.itectural obsession. 'Urban Farming, a Bit Closer to the Sun' is a great overview of some great examples of rooftop gardening in the New York area.




:: image via NY Times

From the article: "Aeries are cropping up on America’s skylines, filled with the promise of juicy tomatoes, tiny Alpine strawberries and the heady perfume of basil and lavender. High above the noise and grime of urban streets, gardeners are raising fruits and vegetables. Some are simply finding the joys of backyard gardens several stories up, others are doing it for the environment and some because they know local food sells well."




:: image via NY Times

Read the entire article here... good stuff. A parting quote: "Another benefit gardeners get from planting well above the ground is that they face fewer pests. But roof gardeners also have to think about winds that can knock over tender vines. And while concentrated heat on top of city buildings can help tomatoes ripen, it also means more frequent watering, even if irrigation requires lugging watering cans up stairs.Though rooftop gardens go back at least to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the modern green roof movement has made its way here from Europe, where for years government policies have encouraged or required green roofs."

Veg.itecture News RoundUp

A new feature will offer some weekly links to the latest in news from the vegetated architecture realm. Obviously the hot news of last week was the opening of the High Line and it's had a ton of press, photos, love, and strangely enough, a bit of resentment.

:: Renovated High Line Now Open for Strolling (NY Times)
:: On High, a Fresh Outlook (Nicolai Ouroussoff Review for the NY Times)
:: Abandoned Rail Line Get's New Life as NYC Park (NPR)
:: Inhabitat Exclusive Video: The NYC High Line Opens! (Inhabitat)


:: image via NY Times

Another interesting tidbit that a number of people commented on this week was the way the project's authorship was credited... was the project led by James Corner Field Operations or Diller Scofidio + Renfro? As with every project, it's a moot point because collaboration creates all projects - particularly in the case of a complex urban retrofit such as this. Some missing the point (although it was good to see the updated info on some of these):

:: The New York High Line officially open (Arch Daily) - subsequently corrected
:: The High Line NYC (cool hunting)

But in the bigger picture, can the press comprehend that, gasp!, a landscape architect could lead something like this - or do we get put in our subservient role as the 'planting designers' (a job wonderfully done in this case by Piet Oudolf). The best case of this was Metropolis, who had been doing a spot on job of covering landscape architecture... they kind of missed the boat - scroll down to the comments from 'angrylandscapearchitect' for some ire towards this (FYI: the original tag of 'plantings were designed by James Corner' has been edited)...

:: On the High Line at Last (Metropolis)

And moving past this big news... some other tidbits from the Vegitectural realm:

:: Dubai Municipality is going for 100% green roofs. (Green Roofs Australia)
:: Study will look at combining solar panels, eco-roofs (DJC)
:: Green Roofs: Are they Worth the Expense? (NY Times)
:: Toronto Makes Green Roofs the Law, Approves Controversial Bike Lanes (Treehugger)
:: GRA Inc supports UQ research into new Brisbane roof plants (Green Roofs Australia)

And an interesting resource, found via the blog Land4Us:

:: International Green Roof Association (IGRA)

Parsing the New Paradigm

Treehugger is one of those dichotomous sites (probably due to the variety of bloggers) that seems to contradict itself on a daily basis - particularly in response to green roofs. While simulataneously promoting the newest in Veg.itecture, occasionally they drop a 'cautionary' tale about the need for some reflection beyond the visual. A recent post definitely made me think of this duality.

:: image via Treehugger

Via Treehugger: "This used to be the vision of the future of green roofs: Conventional architecture with a green lid. It is turning out very differently, as green roof technology changes the role of the architect, the way they design buildings, the way they present them, and the places they put them. Like every other tool, there is the potential for abuse. Are green roofs being used as a form of "greenwrapping" to put buildings where they shouldn't be? Or are they actually creating opportunities for better planning?"

The post goes on to present a range of projects in the genre, with some interesting dialogue. I have to call absolute bullshit with this particular nugget: "Green roofs came into their own early in the decade, primarily due to the great work of Steven Peck and Green Roofs for Healthy Cities; They turned it into a movement, "to increase the awareness of the economic, social, and environmental benefits of green roof infrastructure. By 2003 they were even running awards programmes" While I respect the 'work' of GRHC, there's a lot of people, municipalities and organizations responsible for the adoption of the idea - and really very few of that has to do with this particular organization of Mr. Peck. It takes a village - not a trade organization. It's probably made a bunch of companies rich, but not necessarily made a movement.

:: image via Treehugger

The dialogue goes on to question the validity of the Vancouver Convention Centre as opposed to a previous design: "They are showing up everywhere, even when they don't quite fit the architectural idiom. The new green roof at the Vancouver Convention Centre is big and on its own a lovely thing. But an earlier phase of the Convention Centre, designed by Canadian great Eberhard Zeidler, was designed to be light, airy, and to create a dramatic profile reminiscent of sails. How does a green roof compare?"

:: image via Treehugger

So how does a green roof not fit an architectural idiom? The building is enormous, and I've seen the sails proposal which borders on the cliche. Oh, we're by the water, let's use sails. More appropriate is the fact that edges of water are usually diverse ecosystems, particularly vegetated, and in keeping with the natural and greenly urban character of Vancouver. Perhaps what we need is some questioning of water-adjacent 'sails' as an architectural idiom. The idea is furthered with the questioning of the concept of a non-building for the stunning (yet monocultural) Nanyang University School of Art Design and Media: "It is a lovely green roof, but nobody can call it a "non-building building", it is as real as any other building on campus unless you work for Google Maps. Would Kenzo Tange have approved? Or are green roofs being used to put a new green sheen on projects that might otherwise have been more problematic to get approved?"

:: image via Treehugger

I'm with them on this point, but this particular project is not the example to use. The overall footprint of the building is relatively minimal, and the fact that it's accessible is at least a step in the right direction. Greenwrapping exists - particularly in the visualization phase, but c'mon, pick the right targets - like golf courses atop water treatment plants.

:: image via Treehugger

A few more examples in the slideshow, and the summary: "Perhaps to everyone's surprise, they have turned into planning tools to help put buildings where no building has gone before, are radically changing the architectural form of buildings, the way architects present buildings (see the rash of aerial perspectives-who ever showed rooftops before?) and the respective roles of architects and landscape architects."

Is this a problem? The so-called fifth-facade, or more aptly, the forgotten facade has long been given up to ugly and specifically utilitarian desires. Who would want to show the roof of a typical building, with HVAC, and gravel ballast offering nothing to community or building. Don't get me wrong, I think these sort of speculative endeavors via blog are useful, but there's a mixed-message at play.

On a related note, outlining a future scenario that may come to pass, The always solid BLDGBLOG offers a great complementary neo-historical view of rooftop greening (and a shout-out to this blog). The post 'The Hollow Hills' provides a fascinating story that I can see coming out 1000 years from now, when buildings are enveloped and forgotten in their vegitectural context...


:: image via BLDGBLOG

Dubai Double: Food City

Another one from Dubai - a large scale proposal spotted via amongst other sources, the ASLA blog The Dirt is a new development that marketing must have spent days coming up with. The aptly named 'Food City', by Green Concepts Landscape Architecture (GCLA), aims for maximized green space and production through a variety of means, including, as reported in some great coverage by Inhabitat: "...the marriage of landscapes and urbanism“. Their project integrates a variety of proposals to decrease overall energy use — concentrated solar collectors, towers covered in thin-film photovoltaic cells, piezoelectric pads in pedestrian areas, and methane harvesting through sewage percolation tanks."






:: images via Inhabitat

I guess for an area that currently imports over 90% of their food, the cost-benefit may actually pencil out in Dubai, but the costs for food production in many of these vertical farming proposals seems insane. The gauntlet of measures thrown at this project perhaps isn't something that is optional, but necessary in arid climates with water scarcity (hear that US Southwest?) The water issue is covered by another bunch of potential technologies as well as the project "...also proposes water conservation measures critical to off-the-grid survival in water-starved Dubai, like atmospheric water harvesting, solar desalination through concentrated solar collectors, grey water recycling, and application of hydroponic sand to minimize water loss. "

The real proof will be how much you pay for a head of lettuce spawned in Food City.

Dubai Double: Seawater Vertical Farm

Another one of those cadre of cool yet perhaps impractical proposals for vertical farming - this time from Dubai. The Seawater Vertical Farm, a project proposal by studiomobile, uses an interesting process to combat the lack of available water in growing vegetables. The building uses the stack effect and, according to Designboom: "...uses seawater to cool and humidify greenhouses and to convert sufficient humidity back in to fresh water to irrigate the crops. the project has been presented in dubai where there is an absence of fresh water and local cultivations, a problem of urban transport and a high soil value, making this concept a feasible one."


:: image via Designboom


:: image via SpaceInvading

A little about the process, via Treehugger (and a detail enlargement of the above image):

"phase 01: The air going into the greenhouse is first cooled and humidified by seawater,which is trickled over the first evaporator. this provides a fresh and humid climatefor the crops that in these conditions need very little water as they are not stressedby excessive transpiration.

phase 02: As the air leaves the growing area it passes through the second evaporator whichhas seawater flowing over it. during this phase the humid air mix with the warmdry air of the ceiling interspace. thus the air is made much hotter and more humid.

phase 03: The warm air is forced to flow upward by the stack effect that is temperature induced.in the central chimney the warm and humid air will condense when in contact withplastic tubes where cool sea water is pumped. in the surface of the condenser manydrops of fresh water will appear, ready to be recollected in a tank to water the cropsand for other uses. "

:: image via Treehugger

Some additional pics:


:: image via SpaceInvading


:: image via Treehugger

Battersea, Minimized

Around a year ago, I posted on L+U about the Battersea Power Station by Rafael Viñoly. Since then, announcements were made that the scheme would be reduced down to a much more limited scope based on comments from municipal agencies. The new vision has recently been revealed (see Clean Air through Green Roofs). Let's compare, shall we?

For starters, the original vision:




:: image via WAN

The new, stripped down version is still plenty green, but significantly reduced from the previous version - particularly the minimalism transferred to the, yawn, site and human realm. Alas, it may be that this site is perhaps doomed - as for 25 years the site has sat idle - and with this scheme's compromise position, albeit topped with green, perhaps maybe should be reconsidered as well.

The current vision:




:: images via Clean Air through Green Roofs

Site:Vision:Reality

The announcement of The High Line opening came with a wonderful pic of the site that made me think that sometimes the visuals do match the reality. Congrats to all that made this happen.

:: image via Daily Tonic

:: image via Queens Crap

:: image via High Line Blog (c) Iwan Baan