Roots: Veg.itecture @ 16

Originally published on March 15, 2008... on Landscape+Urbanism this post links to a number of great initial Veg.itecture inspirations... rather than repost them all, here the groundwork. Enjoy! JK

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I may have finally tapped out the well in creative titles for Vegetated Architecture. A few times warrant some more significant coverage of one project, but for the most part the groups are a someone random assortment of projects that are given a little thread of narrative to tie them loosely together. There have been more sporadic posts with similar content - as well as the wildly popular Veg.itect series featuring Nouvel, Yeang, and Sharp will continue as is - many more firms to cover on that list.


:: Brion Tomb, Carlo Scarpa - image via East Coast Architecture Review

It's time to lay the witticisms to rest. So here's the total list to date... a brief eulogy perhaps... and some fond memories.

1. Tasty Building/Landscape Fusions
2. Vegetated Architecture
3. New Additions
4. Super-Sized
5. Small(er)-Scale
6. Photo Gallery
7. Defining Moments
8. More New Additions
9. Building Edges
10. Caixa Forum Madrid
11. Queens Botanical Garden Visitor's Center
12. S,M,L,XL
13. Curly + Folded
14. Flat + Graceful
15. World Tour
16. Photo Gallery 2

Part due laziness, part sheer simplicity... I'm adopting the long-standing concept of numerically ordered series. I searched back through the previous posts, and decided that there were a critical enough mass of solid posts in the true spirit of veg.itecture - so this one would begin the next post with a new thread - picking up on sweet number sixteen so the next one will be... oh, you know.

Also, I did barely begin to sort my collected imagery on the Landscape+Urbanism Image Gallery - which is starting to take the shape of a wonderful cross section of many themes... check them out, and send me anything with a smidgen of greenery you find out there in the ether.

Roots: Ken Yeang: Veg.itect

Defining the concept of Vegetated Architecture led me to identify some of the key players in the field. Rather than continue the segregation of disciplines, Veg.itecture spans disciplines, further blurring the lines of established practice regimes. This does not demark territories where only the few architect/LA dual practicioners are allowed to have this mantle, but rather it is indicative of a unique approach - one where building and landscape are not discernable as individual elements.

Ken Yeang epitomizes the concept, perhaps stronger than any current architect. His concepts of bioclimatic high-rise design has been a signature of his designs - maxing aesthetic and technical principles.


:: image via Jetson Green

These include the following strategies (from daaq.net): "Bioclimatic skyscrapers are skyscrapers that use environmentally and climatically sensitive forms and means of construction. The points Yeang considers vital to bioclimatic skyscraper design are:

:: variability in facade and building performance in response to climate and location
:: alignment of building along the solar path
:: flexibility to adjust to different climatic needs throughout the year
:: use of entirely passive means of lighting and ventilation whenever possible
:: material selection based on ecologically sound principles"

This is a similar conceptual framework to a recent post on Defining Veg.itecture, which maybe is whay Yeang get's the top slot for Veg.itects. A recent project profile on Jetson Green - confirms this featuring his current firm of Llewelyn Davies Yeang and their plans for Turkey's Zorlu Ecocity.

:: images via Jetson Green

Some other projects of note (and keep an eye out the forms of vegetated facades).


:: Elephant and Castle Eco Towers London - image via MoMa


:: Editt Tower Malaysia - image via Index


:: Chongqing Tower, China - image via Jetson Green


:: Human Research Institute, Hong Kong - image via Jetson Green


:: Macau Master Plan - image via Jetson Green


:: BIDV Tower, Vietnam - image via Jetson Green

Relatedly, Yeang will be speaking in the Ecocity World Summit on April 22-26 in San Francisco, alongside pretty much anyone you can imagine, call it the Monsters of Ecocities Tour. My guess the Veg.itects will be out in force at this event - and most definitely more to come from Ken Yeang.

Yeang: Eco Master Planning

Ken Yeang is definitely one of the founding fathers of the Veg.itectural genre, known for his verdant bioclimatic structures that weave ecological principles closely with tactical vegetated forms. A recent competition on Dezeen offers you a chance to win a copy of his new book: "Eco Master Planning" (Wiley, 2009) which features Yeang's work at Llewelyn Davies Yeang and T.R. Hamzah & Yeang in Malaysia for projects in Amsterdam, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Macau, Mumbai, Singapore and Vancouver to name a few.


:: image via Dezeen

From Dezeen: "Architect and ecodesigner, Ken Yeang offers insight into his state-of-the-art approach to masterplanning based on environmental principles in his new book Ecomasterplanning. Looking at the basis for the design of masterplans for ecodistricts and ecocities, Ken Yeang outlines key design considerations including ecology, sustainable utilities engineering, water management and our human communities and their regulatory systems."


:: image via Dezeen

More: "Yeang advocates the systemic biointegration of four infrastructures:

• The grey as the armature for eco-engineering systems
• The blue as the water metabolism of the site and its overall water management
• The red as our human spaces, hardscapes and regulatory systems
• The green as ‘nature’s utilities’ – to form a vital ecological infrastructure that is also crucially connected to the ecological systems in the site’s hinterland.

Yeang argues that this ‘ecoinfrastructure’, as a network of green linking corridors and spaces within a masterplan, not only preserves the natural environment but actively encourages it to thrive. It enables the repairing of ecosystem fragmentation and the creation of a larger habitat for the sharing of resources."

:: image via Dezeen

It's a great opportunity to connect the specific bioclimatic processes with the larger scale conceptual approach of master planning - looking at opportunities that exist beyond the boundaries of a single site. This companion to many of the prime resources of the genre - this would be a great addition to the library. While I would love to win one at Dezeen - I'm hoping that Wiley would be kind enough to send me a copy... lessons from the master. Sounds good.

Look Up, See Green

An article in GizMag (yes, if pronounced properly doesn't sound bad) entitled "The only way is up for green" discusses the idea of reclaiming the vertical in dense cities, and posits the need for vertical landscapes as a method of dealing with this idea: "Demand for office and housing space in ever diminishing land space has led to taller and taller buildings reaching for the skies in cities around the world. This shortage of land in many cities has unfortunately also led to a scarcity of natural vegetation in urban settings."


:: image via GizMag

Interestingly, the article takes an interesting turn as it essentially becomes a marketing piece for a company called Vertical Landscapes, which offers a Vertical Ecosystem Structure (VES): "The architectural system transforms buildings into columns of vegetation to add a much needed touch of green, help clean the city air and possibly even produce small scale crops, all while retaining the building’s usual use for office or housing space."


:: image via GizMag

The company does have some interesting conceptual images - but not a whole lot (or any that I could discern) actual built projects. I do like their idea of incorporating waterfalls and seeps into the walls - making them less monolithic and more analogous to natural cliff faces. This is definitely, ala Patrick Blanc, based on natural conditions as seen in their section 'Inspirations'.






:: image via Vertical Landscape

I'm interested to see 1) how companies focusing solely on vertical greening will do in this emerging marketplaces, and 2) how, much like green roofs, the ideas will expand and evolve as more projects and creative folks start envisioning ideas.

Large Scale Green: Wall

Green walls are definitely a hot topic. As with all things, size seems a determining factor in success or adoption, particularly in regards to some innovative clients. Seems that being the first and the biggest still applies for many ideas out there. Jetson Green, amongst others, offered a view of the PNC Brands Headquarters building in Pittsburgh, slated to have the largest living wall (2,380 square-foot) in North America: "...designed by Mingo Design, a careful arrangement of locally-sourced plants will brand the building with PNC's logo."


:: image via Jetson Green

The interesting thing about the design concepts for living walls is they seem to derive a painterly approach similar to impressionist, or perhaps pointillist paintings - and definitely I will be looking forward to seeing this come together in reality. A couple of interesting notes that I have to wonder about in terms of needing a reality check:

1. "The irrigation system ... is estimated to require only 15 minutes of watering per week..."

2. "...the wall will provide cooling benefits for the building..."

While I'm thinking that it's possible to get away with watering a wall only 15 minutes a week, I doubt with the level of visibility and aesthetics at play here that this will hold true in terms of practice. I'm not buying the cooling benefit claim either. While definitely a function of green walls in theory, in this case, the greenery is on a solid wall (i.e. not providing shading or much insulation), and the ratio of building to wall shown is disproportionate to the ability to provide any real benefit in this case. I'd say it'll cool the surrounding barren plaza more than the building itself...

Any thoughts?

Large Scale Green: Roof

Large green roof projects are dramatic for a couple of reasons. First, the sheer size gives immediacy to the multiple benefits of rooftop greening beyond what a roof with a few thousand feet conjure up. Second, in terms of impact and opportunity, there are many large roofs that could hold extensive or intensive green roofs, giving examples for more broad retrofit opportunities for our urban areas.

Thus, the Treehugger post about the 2.5 acre park atop a post office building in Manhattan: "... the U.S. Postal Service created a 2.5 acre oasis in Manhattan this week with a green roof on its Morgan mail processing facility. The garden-like space will help reduce the city’s heat index and heating/cooling costs, saving 30 percent of the building's energy usage by 2015 – the agency’s goal. Can't all buildings have green roofs?"


:: image via Treehugger

While not all buildings can handle a retrofit, much less a habitable space, the solidity of this structure offered a range of possibilities: "Instead of replacing the roof in 2007, Elizabeth Kennedy Landscape Architects were subcontracted to design the space with low-maintenance vegetation in line with sustainable policies. The plan should last 50 years -- twice as long as conventional roofing."

Arbo-Architecture

An article from Spiegel Online featured a group working in a new specialty "building botany." Oliver Storz, Ferdinand Ludwig and Hannes Schwertfeger are part of a research group at the University of Stuttgart's Institute of Basics in Modern Architectural Design. This new (actually old) idea uses a support structure that is woven with living trees to create viable (and beautifully vegitectural creations). One of their built examples is "...this "diagonal support frame" for a bird watching station in Bavaria."


:: image via Spiegel Online

The process uses the idea of arborsculpting or treeshaping, forms of bonsai and topiary - which has been used for small structures, art, or furniture. Using specific species of trees and natural tendencies to knit together, the results can achieve a specific structural loading capacity (when healthy) that provides a living armature for small building forms. Read and see more about the process in the Photo Gallery at Spiegel Online.






:: images via Spiegel Online

The potential structures are up to the imagination, and the group has envisioned a number of interesting iterations. If you have the patience - this could be pretty amazing...




:: images via Spiegel Online

3 Ideas for Vegitecture

There's no shortage of cross-pollination in the field of the vegitectural - spawing a variety of sub-genres. This post gathers some of the recent and interesting, including those that can be worn, others that can be sat upon, and others that... well I'm not so sure about the last one...

First, I've seen Patrick Blanc delve into vegetated fashion in the past, and it's making a comeback with a recent post from Inhabitat: "We love these looks, but eco-artist Nicole Dextras is taking flowery fashion one step further with her intricately woven Weedrobes made from real plants! Weedrobes are a treat for the eyes, but they’re also a commentary on the disposability and conformism of the fashion industry today."


:: image via Inhabitat

In full disclosure, I wore a full suit of Camperdown Elm leaves to the local party-fest Dada Ball in 2001 - which I will attempt to track down some photos of... a cool costume, until late in the evening - when the entire kit decided to dry up and fall off in mangy clumps... I'm just saying... watch out.

Following, the idea of grown and grassy furnishings isn't new (but who the hell needs anything new to get excited about nowadays)... these 'Lawnge' chairs by Lisette Spee and Tim Van den Burg are pretty cool though... via Designboom.


:: image via Designboom

Finally, this one is just weird (but would be cool if it weren't artificial)... the rolling 'Porta-Hedge' was spotted via Inhabitat - rolling around in a vegetated surveillance device is just kinda wrong (but worth a few images).




:: images via Inhabitat

Amphibious Vegitecture

I've mentioned the idea of floating and amphibious developments on L+U, but this one fits firmly into the vegitectural... via The Pop-Up City: "... this one is from the makers of the floating market and, of course, the world famous floating gardens. These Amsterdam-based ‘floating everything’ gurus, are working on the concept of floating gardens since the late sixties."


:: image via The Pop-Up City

Shell House

Via World Architecture News: "The Shell House is a new form of urban housing which answers the problems of elderly mobility within the home, the aspiration for a garden view without the maintenance upkeep required and the need to build a sustainable community in order to reduce crime. The Shell House is also economical to construct, ecologically and socially sustainable, attractive to all age groups and flexible to changing lifestyles. The Shell House extends the garden into a very low maintenance sedum roof with Velux rooflights drawing light into the rear spaces of the house"

Low-Cost Green Roof Examples?

The Dirt blog featured the latest editorial 'Land Matters' from Bill Thompson at Landscape Architecture Magazine - 'In Search of a Good, Cheap Green Roof'. While pointing out some stunning examples such as the California Academy of Sciences Green Roof and the one atop Chicago City Hall as a bit pricey (and forgetting the equally spendy ASLA HQ Green Roof) - the dialogue goes more towards the widescale benefits of having these things on 1000s of buildings.


:: Cal Academy Roof - image via The Dirt

Bill asked a great question about mass-adoption, and our role as Landscape Architects in this process:

"How can we progress beyond a few high-profile green roofs sprinkled here and there in a few of our cities? Scale is what will make green roofs work as an ecosystem service. If they are really to ameliorate stormwater runoff and the heat island effect, we need whole city blocks that are green roofed corner to corner. We need lots of multiacre green roofs on big-box stores on the urban fringe. What will it take for these to happen?

A few local governments are offering incentives for buildings with roofs that soak up rain and keep it from overloading the city sewer system. That’s part of the solution. We also need low-cost, foolproof systems put in by experienced installers who know green roofs because that is the core of their business. But if green roofs become a streamlined, mass-production enterprise dedicated to greening America’s rooftops, will designers then have a role?

Landscape architects who continue to have a role in the future will be those who have proved they are up to the job. With green roofs, a lot seems to fall through the cracks between the drawing board and the final product. Landscape architects who get serious about this project type will have to learn about the technology, test their products, and pay attention to what happens on the job site—and afterward. Do green roofs present enough of an opportunity for landscape architects to make that kind of learning curve worth the time and effort?"

The question is a good one. For starters, I think we already have - with recent numbers of green roofs installing in North America being a great indication that there are affordable examples available in many cities. These wouldn't be happening at this rate (even with laws and incentives) if they weren't being done at a reasonable cost.

Our role, however, is something I believe many of us have grappled with often thinking about the market for landscape architecture services in green roof design. The goals of projects has a wide range along a continuum from purely functional to the signature roofs mentioned above and many variation in between. While mass production of rooftop greening may exclude LA's from the low-end of the spectrum due to cost, there's plenty of other projects that require our services.

Or as I've found out from experience, the role of the LA in this case isn't as much to create a signature rooftop 'design' but to put on our technical problem solving hat and look at inventive ways to produce a quality, affordable design at a low cost. This includes elimination of system components when possible, or presenting clients with options that meet their needs without adding unnecessary elements. The amount of money spent on our fees in this case will directly result in cost savings - for instance, if an LA get's $2-3 per square foot for design fees, and in turn knocks $4-5/sf off the cost of the green roof project - it's a win-win for everyone. And it's possible and has happened many times over. And they can still look stunning - it's a not a compromise of design - it's about design.

Perhaps we need to collectively market this idea of our unique problem solving skills and their cost-benefit to projects, rather than just focus our praise and caution on the award-winning exemplars of the genre. It's often about the money, and there is a perceived value of our 'high design' services for the high-profile roofs, but not our 'functional design' services to save a client money.

I'm interested to see this dialogue unfold online and in the pages of LAM, and as always thank Bill for being an apt and current provocateur.

MOMA Tower as Vertical Neighborhood

:: image via Designboom

Spotted via Designboom: "Manhattan based firm axis mundi has unveiled a conceptual alternative design for MoMA tower. founder of the firm john beckmann sees this as the time to rethink the tall buildings that have become synonymous with new york city's identity. 'instead of disguising the rich potential of towers that have a mix of uses, we looked for a way to express that diversity,' beckmann noted. the firm used parametric computer modeling software to test a wide range of possibilities. out of this iterative process they proposes a new way to organize and express tall buildings: the vertical neighborhood."




:: image via Designboom

Check out the entire Designboom post for the full story.

Plantagon® Greenhouse

It's definitely not big news that we are going to see more and more of these vertical farming proposals and start-ups capitalizing on the powerful ideology of the urban agriculture and Veg.itecture. Most come with strong visuals and little in the way of specifics regarding the technical aspects or the productivity to cost ratio. It is with that, we delve into the Plantagon® greenhouse, (via ArchDaily and Inhabitat) a Fuller-esque dome containing spirals of productive space.


:: image via Inhabitat

According to Plantagon (via ArchDaily): "...The farm “will dramatically change the way we produce organic and functional food. It allows us to produce ecological with clean air and water inside urban environments, even major cities, cutting costs and environmental damage by eliminating transportation and deliver directly to consumers,”


:: image via Inhabitat

The company envisions these in every city, taking advantage of the spherical nature of the dome: "Plantagon envisions major cities adopting their greenhouse solution. The project features a large spiraling ramp that will provide the necessary space for food growth and production. The glass dome covering the ramped space will provide the necessary light needed to nurture the gardens. Since the glass is curved, varying amounts of sunlight will penetrate according to the angle of incidence."


:: image via ArchDaily

I've said it before, but what is the best approach to this concept... taking small steps to test these ideas on a variety of scales - or jumping the shark to full blown and overwrought visions that lack any form of tether on reality. This stuff is not impossible, but to make it work (and more importantly to make it pencil out), we need to be get real. This to me is pretty far from real.

DIY Patrick Blanc Style Wall

Ever wonder how it's done...? I'm not sure this is verbatim from Mr. Blanc's method, but an interesting concept. (thanks Lisa for the link)

DIY How to Making of Patrick Blanc Style Green wall Vertical Garden from Matthew McGregor-Mento on Vimeo.

Green Ship

As a counterpoint to the floating urbanism posted on L+U, a story of a cruise ship with a pristine lawn on the main deck.


:: image via Treehugger

Via Treehugger: "Over at GreenRoofs.com we hear about a 122,000 ton cruise ship that is now decked out with 15,000 square feet of green roof, installed by Green Roof Service LLC. Of course the logistical challenges of installing a green roof on an ocean going cruise ship are interesting to say the least - and the success of this projects bodes well for green roofs elsewhere."

Gopher and Issac wouldn't know what hit 'em.

Roots: VIA: 11-20

And more from Veg.itecture in Action...

VIA 11: Living with Skin

:: images via Greenmeme

VIA 12: Green Roof Maintenance

:: images via Urban Greenery

VIA 13: Parliament House Canberra

:: images via Gardenvisit

VIA 14: Penn State Green Roof

:: images via Treehugger

VIA 15: Brooklyn Green Roof

:: images via Urban Greenery

VIA 16: Bostons bath mat Green Wall

:: image via Urban Greenery

VIA 17: W Midtown Hotel

:: image via G-Sky

VIA 18: The Met Roof Garden

:: image via Urban Greenery

VIA 19: Cooper Point House

:: images via inspiration wall

VIA 20: Laneway House

:: images via Treehugger