Guangzhou Metro Authority Headquarters

Via World Architecture Network, a spiral building with a vegetated rooftop from Perkins-Eastman.


:: image via WAN

Some background info via WAN: "The building’s form represents physical speed, beginning at signature prow - the symbolic and functional entrance into the interpretive traditional courtyard - and spirals up around the circumference of the dynamic circular form... Green roofs insulate the building and are part of a larger design strategy to address storm water management as well as to create an outdoor amenity for employees."




:: images via WAN

String Gardens

Spotted via People and Place - String Gardens offer floating vegetation. Very cool - albeit not terribly practical in all circumstances.


:: image via People and Place

Some more images from the String Garden Facebook page:




:: images via Facebook

Floating Green

Via Designboom: "chinese artist and architect ling fan has completed a public art 'floating green' in shanghai, china. the public art installation located in pudong zhangjiang hi-tech park, detaches the flat lawn from the earth it covers, folds it and structures it to form inhabitable urban furniture. instead of the notion of people having to abide by the sign 'keep off!' people are encouraged to 'hop on!' and touch it, smell it, use it and sense it however we please. the thin structure shakes gently when people sitting on it. floating green rejects sculptural iconography in favor of an urban surface articulated in diverse parts."


:: image via Inhabitat

The idea of the lawn is definitely the point of departure, as ling mentions via Inhabitat: "Lawns are a visual representation of nature in an urban context; but they are anything but natural. The lawn is an engineered product genetically enhanced, mass produced in rolls, cut into uniform strips, transported in a truck, and installed on site by hard human labor.”






:: images via Designboom

(more via Inhabitat, Space Invading)

Lyceée à REVIN

Via Space Invading: "Reconstruction project Lycee Jean Moulin was REVIN in association with Duncan Lewis Scape Architecture and jeans Giacinto" offarchitecture.com




:: images via Space Invading

It's interesting to the the liveliness of the design at different scales - something missing in a number of project representations. For instance, the large scale images above show the monumentality of the space and it's organic nature crawling up the hill. Below offers some view of the more human scale environment - peering into the actual spaces from a closer perspective and including interior views. It's also interesting to see how, for a project that is very green at one view, that the interior spaces are somewhat blank and barren - a definite disconnect where the natural is ornament draped above and visible from within - but not necessarily penetrating the human environment in a meaningful way.




:: images via Space Invading

Botanic Bridge

A new 2001 project by West 8 in Gwangju, South Korea, illuminates both their interesting graphical style and experimental nature. This one has made the rounds, including Urbanarbolismo, Pruned, and Treehugger - and well deserved - as this one is pretty awesome, and actually pretty interesting to see something from West 8 including some vegetation, however poetic.






:: images via West 8

Via West 8: "West 8 was commissioned to do a study for transforming the 10.8 km disused railway line surrounding the city-heart of Gwangju into a usable green corridor. West 8 conceived a green serpent that could connect over 20 public schools. To cross the Gwangju stream, West 8 proposed a landmark, a botanic bridge, celebrating the Korean botanics, as a permanent landmark in the city. The parabolic 35m high botanic bridge contains 24 concrete tree-pots, 4m in diameter, the largest being 7m high. This footbridge has no explicit circulation target. People can, but are not forced to climb the bridge, but the brave and adventures will."



:: images via West 8

Roof Terrace: Before/After

Via Treehugger: Japanese company Toshimaya Co. "... remodeled this drab, sterile... concrete cube with a terrific roof garden, as part of Japan's movement to reduce CO2 emissions, called Minus Six Degrees. This is an effort that quickly paid off, with staff clearly inspired to do more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and think about environmental issues. The before-and-after photos are striking."

Striking indeed.




:: images via Treehugger

Goodwill Green Wall

I just returned from a great trip up to Tacoma (1 hr south of Seattle) and then north for an overnight stay in Seattle, making a great working/playing couple of days (aside from the lack of internet access). The purpose of the visit was to take advantage of one of those rare opportunities to see Patrick Blanc, master purveyor of the Vertical Garden, speaking about his work. His hour long 'talk' at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma, was rapid-fire, and if you kept up, offered some insight into the creative genius behind his extensive body of work.


:: image via zwang11

The green hair and spike-like fingernails were on stage along with casual black shirt and bright green pants, and Blanc gave some overview of his inspiration (as we know nature), his work (worldwide and well received), and his motivations. These he candidly described mainly as the ability to provide nature into the city (vs. say specific sustainability), an issue that is more and more necessary as urbanization leads more folks to the city than the country. He even gave a glimpse behind the curtain, showing off some of the details of the system he employs for his work with interior and exterior projects.

Why, may you ask, is Patrick Blanc in Tacoma? Well, the occasion was to officially unveil his newest project (and the first exterior Vertical Garden designed by Blanc in the United States), at the Tacoma Goodwill-Millgard Work Opportunity Center, designed by BCRA Architects in Tacoma (see a YouTube video of the project here for more info).


:: image via Tacoma Goodwill

As you can see from the image above, a panel to the left of the main entrance (green vertical band) was originally planned to contain a mural. After seeing the work of Blanc, the clients and architects decided to make this a growing feature, enlisting the services of the internationally renowned designer and most commonly referenced master of the vertical garden. The result, newly installed (by Teufel Nursery and Landscape) and a mere two months young, is pretty damn cool.


:: images copyright - Jason A. King

The wall is approximately 800 sf, measuring 20'x40' and hovering above the ground. Seems they may have achieved the original mural, only this time its alive. A few pics for now (apologies, as the light wasn't great for photographs, but you get the idea).




:: images copyright - Jason A. King

The wall includes almost 100 species of plants, hand picked by Blanc based on the aspect of the wall and culled from local natural analogs of nature, tried and true species, and local availability. The combination of herbaceous and woody plants are arranged in the typical tapestry of similar bands - which was more striking when he showed slides of some of these inspirations during his talk.


:: image copyright - Jason A. King

And one aspect that was awesome was to be able to get up close and personal, parsing the simple layering of felt pockets for planting and the construction aspects of these walls.




:: images copyright - Jason A. King

While this is the early visual feast, stay tuned for a follow up that takes a more technical pass at the system configuration, components, plantings, and well, beautiful simplicity of the work. It's in a word 'amazing' to see in real life.

Sinpas Eco Town

Another one from Turkey, again by EAA-Emre Arolat Architects is the Sinpas Eco Town in Istanbul, which uses a number of green and passive cooling strategies for a large-scale development - including bioclimatic use of greenery.


:: images via WAN

Some info, via WAN: "...the basic criterias of the project were green area maximisation; development of social substructure and suitable intensity; protection of habitat and recover of lost properties; increase in shaded area and use of green roof; building parkinglots under green cover as much as possible; articulation of the cladding with the heating-ventilation system consuming energy in minimum; diminution the use of cooling system with the passive design acquisition; focusing on the use of refined water instead of line water in the landscape areas."




:: images via WAN

Izmir Fair Complex

The Izmir Fair Complex in Turkey, by EAA-Emre Arolat Architects combats the immense size of this type of development (117.000 m2) by covering spaces with ribbons of green roofs (reminiscent of Heping Park on a grand scale) "It was impossible to design large halls with steel space truss structural elements and metal roofs. The common image of Izmir is being a contemporary and civilised city that sustains its existence with the sea and the landscape. The topography of the site and the texture of its surroundings, together with the natural image of Izmir had led us to an ecological building structure that continues the slope of the site. What the architects have tried to do is to 'give back' the natural and volumetric qualities of the site, as far as a building can..."


:: image via WAN

"It is quite important to build up green roofs to restore the planting. This will be a roof that will only be accessed for maintenance and will not be used by crowds. The ecolocigal impacts of the green roof in case of insulation and water collection are also to be evaluated."




:: images via WAN

Local Flavor: Sweeney Residence

A nice photo array features the Sweeney Residence, a house designed by a local architect and friend of mine Brian Sweeney, along with his family here in Portland. Thoroughly modern, this house is (trust me) beautiful inside and out - and for a skinny lot design has tons of space. A supplement to Oregon Home Magazine called 'Green Living' featured the project recently (click here to view the online edition of the magazine).


:: image via Oregon Home Magazine - Green Living

A nice two-page opening spread shows off the simple ecoroof, designed by yours truly (i.e. Jason King), along with Brian and installed by local residential build company Ecoroofs Everywhere, a company operated by my friend Greg Haines... nice work all. Looking good.


:: image via Oregon Home Magazine - Green Living

Let me know if you're interested in talking to Brian... and I'll get you in touch.

OMA's Interlace

A new project making the rounds is The Interlace by Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) is envisioned as a new development in Singapore, and features a stacked array of horizontal structures with vegetated open spaces integrated into the peripheral rooftops.


:: image via WAN (copyright OMA)

From Ms Patricia Chia, CEO of CapitaLand Residential Singapore, "The name, The Interlace, reinforces the interconnectivity between man and the space, community and natural environment surrounding him. Ole Scheeren [from OMA] has created a new postcard for Singapore.”


:: image via WAN (copyright OMA)

More coverage of the project is found via Designboom: "...landscaping takes up eight-hectares, with the arrangement of the buildings maximizing the presence of the surrounding tropical floral by introducing extensive roof gardens, landscaped sky terraces, cascading balconies and lush green areas. the continuous landscape is also projected vertically, from the planting of green areas in open-air basement voids, through balconies and rooftop gardens. the private balconies give apartments large outdoor space and personal planting areas. cascading gardens spill over the facades of the buildings drawing a visual connection between the elevated green refuges and expansive tropical landscape on the ground. complex is also embedded within tropical flora, letting nature expand. sky gardens provide panoramic views across the interlace site and throughout the complex."

Some additional images show the entire project context:




:: images via Designboom (copyright OMA)

Plant Spawn Robots

While sold, via Treehugger, as a way to colonize the surface of Mars with plants to create livable atmosphere - we may look to use this on our own planet to counter depletion of vegetation and biodiversity at home. We may just screw up our house to the degree where this may be necessary.


:: image via Treehugger

Some info: "If we do indeed set out to colonize Mars, the first thing we're going to need is ample breathable oxygen. Enter Le Petit Prince, a greenhouse robot designed to keep plants safe while scavenging for more nutrients."


:: image via Treehugger

And a bonus video of Le Petit Prince in action:

Arbo-Architecture Realized

A previous post outlined the tenets of Arbo-architecture, a term and concept from students from University of Stuttgart... now the concept has evolved, via a lexiconigraphical stretch from Inhabitat to the "...“baubotanical” building, which measures 9 meters high with a base area of 8 square meters, is made up of hundreds of White Willow plants, which will eventually fuse together to form a single, giant mega tree."


:: image via Inhabitat

More on the baubotanical: "Plants at the base of the building were plugged into the soil, while others were placed in containers attached to a temporary steel scaffolding. When the root structure is strong enough, the plant containers will be removed. And once the structure can carry three steel platforms, the scaffolding will be taken down. The whole process is expected to take between 8 and 10 years, but a green wall should sprout in the coming year. The baubotanical building isn’t just being built for the fun of it–the architects involved are researching both tree elasticity and how trees can grow around steel supports. If the living tree tower pans out as expected, the concept could be used as a natural building option for everything from bridges to pavilions to bird-watching stations."

While I was curious about the etymology of the term 'baubotanical', and was surprised as I came across a range of items that didn't seem to fit the typical concept of the baub... am I missing something here, or is it just an innocent version of 'business as usual?' in terms of botany. I think not.

Green Transportation

Via MocoLoco: "The city of Milan and designer Fabio Novembre have created an oasis in the middle of the city by using Fiat 500C's as tree planters..."


:: image via MocoLoco

"Twenty fibreglass structures in the shape of the Fiat 500C, created by the designer Fabio Novembre in a 1:1 scale, containing trees of different shapes and sizes will, in fact, be positioned in via Montenapoleone to colour and make the summer more liveable in the Lombardy capital."


:: image via MocoLoco

West Loop Park

Via Inhabitat, a new project that exhibits some of the Yeangian bioclimatic features, transposed beyond a building to an entire linear greenway district: "The windy city is no stranger to sustainable building, and this urban park, located on the fringe of the city’s downtown, will certainly give Chicago even more green cred. Perkins + Will, the architects behind the design, developed the park to create more open space for the city, but the greenway also proves to be a pedestrian-friendly gateway that connects the existing downtown to any future development across the Kennedy Expressway"






:: image via Inhabitat