Regional Green

A busy week, and apologies for lack of posting. I'm well under my once-a-day quota for March, but alas - work is hopping with exciting projects in the region. As I mentioned in a previous post, we tend to take for granted the innovative projects that come out of the Pacific Northwest. The recent National ASLA winners notwithstanding (with the exception of couple of residential examples), the PNW continues to provide stellar examples for sustainable design at a variety of scales. This does not mean that there aren't a number great projects worldwide, but sometimes as we push the envelope, we forget the fact that there are groundbreaking designs growing in our own backyards.

A recent small-scale project called The Commons, which is one of a number of projects that is vying to be the elusive first Living Building Challenge project. Covered in the Oregonian, as well as on Brian Libby's Portland Architecture blog - the project has also jumped out into the national spotlight via Jetson Green. Developed by a pair of brothers in Portland, Dustin and Garrett Moon and features a number of green features: green roof, composting toilet, rainwater catchement, fly-ash concrete, and most press-worthy topic by far... dirt floors. (for clarification they are earthenware - as Libby clarified after some 'backlash' about the tongue-in-cheek comment about this feature.




:: images via Jetson Green

While it's gained a lot of attention, the dirt floors are really an earthenware clay, which is an uncommon and sustainable material in typical building circles. There is a groundswell of natural builders throughout Portland with a large following - with mixed results. I liken it to the fact that whatever the material - a good designer will use it well, and the rest... well. Or, as Libby points out, there is a definite conceptual break between the DIY cob-crowd of sustainability and the flashy expensive LEED condos... "When I think of those few conservatives out there who are skeptical about green building, cob benches and dirt floors are to me precisely the kind of stuff they'll ridicule." He later adds: "I just am not fond of the cob and rammed-earth aesthetic, although I certainly can't fault the function and sustainability of these age-old practices."

:: Cob Structure - image via Portland Ground

Another local project with some sustainable features is the Portland City Storage by MulvannyG2, which caught the attention of World Architecture News: "This innovative facility will include dry storage for boats, retail spaces, offices, and amenities including a rooftop pool under a retractable roof. The project integrates an elevated pedestrian walkway providing splendid views of the Willamette River, its bridges, and downtown. Portland City Storage is targeting a USGBC LEED Gold certification and will also generate alternative electrical power thanks to a wind farm located at the top of the building."


:: image via WAN

I have a more substantial post underway about some of this more site-scale wind generation appearing on a number of buildings - and it's an exciting trend to see this evolution. I think it is similar to water movement in the fact that there is a specific visual and physical connection between natural processes and the subsequent sustainable element. Take this a bit further, as tossed around in a project meeting earlier this week, what about taking the idea of rainwater capture and gravity flow through pipes in a building from rooftop to storage - then intervene and tap the energy generating potential by adding microturbines within pipes that could provide additional electricity generation?


:: image via Hydro

This brand of experimentation and techno-innovation is one of the goals of our local Green Investment Fund, which is "...a competitive grant program that awards innovative and comprehensive projects that excel at energy efficiency, on-site storwmater management, water efficiency and waste prevention." Historically providing a catalyst for experimental projects, the GIF has moved more towards leveraging and expanding the sustainable features of large-scale, well-funded projects. While I can't say anything about the quality of projects, from Mercy Corps to Park Avenue West.


:: Mercy Corps (Thomas Hacker Architects) - image via PDC


:: Park Avenue West (TVA Architects) - image via TMT Development

A good number of the projects make me scratch my head regarding the goals of the GIF. Is it to fund project sustainability and transferability, or is it to provide a little increment break for large projects? I wonder why are we dropping a chunk of cash (i.e. $100k or, over a quarter of the total GIF funds on one project) on projects that are multi-million dollar budgets to start out with, and that are really not in as much need of these funds. This is discussed as well on Portland Architecture, with Libby wondering: "Is it right that these projects, many of which seem to come from the city's biggest developers, are the ones getting a lot of the public investment from the GIF?"
On the other hand, this may be the kick to make these projects a reality. The description of One Waterfront Place, via OSD: "When completed in early 2010, One Waterfront Place will be the first speculative office building to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED(r)) Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The 270,000 square foot building and garage built on a former brownfield will use a combination of ecoroofs, rain gardens and planters to treat stormwater on-site and restore wildlife habitat to this now-barren property. Tenants, visitors and community members will be able to view many of the building's green features, including a large solar photovoltaic system, from the Broadway Bridge and the new pedestrian bridge that will connect the Willamette Greenway to the Pearl District."


:: One Waterfront Place (Boora Architects) - image via Portland Architecture

It's a good project and a very good developer. They all are. But is that the point? I think One Waterfront Place and all of these projects would have happened and been plenty green without GIF funding. I personally know of a few innovative small projects that had a GIF funding or nothing element to them... these are all great projects, but when I hear grant-funding I imagine something that can provide that edge to make a vision a reality. There are a couple of smaller scale projects that recieved funding, but I'm guessing based on these previous submittals - it's going to make it less likely that innovative small-scale projects (which could provide an experimental laboratory for larger-scale projects) will even seek funding.

To follow this up, I will post later this week about the Oregon ASLA award winners, which were announced at a celebration last weekend. Stay tuned for more on this. And spinning around to round this back to landscape architecture, congratulations on the announcement of landmark status for Herbert Bayer's fantastic Earthworks (via Something About Maryman). Read more about Bayer at the TLCF website. That's a big win for the good guys!




:: Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks - image via City of Kent

It's an Eco-Planning World

Time to re-engage with the amazing eco-planning happening around the globe. We took a tongue-in-cheek look with the Suburb Eating Robots, as well as a more in depth and serious look at Auroville, a visionary community in southern India. For a great follow-up to this project, read Brice Maryman's first-person account of a design-build trip to Auroville, complete with video documentary that gives a great visual and personal account of the process. Looks like fun.

:: image via Something About Maryman

Taking mass-customization to a greater extend is the very unique ORDOS 100 collaborative project happening in Inner Mongolia. Led my Herzog & de Meuron, the project involved a unique platting of 100 parcels (by FAKE Design), and the subsequent selection by HdM of 100 architects from around the globe to design the individual villas.

:: image via Archidose

An overview from the website: "The scope of the project is to Develop 100 hundred villas in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China, for the Client, Jiang Yuan Water Engineering Ltd. FAKE Design, Ai Wei Wei studio in Beijing, has developed the masterplan for the 100 parcels of land and will curate the project, while Herzog and de Meuron have selected the 100 architects to participate. The collection of 100 Architects hail from 27 countries around the globe. The project has been divided into 2 phases. The first phase is the development of 28 parcels while the second phase will develop the remaining 72. Each architect is responsible for a 1000 square meter Villa."

:: Zone B Site Plan - image via ORDOS 100

The most poignant comment about the layout comes via Archidose: "Looks like suburbia in Mongolia to me. Looks like it was designed by the client, not by the artist who collaborated with Herzog & de Meuron on the Bird's Nest, among other projects. It's apparently surrounded by more of the same, but it's disappointing nevertheless. The green space (in grey, running from the body of water on the left to the cluster of darker-grey cultural buildings on the right) attempts to salvage things, though its scale is a bit paltry."

It will be interesting to see how the build-out happens with the forced eclecticism. Also interesting is the concept of exporting the very western idea of suburbia, which is permeating China, Pakistan, Argentina, Europe, and Latin America. As mentioned in the USA Today article: "The suburbs represent, almost like a cliché, the American dream," says New York architect Kevin Kennon, who has worked in China and Pakistan and is the executive director of the Institute for Architecture and Urban Study. "I can own a piece of land, I can have my house on that land. … It allows people to point to something that they own and distinguish it from other houses, even if they look the same."

:: Brownsville or Beijing? - image via USA Today

One project that may offer a glimpse of both what ORDOS 100 will turn up architecturally - and a way of combating the homogenization that seems typical of suburban development is the Next-Gene20 project for the island of Taiwan. Via Archinect: "MVRDV, Kengo Kuma and Julien De Smedt are among the 20 architects designing 20 villas on the island of Taiwan. The Spaniard Fernando Menis, Berlin and LA based Graft, as well as 10 Taiwanese practices are among the other architects taking part."

Some project images via BDonline provide a glimpse of the diversity of this multi-designer approach.

:: Villa by Kengo Kuma - image via BDonline

:: Villa by Halim Suh - image via BDonline

:: Villa by Toshiko Mori - image via BDonline

:: Villa by Julien De Smedt - image via BDonline

:: Villa by Irving Hung-Hui Huang - image via BDonline

This may be the antidote to suburbia that is synonymous with row's of 'ticky-tacky little boxes', but in the economic sphere of development - does this make sense, or is it mere utopian thinking to imagine singular custom designs on a mass scale. It may not be affordable for the masses, whom are relegated to the cookie cutter subdivision and same variety of 3 houses. Perhaps the root of the issue is the pattern of development, so let's take a look at an idea of reinventing the suburban pattern.

:: Tessellated tile pattern - image via Treehugger

Treehugger offers one glimpse of this alternative through the work of Malaysian architect Mazlin Ghazali, who "...notes that "In developing countries only the very rich can afford to live in quarter-acre single-family houses located in a cul-de-sac. How can the cul-de-sac be made affordable for more people and for the environment? Can we have cul-de-sacs without sprawl?" He then builds on traditional Muslim tessilated designs to turn them into honeycombs with duplex, triplex, quadruplex or sextuplex units."

:: images via Treehugger

Or there are those not happy with the status quo who set out to create and live a different lifestyle. This lineage of utopian design and planning has a long and somewhat sordid past. Forbes magazine undertook a study of some of the successes and failures in the 'Utopia' special report. This requires some further posting, but a glimpse of the coverage, starting with successes, see a photo essay of 'Eight Modern Utopias' and the failures 'American Utopias'. Look for more on this report at a later date.

:: Findhorn Community - image via Forbes

:: Drop City Colorado - image via Forbes

When it comes down to it, the success or failure of eco-planning is not a singular question. It does rely on one silver bullet of planning, pattern, policy or design. Nor is it merely a question of lifestyle and utopian visionary thinking. All of these things succeed and fail in equal doses. And as we work to cure this and experiment - we also export our suburban ideaology and illness to other cultures. What makes one or the other concept work is the collective interweaving of good planning, flexible policy, appropriate design, and most importantly - people whom are open to and willing to make this work. I'd posit that our current suburban blight is less a design or planning issue than one of misguided and misunderstood social policy. That's where we will find these solutions... and these will continue to guide the myriad schemes and new ideas flooding our eco-planning world.

Veg.itecture #22

I'm giving a presentation next week at work about Vegetated Architecture, and spent a good amount of time sifting through some interesting additions, as well as some old favorites from the archives. It is interesting when compiling this information to see how the evolution of the concept has occurred over the very brief amount of time I have been writing about it. Between this and Grey to Green, I have definitely had rooftop and building greening on the brain - which, as you can see, requires a lot of catching up...


:: The Hermitage at Queen Caroline's gardens at Richmond (circa 1728) - image via gardenhistorygirl

We have evolved, a bit. For starters, a stunning and expansive elevated site from Steven Holl for the invited competition for the New York Hudson Yards via G-Living. The proposal offers the following massive vegetated structure which: "...calls for a roof garden spanning 19 acres and thus creating a microclimate for the city. On site will also be an amphitheater, a performance hall, commercial and residential spaces, a water strip that will collect and purify rainwater, grey and stormwater recycling, and a co-generation plan... turning the underused space into a sustainable and thriving area."

:: images via G-Living

I think they might have meant 'positive microclimate' or something, as creating a microclimate takes absolutely no intervention. But alas, it is an interesting project and a grand scale - with at least sustainable features in the discussion from day one. Another one with some interesting form via BDonline, (and ripe for interpretation) is the Nato's new Headquarters in Brussels by SOM - featuring some non-descript rooftop greenery in the webbing of the one of the 'fingers'.


:: image via BDonline

And sometimes seredipity - or just a constrant stream of greenery - as I write this, a notice that caught my eye - with the phrase 'Parti Wall, Hanging Green' via Architecture.MNP - which featured a collaborative project by the Young Architects Boston Group (consisting of - Ground, Höweler + Yoon Architecture, LinOldhamOffice, Merge Architects, MOS, over,under, SsD, Studio Luz, UNI, and Utile). This project addresses the blank facades left with potential future development - and comes up with a ecological and aesthetic solution... at least from afar.


:: image via Architecture.MNP

I definitely love the first image, but when a closeup is shown... it looks like something between a mossy shower curtain and a nasty green terry cloth bathmat. I think it is representational, as A.MNP mentions: "The supported planted panels will vary in dimension, and allow the team to tests different systems and plant types for permanent installations in the future." Phew! I like a green future, but maybe not like this.


:: image via Architecture.MNP

Veering away from our humble roots into space-age design is a hotel in Lernacken, Malmö, Sweden by Space Group Arkitekter. I am not sure what I like more: the ribbons of green space atop the bluff, or the ethereal overlooks to the water's edges - especially this tasty night shot.


:: image via WAN

Snapping through, we find some strange green fuzz atop a Toronto development by Raw Design.


:: image via WAN

...and a sprawling campus green in Pune, India for INOX Air Product Ltd. with some parking and low building roof vegetation that looks much better at ground level than from the air.




::images via WAN

...as well as Deep Green, Knowlton School of Architecture student Marc Syp's creation with a sweet rooftop futuristic space.


:: image via Archinect

And a happy ending in pure fantasy (what better to change the slow course of architectural discourse) is a visionary entry to the NVDIA/CGSociety competition for NVArt: Art Space. Spotted on The Design Blog, it's a vision that of course includes veg.itecture: "Technological creations occupy the center stage and yet the concept is in harmony with nature; the model is replete with green parks and gardens."


:: image via The Design Blog

Past, present, future... full circle - that's Vegetated Architecture we can all appreciate.

AIA 2008 COTE Top-10

The recently announced winners of the 2008 AIA COTE Top Ten Winners unearthed some fantastic projects - and a whole lot of sustainable features and some Vegetated Architecture as well. In honor of Earth Day 2008, we thought it appropriate to showcase those verdant and green selections here.

The Yale University Sculpture Building and Gallery by Kieran Timberlake Associates features sustainable landscape in a number of ways: "The green roof on the gallery and native plant landscaping, which includes mature trees, serves as a connective habitat patch for avian species moving through the urban corridor between these parks."

:: image via ArchitectureWeek

The next selection is the Aldo Leopold Legacy Center in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Previously dubbed the "Greenest Building in the World" via Treehugger and some reported hyperbole via Rick Fedrizzi. The work of The Kubala Washatko Architects features some great features and is the first 'carbon neutral' operating building recognized by LEED. Some site features include wood harvested from on-site trees, rainwater scuppers, and a greater idea of fitting the greater landscape context - something Leopold would have appreciated.

:: images via Treehugger

The Ceasar Chavez Library in Phoenix by Line and Space featured sustainability with desert style - with rainwater harvesting and storage in a nearby lake - as well as high efficiency landscape irrigation system to cut water use by over 50%. Additionally (via AIA Top Ten): "Water from patio and foundation drains is piped to trees surrounding the library, and condensate from rooftop mechanical units is used to irrigate the vegetated island of the new parking lot."

:: image via AIA Top Ten

Closer to home, the Discovery Center at South Lake Union by MillerHull is a great example of design for deconstruction and reuse amidst native PNW landscaping. It is interesting to see how temporariness and deconstructabilty lead to a very light touch in regards to landscaping - but I guess that makes sense rather than invest in significant landscaping that will be ripped out eventually (but this building is in a park so that's definitely a debatable issue).

:: image via Treehugger

The Pocono Environmental Education Center by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson is located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennslyvania for the National Park Service, and involved a creative reuse of materials and simple details. From AIA Architect: "The design is a layered solution in which visitors pass through the forest, cross a wetland, enter the building through an opening in the dark north wall, and cross through a bar of service spaces into the bright, sun-lit main room. The jury said they were impressed by the economy of the project and applauded the use of simple materials and simple details... The jury also said they loved the creative use of the discarded tires reclaimed from the site for use as walls."

:: image via AIA Architect

Other projects that have garnered awards this year include:

:: Garthwaite Center for Science & Art, by Architerra (Boston, MA).

:: image via AIA Top Ten

:: Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life by Vincent James at Tulane University.

:: image via Tulane

:: Nueva School Hillside Learning Complex by Leddy Maytum Stacy.

:: image via AIA Top Ten

:: Macallan Building Condominiums by Office dA and Burt Hill in Boston, Massachusetts

:: image via AIA Top Ten

Finally, one of my favorite projects of the year so far, is the Queens Botanical Garden Visitor Center in Flushing, NY by BKSK Architects has been featured on L+U previously, with a wide range of sustainable features and vegetated architecture - including a native plant green roof, innovative stormwater management, and a mountable sloping vegetated rooftop to ground connection.

:: image via Wired New York

Check out more on this project here. Overall, it's interesting that these projects, the cream of the green crop is starting to evolve into the realm of integrated site and building, with some inventive irrigation systems and green roofs but there still seems to primarily be the standard disconnect between green building technology and how this interacts with landscape. It's going to be an interesting trend to see how vegetated architecture continues to drive these award winning projects. Should be even more exciting in years to come.

Reading List: Inspired by Nature: Plants

This past weekend, I swung by my local mecca of all things printed word, and as always was both struck and disappointed with the selection of architectural titles. One they had in the newish 'green building' section at Powell's was 'Inspired by Nature - Plants: The Building Botany Connection' by Bahamon, Perez, and Compello (published by WW Norton). I had seen something about this and bookmarked it for future use, but decided to pick it up. And for anyone whom appreciates the metaphorical abstractions of architecture and vegetation would do well to pick up this one. (NOTE: most images below are not from the book, but are examples and diagram similar to the projects shown therein)


:: image via Amazon

The book was published in Spain originally in 2006 and thus is penned by a trio of Spaniards - Alejandro Bahamon (architect), Patricia Perez (landscape engineer) and Alex Campello (architect and landscape architect) - which makes it a truly interdisciplinary endeavor. The overall conceptual framework is not Vegetated Architecture as much as it is a primer on organic architecture source material and it's potential inspirations for architectural form. Drawing from a number of vegetal sources and architectural examples. "Accompanying the images of built examples... are botanical drawings and an explanation of why natural forms make good models for structure."

:: Botanical Diagram Analog - image via Unified Worlds

This direct connection between architecture and building is extrapolated in the Introduction by Perez - who proposes that: "...the observation of nature and experimentation have long served as tremendously valuable methods in designing architectural forms." She proposes that "...the main objective of this book is to reveal the analogical similarities that can exist between contemporary architecture and the vegetal kingdom as a result of adaptation processes." Continuing: "...the diverse formal, structural and physiological attributes proper to the vegetal element will be analyzed on the basis of the relationship between plants and their surrounding space and environment, comparing the most relevant adaptation and survival methods with those reflected through architecture."

The introduction continues to discuss ideas of plant evolution, as well as delving into some of the analogies between the botanical world and architecture. One idea that is prevalent is the idea of a building as a tree - and particularly the idea of immobility, efficiency, and competition. This spreads beyond form to the arrangements of elements, an analogue that draws the following summary: "Urbanism in architecture and plant sociology in ecology are are disciplines that, as well be demonstrated here, can offer parallel readings of the different forms of coexistence that occupy the planet."

The intro ends with a overview of the structure of the book, which essentially becomes the functional analogues that are taken from plants and applied to buildings:

:: Light and Spatial Arrangement

:: Water Control

:: Temperature Control

:: Extreme Conditions

:: Defense

:: Homologies

This is really the meat of the book - and probably the more successful of the parts of the book (compared to the actual project examples). Most of these are self-explanatory, and drawn from scientific processes that are the language of botany and agronomy. For instance, homologies, which "...refers to the general and quite ancient observation of similarity of form seen in the biological world of animals or plants...", and the "...anatomical correspondences between different species..." is a common scientific evolutionary function.

:: Plant Homologies - image via Berkeley Understanding Evolution

This translation of function to form is a great methodological lesson - which is applicable to not only aesthetic ideas, but functional aspects as well. In this way it bridges the art/science question, and becomes a sort of code-book to applied Vegetated Architecture. Some of the other notable projects featured in the book illuminate these ideas a bit more. For instance, the Fire and Police Station by Sauerbruch Hutton Architects in Berlin - which features multi-hued movable glass panels that elicit a parasitic relationship to the more austere existing structure.

:: image via Picassa album by Rich

A further analog is drawn between the idea of plant canopy and the concept of interception and water capture in the World Birding Center by LakeFlato Architects in Mission, Texas.


:: image via LakeFlato

Another idea is the concept of season variation and leaf fall - epitomized in the transitional facade of the Somis Hay Barn by Studio Pali Fekete Architects in Somis, California. The peeling away of the hay bales creates temporal change and constant evolution: "At the end of the fall when it is stacked, the hay is freshly cut and green in color. Over the following months and after the hay has dried and adopted a yellowish color, it is removed and used to feed the cattle."

:: image via Architectural Record

The elegance of some of the vegetated abstraction is subtle, using forms of nature in artistic ways by modifying or perforating the surface material. One elegant example is the Sfera Building by Claesson Koivisto Rune in Kyoto, Japan. The pattern of cherry blossoms is evocative of Japanese concepts of patterned screens and woodcut engravings.


:: image via Build Blog

There are many more, and I do really like the ideas, but perhaps something is lost in the cultural translation of the 'buildingbotany connection' as some of the examples were slightly forced, or less relevant when analyzed further. Also, there was definitely a fair amount of reliance on discrete metaphor to make these links (i.e. building as a tree) - such as Alsop's Sharp Centre for Design...


:: Sharp Centre for Design, Ontario - image via Archidose

...or quite literal used of plant forms - such as the use of abstract panels and other facade treatments evocative of plants, of which there are many examples in the book, including the Dutch Embassy in Poland by Erick van Egeraat.

:: Dutch Embassy, Poland - image via Architektura

These are definitely some original ideas (or at least a methodology for presenting them) that have gained even more traction in recent months and have been featured here on L+U - as examples such 'Sakura' by Mt. Fuji, Mcdonough's 'Building as a Tree' or Maynard's 'Tattoo House' offer some great additional ideas. The other concept I think interesting is the fact that the book is set up as a potential series... Inspired by Nature - with a range of other ideas to include - as there are a catalogue of potential options to run out this theoretical thread.

One final thought... in perhaps an example of Lost in Translation came in reading the bibliographic reference is the Spanish title 'Arquitectura Vegetal: Analogias entre el Mundo Vegetal y La Arquitectura Contemporanea' - which from a quick translation is roughly, gasp!... "Vegetal Architecture: Analogies between the Vegetal World and Contemporary Architecture."

Familar and Brilliant... totally brilliant... and from the sound of it, maybe even more brilliant in the original Spanish...

Go: West 8 Young Man

I try to hide my distaste or love for things landscape+urbanist in the quest for some sort of neutrality (um, ok, not really). Without critical evaluation and dialogue - we lack the capacity to expand our thinking and examine our interventions in ways that are beneficial to us individually and collectively. Or in short, we have taste, and like certain things, and dislike others. In this vein, I have a hard time controlling my joy of seeing anything done by West 8 both for it's whimsical graphics and heady, but grounded ideas (read more about the firm and said philosophy here). This will be an on-going referential discussion about their work, so check back for more down the road.


:: Cow - Horizon Project - image via West 8

A recent competition win for W8 was the much publicized design for NY Governor's Island... which had still competition from a number of high-powered multi-disciplinary teams. From an overview via West 8: "Imagine an extraordinary new public park that embraces all New York Harbor, its ecology, its history, its culture, its magnificent beauty. Surrounded by water, steeped in the natural and cultural history of the estuary, Governors Island will re-emerge as the next great "world park": an icon for the city, a beacon in the harbor. West 8 proposed an extensive and coherent design for this 2nd park for New York."


:: Overall Site - images via West 8

The following is a series of images from the competition, which I believe pick up on these threads of representational techniques that will, or likely already has, redefine landscape architectural communication. These are not necessarily West 8 creations (as others use them equally as often and well) - but it's become one of the synonyms for edgy design/landscape urbanism for this type of technique.




:: Governor's Island - images via West 8

Gone are the soft-focus colored pencil techniques, or illustrative cartoonery that has so dominated the field and it's expression. While not veering into the photo-realistic, these digital montages provide both evocations of materials, use, feeling, and most importantly - and actual place.




:: Governor's Island - images via West 8

Ok, it's obvious I'm smitten with the techniques, but let's delve a bit deeper into some of these techniques. For instance, all of the following images look tacitly fake (i.e. representational). But, let's look at some of the communication techniques. In the first image, there is the massing crowd, stage-setup that evokes the ability to gather and provide entertainment (i.e. revenue) and activity (i.e. success). Also, the background Statue of Liberty connects to place, and the smattering of vegetation (esp. the swath or red flowers, and craggy butte) connects this to other on-site activity zones. Finally the foreground shows us hanging out with some hip park users, with the dress and tattoo actually becoming implicit in the design of this space - design via the art and action of the inhabitants.


:: image via West 8

A more representational landscape is below, with somewhat abstrated fields of red amidst pathways. Hard to discern from a distance, the foreground clues into the vegetated monoculture that is forming these patterns. Also the user groups (humans=kids + families) as well as habitat (extreme foreground butterfly/moth).


:: image via West 8

A similar representation of the rocky crag pathway evokes a more determined park user in a verdant forest canopy, climbing the switchback path as exercise or climbing and sliding in a more playful manner. The stone, the lush ground plane, the overstory letting rays of light slip in - and again, the habitat butterfly pairs evoke nature as well as play and mystery, all essential landscape components.


:: image via West 8

Perhaps it's less about place, as I previously mentioned, and more about experience. These series show context, design, use, program, flexibility, and ecology while being engaging. These are also devoid of some of the data-heavy diagramatic graphics that also populate a good amount of LU / competition imagery. This experience can be rendered for different users, times of day, and seasons.




:: Jarvis' Slip - images via West 8

While never far from originator Adriaan Geuze as a marquee headliner for the firm, West 8 has acheived some pretty amazing success as of late. Not that it is all the most fantastic design and theory in my opinion. There are probably better designers - and much more cogent theorists - but that it is more often than not edgy, thoughtful and meaningful. It will be interesting to see more work as it actually turns into real projects - and see if that can hold through the implementation process. Much like a beautifully rendered building that is underwhelming in reality - the build-out of these landscapes are subject to much more constraint as budgets, materials, and well, just plain reality kick in.


:: Schouwburgplein (1991) Rotterdam - image via West 8


:: Interpolis Garden, Tilburg - image via West 8


:: Kröller Müller Museum Scupture Garden, Otterlo - image via West 8


:: Chiswick Park, London - image via West 8

The previous showed a few examples of this via the West 8 website. There is definitely a disconnect between visual and physical representation, but I think these are definitely high-end build outs. To be clear this is not an overt criticism - as I have no referent for whether these are successful or not, but just that perhaps it is a double edged sword of landscape architecture that there is a disconnect between design illustration and physical implementation.




:: Falconplein, Antwerp (image + construction) - images via West 8

I can think of two reasons. Time necessary for growth, and constant evolution through seasons. Unlike a building, which arguably is not static, a landscape is NEVER static... and thus a 2D represetation of a snapshot in time is one milli-second in the lifespan. Paving is also something more immediate, as are structures, but landscape is tough to capture in any media. I'm sure you could capture the life of the renderings if you were patient... hovering around a space for many days waiting for these impromptu moments. But design wise- it is success, as these containers definitely make it possible. But more often than not, you will find organic use, growth in various stages, and well, flexibility.


:: Kröller Müller Museum - image via West 8

What sent me along this path of West 8 adoration were a few recent sources. One was the recent publication of West 8 in the AD Landscape: Site/Non-Site, as well as my getting my hands on their latest monograph. Also, a poignant moment was some analysis by the super-observant and always compelling Eikongraphia. The site took on some of the work of West 8 in terms of symbolic representation (landscape as icon) and it made me re-evaluate some of my earlier knee-jerk reactions with some new understanding.

Stay tuned for more about these sources and aspects of West 8 and their work in coming weeks...

Metropolitan Fauna

One major theme that our Integrating Habitats winning team entry was the ability to address the interwoven patterns of urban fauna and urban form. There are numerous reasons why keeping a vital mix of flora, and fauna, along with people, is essential to the proper functioning of cities and urban processes. This investigation of species flows really shaped the entire site plan - to avoid conflicts between human users and fauna while maintaining possible interactions between the two.

:: Habitat/Site Flows - image via Jason King, et. al.

There are some interesting precedents and imagery associated with this form of mapping - trying to capture the essence and interaction of development, urbanism, and habitat. These interactions are fleeting - particularly when you try to depict them in a two-dimensional media. They are also evolutionary, as we see from some of the recent information gleaned on the subject from a number of sources.

First, the evolutionary modification. As reported in BLDGBLOG, via a story in New Scientist, as somewhat disturbing trend: City Songbirds are Changing their Tune. The article outlines the adaptations that city birds are making to be heard above the cacophony of city noises, such as changing the pitch, and frequency of calls. Our urban ecologists may have to re-tune to the city vs. rural species when spotting these specialized communicators.

:: image via BLDGBLOG

While notable and disturbing on a base level, it could actually create evolutionary splits in the rural / urban species of birds as they adapt to environmental stimuli (via BLDGBLOG): "If singing and hearing diverge enough, urban birds may be less likely to find the vocals of rural birds attractive, or even to recognise them as members of the same species. These changes could serve to eventually split populations into genetically distinct urban and rural species. Alternatively, different populations of the same species might adopt differing strategies to cope with urban noise, leading eventually to a species split occurring in birds living in the same neighbourhood."

Macro-scale migratory flyways have typically been mapped as linear flows - and though they evolve - tend to stick to typical pathways that link vital stopover spots (marshland, lakes, wetlands, potholes, etc.). Well, that is until we either (1) remove, in part or wholesale, the stopover points through filling, developing, depleting habitat. Hunting takes a fraction, as well as winter habitat loss and other factors like building collision, predation by domesticated pet, and a number of other concepts - or - (2) disrupt the flow patterns in some way. One item that is constantly discussed as we evolve new clean(er) technologies such as wind, it is interesting to see how these two uses interact - as they tend to occupy the same space.

:: image via Treehugger

There is a common misconception (although not definitive one way or the other) that wind-turbines and bird migration are incompatible. A Treehugger posts attempts to illuminate some of this disparity (read the whole post), with a recap: "In the United States, cars and trucks wipe out millions of birds each year, while 100 million to 1 billion birds collide with windows. According to the 2001 National Wind Coordinating Committee study, “Avian Collisions with Wind Turbines: A Summary of Existing Studies and Comparisons to Other Sources of Avian Collision Mortality in the United States," these non-wind mortalities compare with 2.19 bird deaths per turbine per year. That's a long way from the sum mortality caused by the other sources."

:: image via DOE

So as we narrow the focus to more micro-scale analysis - how do we determine and map these semi-predictable flows to a resolution that is adequate for real design strategies. A recent post on Pruned on 'Faunal High Jinks' had a vision of some possibilities, using RFID technology is Michiko Nitta's 'Animal Messaging Service' (A.M.S.) which proposes a guerilla postal service to reduce our impact to the global ecosystem destruction.

:: image via Pruned

Pruned does a great job of giving an overview and the usual informative context around the project: "The A.M.S. is an alternative form of communication whereby so-called extreme green guerrillas “send messages internationally by hacking into the animal migration system.” The environmental benefit of this is that it doesn't tie you to big corporations, as one would be if using the Internet and mobile phones, and unlike conventional postal systems, it doesn't leave a huge carbon footprint."

:: image via Pruned

And to turn it back around on this site and it's regular content, Pruned remarks: "What if everyone, to the ultimately surprise of Michiko Nitta, fully subscribes to her vision of the extreme green lifestyle and cities everywhere adopt the A.M.S. as the default mode of communication? What then would the physical form of the city be like if its networked infrastructure is based primarily on zoology? Is this where “vegi.tecture” reaches its true potential? "

:: image via Pruned

That would definitely have some interesting ramifications in the design of our urban areas, public space, buildings, and interstitial zones. Is it out of the realm of reality that we could and will design with this level of knowledge and understanding - truly veg.itecture that is proactive - both at a building and a city level.

:: images via Pruned

It is the 10 million dollar question. Not that we understand and implement based on our best information and knowledge - but how do we provide an accurate and sensible translation of science and information into design and placemaking. We often discuss lofty goals associated with sustainable design - but are we really accomplishing what we say? Do we actually create habitat? If so, is it correct and appropriate for the preferred species composition for our very artificial ecosystems? These are definitely not answers - but a way of leading us to ask the right questions.

I often bemoan the artificiality of some of these statements... and habitat is one of the worst offenders (followed closely by heat-island mitigation, and water quality/pollutant uptake). We don't know enough yet about a number of our interventions, and it requires a significant amount of brio to make these claims if we don't have the proof and science to back it up. My thought on the changing face of the profession is that we will be designers, generalists, and interpreters... but projects, if we are to truly make them successful and sustainable, must become more collaborative - with a much larger group of collaborators than we are currently including.

The onus falls on both parties. Science that is hyper-focused and non-transferable may be interesting but is hardly useful. Science can be crafted so results are able to be applied to situations in meaningful ways without over-generalization that renders the results useless. Designers need to be more open to including 'experts' on team (and for that matter, clients who have lofty goals need to be more willing to pay for additional consultants). We also need to be more diligent in our research, application and interpretation... essentially smarter, so our designs with nature don't end up making a passing reference to ecology and science, but really do either nothing, or contribute to the degradation.

Perhaps what I'm talking about is all of us changing our tune - when it comes to doing better design and planning?

Furnish Green

Picking up some threads of a recent post about some inventive site furnishings, as well as the ongoing obsession with Vegetated Architecture brings another melding of the two. A range of vegetated furniture that ranges from the purely decorative to the downright functional. First, a quick shot from Michael Cannell's blog at Dwell - with some unique seating spotted at the Milan Furniture Fair.


:: image via Dwell

Another interesting furnishing seen a bunch over the past few weeks is from Greenform, and the bench 'Relax' by designer Stephan Stauffacher... which is more art piece than furniture, with a 5" height and grass-stain causing surface... but I strangely want one, filled with some different type of plant...


:: image via gardenhistorygirl

A bit more functional are a couple of examples of GYO furniture, via Inhabitat. First is the TerraGrass Armchair kit featuring a cardboard frame that is filled with soil and planted for a comfy looking overstuffed chair.


:: image via Inhabitat

Another from Inhabitat - with a Lawn Couch DIY kit feature from the magazine Ready-Made (link to this project seems to be gone)...


:: image via Inhabitat

And another from designer Julian Lwin, via Inhabitat: "The recycled cardboard cylinders of the new “Ephemeral BioTube Bench” are embedded with seeds using a cellulose liquid, so that as they are exposed to moisture, rain and light, they biodegrade (to a rich mulch layer) and turn into an instant garden."


:: image via Inhabitat

Taking this to other forms of furnishing, a table with a built-in-trough for some sort of vegetation - we'll call it a living centerpiece. 'Side Table' is by designer Jonas Hauptmann - as seen on The Design Blog seems perfect for a stand of cut-your-own lemongrass, or perhaps a nice area for someone to hide those brussel sprouts.

:: image via Hauptmann Products Inc.

Taking functional furnishings a bit further, GreenU, by Andrew Volpe, a student at the Northern Michigan university envisions a self-contained and self-sufficient shelter, information kiosk, seat, recycling/trash receptacle all in one handy, sustainable, easy to assemble vegetated unit.

:: images via The Design Blog

Maybe the artful inclusion of vegetation into the idea of furnishings can avoid the inevitable wardrobe changes that may be necessary to comfortably occupy urban spaces. While a tad tongue-and-cheek, there is some social commentary associated with Archisuits by Sarah Ross - which meld fashion, function and localism to accomodate the specific seating barriers in Los Angeles.

:: images via Sarah Ross

Veg.itecture #21

A few choice projects in the realm of Vegetated Architecture. Also, stay tuned for my review of the innaugural issue of GRHCs 'Living Architecture Monitor' of which they were kind enough to send me a copy. I perused it on the bus this evening, and it's definitely one of the better resources out there (more to come soon).

But on to the projects. As we discuss Living Architecture, Vegetated Buildings, Vegetated Architecture or what ever you call it - there tends to be the span of the realistic to the visionary - and we definitely offer a selection of projects along this continuum. On the more utopian side of the scale is The Locavore Fantasia, a project that has some great visuals from Agro-architects (at least lately) Work Architecture Company, the folks whom recently brought us the stunning and simple Public Farm 1.


:: image via NY Magazine

This project envisions an apartment topped by a functioning urban farm, with an eye towards reducing the foodprint... via NY Mag: "We are interested in urban farming and the notion of trying to make our cities more sustainable by cutting the miles [food travels]..." While I appreciate that this is fiction and hyperbole - the rickety structural table legs and aerial golf course give it some whimsical flourish that makes it less interesting. I like my fantasia at least some plausibility...

And plausible was one of those things you wondered about when renderings of this next project were unveiled a few years back... but it hasn't disappointed. I do like Renzo Piano's California Academy of Sciences building a lot, and it's definitely worth another look if Vanity Fair is going to dedicate some space to this "...fusion of nature and structure." Perhaps the first green roof in VF? Not sure, but probably a good bet. Check the nice photos with the vegetation filling in... And don't let Madonna on the cover scare you away...




:: images via Vanity Fair

A couple from WAN (they cover the world - and a lot of this Veg.itecture is happening out there... not in here) starting with the Emonika City Centre in Slovenia by HOK International. City Centre is a nice way of saying 'mall' - although I've said before what better type of building to do some rooftop greening that massive shopping structures...? Although a bit more of that mass could've been greened up a bit aside from the central glass atria.


:: image via WAN

The next project is a little difficult to discern. Monaco House in Melbourne is a project by McBride Charles Ryan which looks a little origami and contains ground-level retail with offices above. Vegetation is both functional as well as providing respite for workers: "Outdoor balconies provide areas of release from the office desk. The ‘green roofscape’ is similar space but also adds additional insulation to the upper floor." Although from the bottom photo, I have a really hard time figuring out what purpose and amenity this is supposed to bring, aside from putting green?




:: images via WAN

And what would a version of Veg.itecture be without some mega-project that has biomimicked a natural form. In this case The Design Blog offers Metropolia from Moscow, a business complex which takes the form of a very, very large lotus blossom. I'm not sure of the significance of the lotus in the Russian spirituality - but I'm sure that it may have something do to with the otherworldly power source emanating from the center.


:: image via The Design Blog

We end with a project that I really appreciate - both for it's great design and amazingly high price tag that I still can't imagine or begin to fathom... the esteemed ASLA Headquarters Green Roof in Washington DC. Featured recently on an extensive MSNBC profile of green roofs (along with Millenium Park and Ford Rouge Center) - the ASLA project also unveiled a pedogogical aspect with the new educational website that explains green roof benefits and does offer a zoomy if somewhat disorienting 360-degree tour of the project. No where on this site did I find out what you must do to design a roof with $300/s.f. price tag...


:: image via Places and Spaces

Now this... this is green roof with a $300/s.f. price tag... you go Wally!


:: image via Treehugger

Grey to Green: Action?

I mentioned previously the announcement of a proposal by Portland City Commissioner (and mayoral candidate) Sam Adams for 'Grey to Green'... after an epic roll-out - there has been little talk since. Well that has changed in a flash with another big invite to City Council for an event this week to take some action.




:: Grey to Green - images via Sam Adams

From Adams' blog:
"Portland is blessed with abundant rainfall. With it, our city grows lush and beautiful. But all of this rain comes with a challenge: our annual average of 37 inches creates a staggering 20 billion gallons of stormwater runoff every year. Without proper management, stormwater runoff can damage our watersheds, rivers, and streams. The good news is that Portland is well past the days of simply funneling stormwater into pipes that release fast-moving, dirty water directly into once-pristine rivers and streams.

In 2005, City Council embraced a holistic approach to watershed health in adopting the Portland Watershed Management Plan. With this new strategy and thanks to on-going help and a steady application of pressure from organizations like the Audubon Society of Portland and the Urban Greenspaces Institute, we are ready to step up our investments in clean rivers and streams to preserve our urban watersheds for generations to come. We're calling this shift in the way we do business "Grey to Green".

Portland is at the forefront of using "green infrastructure" - sustainable stormwater management technologies that mimic natural systems. The city is dotted with parking lot swales, green streets and rain gardens that filter stormwater pollutants and allow water to soak into the ground, replenishing groundwater supplies.
But repairing our urban landscape is not enough. We also need to restore and preserve existing natural areas throughout our city, by fighting invasive weeds, restoring native plants, protecting our most critical natural land, and replacing culverts that harm fish.

These are not new approaches, but shifting our focus and resources from grey to green is a vital step toward improving the health of our watersheds and rivers. With this shift comes the added benefit that we don't get from miles of piped sewers - cleaner air and water, reduced urban temperatures, and increased and improved habitat. And, these approaches often cost less than traditional piped systems. What excites me most is that this new approach allows every residence and business to be a part of the solution, whether it's installing an ecoroof or simply planting a tree.

Grey to Green is an investment that makes sense. And we are ready to act now.

A reception and City Council presentation on the Grey to Green initiative will be held on Wednesday, April 16th at Portland City Hall (1221 SW 4th Avenue)."

There is a more comprehensive PDF brochure as well via Adams' blog outlining the details of these endeavor including the following goals:

:: add 43 acres of ecoroofs
:: construct 920 green street facilities
:: plant 33,000 yard trees and 50,000 street trees
:: fight invasive weeds
:: replace 8 culverts blocking fish passage
:: purchase 419 acres of high priority natural areas

All of this sounds great. My reaction to all of this has been first: elation! as there is destined to be support financially which will encourage those on-the-fence developers or agencies to go-ahead with the ecoroof or green street project. Is this true? I truly hope so. And while I laud our lofty goals to get Portland some significant square footage, I also want to make sure there is adequate funding for Research and Development of all of these concepts. Acres and miles are great - but if we don't continue to improve the quality and function - as well as stop repeating mistakes - on future facilities, will we really have acheived our goals. For instance, since the first ecoroof project was installed, our local knowledge of what works has increase manifold. In spite of this, there are still mistakes being made that are preventable (in contrast to mistakes made while trying to push the boundaries, which are good, if we learn from them).

Another example is green streets... wow, these are new, and more and more examples abound that really redefine the potential for what can be accomplished with this technology. But if we take the models (which are great) and just make those our toolkit - we really miss out on the potential to study, learn, and adjust the configuration based on what's happening. Having worked on a few projects in both the ecoroof and green street arenas - I have yet to get one where we've figured it all out - but have amassed experiences that can be applied to the greater knowledge base, as well as to future projects. For some more info about this concept check out and contribute to Dave Elkin's blog: Sustainable Stormwater

So as we embark on Grey to Green - let's remember to include funding and opportunities for R&D, as well as promote and encourage information sharing -- to make all of that Green the best it can be!

Earth Day: BYOBlue

One week from today - another yearly affirmation of the trend towards sustainability. So what color best signifies Earth Day? Well, as previously mentioned, there will be a severe shift in the environmental movement away from the color green - as it is has become a cliche. I still don't buy it - but as April 22nd nears, let's look at another color - blue, as a way of celebrating this ever-growing sustainability phenomenon.

:: image via BuildingGreen

Ok, so this blue is tinged with a hazy charcoal black. For EarthDay, Architecture 2030 offers the chance for a collective shout-out against coal, via BYOBlue - with a number of challenges - the easiest to wear blue on April 22nd. From BYOBlue:

"Want to stop global warming? Wear BLUE for Earth Day 2008! Join millions of people around the world who will be wearing BLUE to signify their vote for NO COAL."

So if you are into these group collective activities - grab the blue out of the wardrobe and don it with pride. If you really want to make a statement, take a cue from another anti-coal related event with some interesting imagery was 'Face It', which challenged students to produce face-painting artwork, and videos with an overt anti-coal message. A couple of the winners are below:

:: images via Face It

I'm more of an Earth Day, Every Day guy personally - as one-day events typically make for good media and little change. Really, much like St. Patricks day, what's the worst thing to happen if you show up to works sans blue - maybe a pinch or some good-natured chiding from your eco-friends... ?

But it is a chance to do something to reaffirm our connection to the environment. Even if you work daily in service of ecology - it's good to step outside the daily routine and take on a different challenge. In this regard, our firm is doing a group Ivy-pulling at Tryon Creek State Park for EarthDay next week - and we're excited about sunshine (hopefully) and a chance to get our hands dirty and do something good that doesn't require sitting behind a desk or staring at a computer. And besides, English Ivy is rampant in natural areas throughout the Pacific Northwest - so every little bit counts. So, I say who cares what you wear (solidarity aside)... it's what you do. I will probably wear green... cliches be damned.

Aqueous Solutions Pt.3: Restoration

We complete this aqueous journey (don't you love when something simple turns into something wonderful?) and we end with some brutal reality and some hope as to our ability to turn the tide of our technological wrong-doing. I would posit that perhaps the most compelling reading of the year so far in landscape architecture were the two posts from Pruned in late-February 2008: 'Treating Cancer with Landscape Architecture' (Feb. 19) and 'Treating Acid Mine Drainage in Vintondale' (Feb 22). Together, in at least in the expansive realm of landscape architecture, the combined tale of these projects and the ability for landscape architecture, ecology, and design to actively provide not just sustainable design, but restorative design - definitely was a moment of reinvigoration into the profession.


:: Walk on Water - image via Atelier A+D

To avoid confusion, I will give an overview of each project and sum up at the end some thoughts. I'll keep the overviews brief, as Pruned as always does a wonderful job of giving quite comprehensive information on both. First, the proposed Phytoremediation of Silver Lake proposed by Cal-Poly Pomona Landscape Architecture Department offers a comprehensive view of the potential of landscape plantings to restore and reclaim a blighted landscape. In this case Silver Lake and nearby Elysian lake, reservoirs that supply drinking water to greater Los Angeles, which both have high levels of bromate, a known carcinogen.


:: Silver Lake - image via Pruned

In a nutshell, the proposal goes as such (a more complete overview can be had via Pruned) Terraces or 'modular biopods' provide remediation for the pollutants found in the waterways. Once cleansed, this water is stored in a subsurface tank prior to use. The water levels are raised to create more aesthetic park-like activities - which are infused with opportunities throughout to provide education on water pollution, use, and phytoremediation.

:: images via Pruned

As Pruned sums up: "It's landscape turned into a therapeutic and preventive medicine, applying natural processes into an artificial apparatus." In this regard, the functional/artificial processes are linked closely to nature's ability to provide cleansing via plants. Thus, there is a link to perhaps one of the best links for phytoremediation by John W. Cross - which is pretty accessible. I remember stumbling upon this site a few years ago when researching toxic removal with vegetation and it's pretty comprehensive. Pruned also mentions some good bibliography of phytoremediation as well.

The second project, the AMD & Art Park is a great project with a story of. I read about this recently as well in a great article in Orion that showcased the work of T. Allan Comp. AMD stands for Acid Mine Drainage, which is of course just what one thinks of when considering art and open space. The proposal is amazing in simplicity, ecology, and design. Comp brought together a multi-disciplinary team including Robert Deason, a hydrogeologist; Stacy Levy, a sculptor; and landscape architect Julie Bargmann, of L+U favorite D.I.R.T. Studio.




:: image via Pruned

An overview, via the Green Museum: "Polluted water flows along the colorful plantings of a "Litmus Garden" into a series of large gravity-fed water treatment ponds lined with crushed limestone to neutralize the pH and remove toxic metals. The water continues through bioremediation ponds and into an educational History Wetlands area which further purifies the water before it joins a nearby river."

The 'litmus garden' is not just a name, but an evocative feature playing on pH using a range of native plant species to display these (via Pruned) "Small groves or bands of thirteen native tree species were chosen for their autumn foliage colors. In the fall, the Litmus Garden trees will turn deep red around Pond 1 and grade through orange and yellow to blue-green at the end of the treatment system in Pond 6, creating a visual reflection of enhanced water quality — and a great reason for a Vintondale community fall celebration."

:: image via Pruned

Via Pruned: "The treatment zone is easily distinguished by a series of 7 keystone-shaped treatment ponds. No cutting edge nanotechnology or the latest transgenic organism or even heavy machinery is used. Turning the highly toxic water into one that you can swim in is done with elementary physics, chemistry and biology. Regular limestone, for instance, is applied instead to lower the water's acidity. Plants simply dying off and decaying in the winter and then returning in the spring also helps to change its pH level. Even gravity is utilized to help suspended metals settle out of the AMD."


:: image via Pruned

The park has been evolving for over 15 years, and has become a vital park to the community of Vintondale - offering ballfields and usable open space. The lesson is not the technology or design, but the end-goal, as Eric Reese in Orion stated: "...one of the most important elements of Vintondale may not be its water-treatment system or its sculptural installations, but rather its function as a potential model for many other such projects across the country."

And they brings us to the end of this journey along the many flowing courses that water takes us in design, planning, and daily life. Concluding this 3-part series on Aqueous Solutions, I'm struck by the wide range of scales and strategies necessary to both mitigate and solve some of these problems with water - either supply, usage, or toxicity. It dawns on me that all of these are linked in many ways - the smallest intervention or use (read: misuse) can have cumulative impacts that leave us with shortages or pollution - or both. On a larger scale, our grand technological 'fixes' seldom come without collateral impacts of some sort - to social systems or micro-scales that cannot be accomodated in macro-scale planning.

Water is often pressured to do so much for humanity that it is quite surprising that we haven't messed it up to an even greater degree. We drink it, consume it for industry, revel in it, celebrate it, recreate in it, store it, pump it, worship it, capture it, distribute it, budget it, circulate it, use and abuse it - all while bemoaning it's loss and contamination. Much like a number of sustainable strategies this isn't just a question of use - it's a question of cumulative actions resulting in a large-scale impact to a vital ecological system.

Our hydrology (and hydrological cycle) cannot be circumvented for our uses without consequences. Our ecology cannot be abstracted and packaged without some viscious backlash typical of nature misunderstood. Our chemistry can destroy water supplies with minimal inputs - and all of our ingenuity can't recapture what is lost. But there is definitely hope. By reducing our impacts, increasing our efficiency, and understanding the nature of how ecological systems function, and are innately resilient - we find the ability to repair, restore, and truly provide regenerative design strategies.

These projects should not be the special exceptions to make us feel good about the profession and our role in it. This must be the rule, the consistent truth of landscape architecture. If we continue to disregard our role in creating a better world (both as detrimental actors and as potential problem solvers) we will continue to marginalize ourselves and our true potential. Apply this theory beyond water to any issue... the real idea isn't the material - but the message: solutions.

Backtrack:

Part 1: Use/Reuse
Part 2: Provision

Aqueous Solutions Pt. 2: Provision

Picking up on a previous thread about Water - we deal with a bit more applicable material to large- and landscape-scale interventions and systems. A few of my favorite blogs - BLDGBLOG, Pruned, and Treehugger offered a variety of recent material regarding water - its provision and perhaps with some more time and luck, (and the topic of Part 3) it's probably restoration. Plus it's an idea that goes back to some of the threads from previously - that technology alone is not the answer. It requires using new science and knowledge in old ways - within the bounds of natural systems - to allow nature to heal. Or thinking of new ways of consuming and reusing - even as simple as taking a cue from the dog and lapping up the toilet water. Thought provoking stuff - as we can't all survive on self-watering planters if we are to make some really change in the world.


:: Walk on Water - via Atelier A+D

Starting off slow (or fast, depending on the time-scale you adhere to) with BLDGBLOG, and a short post, via the NY Times, on the release of water into the Colorado River from the Glen Canyon Dam. The goal was to provide water levels for Grand Canyon fish species. Via NYT: "The water poured out of the dam as if pumped through a gigantic fire hose, at the rate of 41,500 cubic feet per second – enough to fill the Empire State Building in 20 minutes. This release, which engineers call “high flow,” was meant to scour the river bottom and deposit silt and sediment to rebuild and extend sandbars and create new, calm backwater areas where the fish can spawn."


:: image via BLDGBLOG


:: Fill'er Up - image via NY Times

The metaphorical idea of filling the Empire State Building in 20 minutes was interesting - although still difficult to visualize. Either way, it's a lot of water coming very fast... and BLDGBLOG makes the observation that could be applied to a majority of rivers throughout the world: "So while it may be obvious to this point out, the implication is that the whole river is a machine now – and what appears to be a "river" is really a kind of liquid chart, graph, or diagram from which we can read the electrical needs of contemporary U.S. urbanism. The river, then, is a sign – it is information-bearing. It is textual, graphic, communicative. The controlled river, with its unnatural floods and valved reservoirs, indicates." (emphases per BLDGBLOG)


:: Historical Mississippi River Courses - image via Pruned

This acknowledgement of the water flows and the impacts on fish are not new, but the willingness for dam operators to allow 'high flow' is controversial, due to the fact that these releases impact power generation - which is one of the primary reasons for the dam in the first place. The talk of dam removal - a more permanent solution to restoring aquatic habitat and hydrology, has also gained momentum, with a number of decommissioning projects throughout the west either completed, underway or planned - which is good news for the fish, and perhaps us all.

Treehugger follows with a story of attempting to capture the potential of river flows in a more dissipated than large dams - using a series of microturbines along the stretch of the Mississippi River. "Swing by the Mississippi River a few years from now, and you may be surprised to see hundreds of thousands of miniature electric turbines dotting the fast moving river's bed. All the electricity generated by this massive "in stream" hydrokinetic project - around 1,600-MW - would be enough to power up to 1.5 million homes..."


:: Micro-turbine array - image via Free Flow Power

While not a perfect solution, this attempts to mitigate the monumental impacts of large-scale dam building on waterways - including impacts fish passage and boat navigation, according to the the Massachusetts-based company behind the plan Free Flow Power. Although the Army Corps of Engineers and other regulatory groups are concerned about the impacts to riverways (ironic, in a way) FFP insists that the methodology is strong, and it sounds like a viable alternative to large-scale dam power generation: "To minimize disruption to marine life, Free Flow Turbine Generators have an open center, a low rotation speed, and no exposed blade tips. Because the turbine does not use conventional bearings, there are no lubricants that can leak into the environment. By using existing infrastructure such as bridge abutments and by relying on a single piling to mount multiple Free Flow Turbine Generators, we will do everything possible to minimize disruption to river beds."

The remaining items essentially summarize a couple of posts from Pruned. These posts deal with water in similar ways - mostly related to the lack thereof and the lengths we are stretching to meet demands - in Spain and India respectively. First, via Pruned, outlines how water shortages in Spain continue to escalate, a number of options to provide for the shortfall have been considered, most significant (and seemingly the option of choice) is shipping, via boat, water from France. As quoted from New Scientist: "Barcelona and the surrounding region are suffering the worst drought in decades. There are several possible solutions, including diverting a river, and desalinating water. But the city looks like it will ship water from the French port of Marseilles."


:: image via Pruned

The infinitesimal amount of water makes the scheme somewhat ludicrous - but desperate times require somewhat desperate measures. No more true is this in a previous Pruned post on 'The New Hydrological Temples of Modern India' which is definitely required reading. The scheme, as a reaction to water shortages country-wide, involves linking: "... the majority of its major river basins through a vast network of canals, diverting billions of litres from the country's more water-rich river basins to those that are water-deprived.”


:: image via Pruned

There are some definite needs that are likely to be addressed in a monumental project like this - including the afforementioned water supply, nearly doubling the amount of arable land. There are also likely positive results of flood control, As Pruned reports, there are some definite issues with the size and scale - and calls to deal with the problems in less grandiose ways: "The solution lies in better management of existing water resources, rather than importing water for irrigation. A simple way to do this is by using large tanks to collect rainwater, which is later supplied to fields during dry periods. Indian irrigation practices could also be made more efficient. A lot of water is lost in evaporation or through drainage from unsealed irrigation canals, and the common practice of flood irrigation is wasteful compared with drip irrigation, which supplies water directly to the plant's roots. But the water used for irrigation is free, so Indian farmers have little incentive to adopt more economical methods."


:: image via Pruned

There are cultural implications of this as well - as dams are considered 'the temples of India' and Pruned speculates on the implications of these canals, dams, and hydrological infrastructure as perhaps the seeds of an expanded theology: "... one wonders what new deities will spring forth from these concrete rivers and what new rituals will be created to celebrate the wonders of moving water against topography, against gravity."

Part 1: Use/Reuse

Part 3: Restoration...

Aqueous Solutions Pt. 1: Use/Reuse

Water is obviously something we rely on for a number of things beyond mere existence. At the root of water, however, is it's ability to sustain us both physically and spiritually. It's disheartening then to see how much we take this for granted, or exploit and destroy this seemingly ubiquitous (yet actually very precious) resource. In this not, a couple of posts - one highlighting water and it's use. The second following up with some more active and grandiose interventions that explain a lot about we misuse, and inevitably are forced to be creative in curing these ailments.

:: Walk on Water - image via Atelier A+D

First off, a number of technologies - spanning the brilliant, the utilitarian, and the just plain silly - are the topic of this Sunday post, part one... showing the many ways in which water plays a vital roles in our lives and livelihoods. We start with the very smart Rainpod, which has been covered everywhere in the last week. Similar to the concept of flipping the umbrella upside-down this not-new, but newly reimagined technology provides site scale capture and reuse of rainwater.

:: image via MoCo Loco

Via MoCo Loco, "...David L'HÔTE's Rainpod is an attractive standalone rain collector that uses small local tree trunks to stand up. The tree trunks makes each Rainpod unique and saves transport costs for the unit. Says David, "many people want to switch to rainwater [from tapwater] but won't buy water collectors that look like big garbage cans". Rainpod is a prototype looking for a manufacturer." Somehow I don't think that finding a manufacturer will be much of a problem now. A number of options of sizes and shapes fit urban yards, rooftops, or other available space, and the system 'wings' can be folded down during wind or for transportation.

:: image via Moco Loco

Variations on rainwater storage are steadily emerging - providing a lot more flexibility than the agricultural tanks that have often been used out of availability and necessity. First the typical rain-barrel, which provides cheap diversion and capture (although as MyUGDG aptly points out, if you're going to put in a large barrel for all to see, at least take it as an opportunity to do it in STYLE)... perhaps without a spigot wielding guy attached to what looks like a garbage bin...?

:: Water Butt - image via Ecofirst (demonstration dude not included)

If you are leaning towards special spatial needs the Australian Waterhog is a great example that looks like school lockers and provide tall, thin-profile modular systems for storing water. One benefit of a taller system is more water pressure as it is has a concentrated volume... plus these guys could fit anywhere.

:: WaterHOG - image via The Design Addict

Along the same lines, and squarely targeting emerging cultures where water access and quality can mean the difference between life and death - is the 'PlayPump' - and hybrid merri-go round water pump to provide fresh drinking water through kids playing. This is an brilliant idea (first showing up in 2005 - and more likely earlier) - but re-emerged via Treehugger with the proclamation that the technology "...Saves Lives in Africa... Capable of producing up to 1,400 liters of water per hour from a depth of 40 meters, PlayPump, a South African NGO has so far donated and installed 1,000 pumps to communities in South Africa, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia." Looks like fun...

:: image via Treehugger

Self-watering planters are not a new idea as well, but have emerged again in a couple of forms that mostly just make me chuckle... the first from Grobal is the 'techno-organic' self-watering pots... via Inhabitat: "...The easily accessible “grow chamber” draws water and nutrients from the reservoir below into the soil in the top chamber. Each Grobal kit comes with a DIY greening system: the Grobal self-watering planter, Grobal soil, 3 - Grobal ‘plant food hydropaks’ and simple, illustrated, full-color instructions. You can easily transplant your favorite house plant, carnivorous plant, succulent or just about any other plant you like into the Grobal planter. Maintenance simply entails adding water through the ‘Nutriport’ into the reservoir when the water level indicator reaches the lower line as well as feeding your plant with the contents of one Grobal plant food hydropak. The groovy Grobal watering system does the rest."

:: images via Inhabitat

Groovy. Um, yeah... that's exactly the word I was thinking. In a similar vein, I was brought back to the agro-evocative rolling lawn-watering-tractor when I saw this 'visionary' new product called Beyflo, by. Is this a machine for efficient watering? Maybe, but perhaps it's a substitute for our laziness... via The Design Blog: "If technology cannot reduce our daily, often loathed, chores into automatic acts of programmed machines, then what’s the fun. ...The designer says that in envisioning this project, he has also taken in the future marketing considerations. People would be so very lazy in future – thanks to all the machines – that this device would be a complete hit, without any doubt."


:: new lazy - image via The Design Blog


:: old lazy - via the HardwareStore

While tapping into our innate and future laziness is one thing, it's time to get squarely into the sublimely silly. 'Local River' is a fixture and/or installation by Mathieu Lahanneur (whose previously featured Bell Aire, bordered on the fringes of silly but was soundly within reason). This pieced showed up many spots on the web, such as Treehugger as it plugged as a "...home storage unit for fish and greens." This storage is handled via a microcosmic ecosystem: "This DIY fish-farm-cum-kitchen-garden is based on the principle of aquaponics coupled with the exchange and interdependence of two living organisms - plants and fish. ...The plants extract nutrients from the nitrate-rich dejecta of the fish. In doing so they act as a natural filter that purifies the water and maintains a vital balance for the eco-system in which the fish live. The same technique is used on large-scale pioneer aquaponics/fish-farms, which raise tilapia (a food fish from the Far East) and lettuce planted in trays floating on the surface of ponds."


:: image via Treehugger

While definitely grounded in realistic terms of aquaculture - there seems missing an economy of scale in this countertop model which seems to be missing a viable opening in the very closed loop system created here that smacks less of ecosystems and more of fish farming. I wonder what John and Nancy Jack Todd thing of these guys?

While I may poke fun as some of the automated technologies - or poke a finger at the ridiculousness of your own personal local river - the use of our water is not a laughing manner. There are definitely technologies that provide better use of water - I use them every day when designing - low-flow drip irrigation, rain and moisture sensors, Evapotranspiration-data linked controllers, and more accurate spray coverage. All of these strategies are aimed at using water when and where it is needed for plant growth - nothing less, nothing more. These systems still need people to specify, install, monitor, and adjust. When technology aims to provide a substitute for our own personal 'eyes on the field', or worse sub for our laziness, it becomes problematic. Things break, need adjustment, and weather may just not cooperate with our finely calibrated equipment.

I like simple solutions over technological ones... perhaps it is my dad's wisdom to always get a car without automatic stuff - because it's just one more thing to break (sorry day, I love the keyless entry and power windows). Don't get me wrong. I have the same gee-whiz reaction to technological marvels that many of us do... but let's think about it. Water is pretty simple. Fall from sky, capture to reuse, purify/treat to drink, release (preferably in the same or better form than you found it) back into hydrologic cycle... gravity does most of the work - we just have to keep our fingers and chemicals out of it along the route. So technology is great - but perhaps rather than another expensive electronic gizmo - it's merely a merry-go-round...?

Part 2: Provision...

Auroville

I previously focused on the work of Ecocity World Summit 2008 speaker Ken Yeang with this history of bioclimatic design and vegetated architecture. From this post, I recently recieved a heads up about another of the conference speakers, Lalit Bhati, and the community of Auroville - a perhaps too-good-to-be-true but still evolving along slice of utopia in southern India which, according to a profile from Mad Architect, is a: "..first step in creating a world where equality and harmony rules among people, disregarding the part of the Earth they are from, the language they speak or the color of their skin."


:: Auroville - image via Mad Architect

The community has been steadily evolving, with a history that began in 1968, continually offering and expanding the range of sustainable options in addition to the social components. Via the Auroville website: "...building done in Auroville covers various aspects of architecture, and includes building materials, building technology, eco-friendly architecture, climate responsive designs, integration with natural surroundings, cost-effective buildings, geomancy and geometry, as well as the design of spaces themselves, including experimenting with the lifestyle of the user. There has also been spillover into the design and management of building infrastructure, the building of integrated rainwater harvesting systems, domestic waste water treatment plants and the integration of renewable energy systems for energy demands."


:: image via Kalki

Via Mad Architect: "Houses and buildings are spiraling around the center filled with green spaces, symbolizing the praises mother nature should receive for allowing us to enjoy its creations. The industrial areas are at the city’s periphery, leaving clean air for the center of the town, where the residential buildings will be located; pollution won’t affect anyone, so this would be one of the best places on Earth to raise your children - away from a big town’s squalor, growing in a natural environment, but still taking advantage of the modern technology."

The central area, of 'soul of the city' is called Matrimandir. The symbolism is at the roof of the concept of Auroville: "The name 'Matrimandir' means literally 'Temple of the Mother'. According to Sri Aurobindo's teaching, the 'Mother' concept stands for the great evolutionary, conscious and intelligent principle of Life, the Universal Mother, - which seeks to help humanity move beyond its present limitations into the next step of its evolutionary adventure, the supramental consciousness."




:: Matrimandir - images via Auroville

The gardens surrounding Matrimandir also provide this spirtual (but not religious) connective tissue for the city. As mentioned on the Auroville website: "There are twelve gardens surrounding the structure, converging around it in the huge petal crown from which the Matrimandir arises. In 1969, when discussing the gardens, the Mother indicated that they would have to be of such quality and beauty that people visiting them would experience, physically and concretely, the significance of each garden."


:: image via Auroville

Gardens include ideas of: Existence, Consciousness, Bliss, Light, Life, Power, Wealth, Utility, Progress, Youth, Harmony, and Perfection - as well as other gardens - including on centered around the Banyan tree in the center of the Matrimandir- which is a Hindu symbol for 'eternal life'. The aerial prop roots evolve to provide a structural canopy that provides shade and comfort for residents.


:: image via Auroville

There is also a focus on vernacular building for the specific region and lifestyle of this part of India, utilizing local designers as well as more organically built examples. A few are found below:


:: Agni jata, Ray Meeker - image via Auroville


:: Molaes/Domingo House - image via Auroville

Auroville is designed to be a model eco-city for the future - and is interesting in providing not just a veneer of green but a vital and open social component of the process - which is often lost. There is a tacit assumption that if something is sustainable then it must be open and equitable. This is often true, but more often not. Does this hold true in Abu Dhabi or Dubai, UAE or Dongtan, China? Does eco-building in areas where limitations on personal freedoms become an oxymoron in these contexts? And not to the same extreme, but do our highly priced eco-towers and communities with such high costs make them essentially gated communities available to only the very rich?

This often-missed third leg of sustainability, equity, needs to be considered in planning, building, commerce, -- all of our activities. As we become more global, more spread out, more homogenous - we become more connected, but also more implicated, in these world-wide issues - both the good and bad. As the recent Olympic torch relay protests have highlighted - even an institution meant to bring people together can become a forum to accentuate our issues, and possible create changes (or at least dialogue) for our social and cultural divides.

Can eco-planning bring people together in green ways (the economic & environmental) as well as providing the much needed social equity we desire, but seldom acheive? Maybe models like Auroville can provide some of the answers to inclusivity, and equity, we can actually see, and inhabit?

No More Suburbs

This has been covered all over the web - and well, it's just a good story that needed to be told. Perennial provocateur Andrew Maynard, whom appeared on L+U with his Tattoo House, has now developed an intricately woven design for 'Suburb Eating Robots'. While whimsical - there is a significant amount a truth and illumination to this exercise about suburban destruction and regeneration.


:: image via Treehugger

The reason (via Architecture.MNP), tells of Maynard: "...presenting a polemic on Australia’s suburbs and their overall impact on society + the planet. A slideshow on AMA’s website describes Maynard’s prediction for the suburb’s future: as oil prices continue rising, the suburbs will become more and more unaffordable - the dependence on the automobile and lack of public transit, coupled with the lack of money for gasoline [and/or lack of gasoline itself] will cause the collapse of the suburb’s infrastructure."


:: images via Architecture.MNP

For this task - a cute six-legged robotic suburb-chomper that all the kids will want come Christmas - named CV08 - available in a range of colors.




:: images via Architecture.MNP

The details are pretty intriguing as well, establishing a method which : "...consumes entire towns - and it even cleans up after itself. The satirical hexapod will descend upon the suburbs, gathering the abandoned homes and cars through it’s front legs [dubbed ‘demo legs’, seen below] - crushing everything in its path and packaging it neatly for recycling. The CV08 then releases new flora+fauna through the middle legs [which are kept, obviously, in carbonite freeze until deployment] - immediately populating the newly reclaimed land."


:: image via Architecture.MNP

"Lastly, the rear legs of the CV08 will serve as a means of power-collection: they pull chubby Australian suburbanite stragglers up into a liposuction chamber, which draws out all of their excess fat [which then powers the CV08]. The now trim Aussies are then shot out of the backside [read: ass] of the robot, parachuting down to safety - along with a brand new bicycle constructed from recycled suburbs." (text via Architecture.MNP - and click the link for an interview with Maynard)


:: images via Architecture.MNP

As I mentioned, this is satire, but tinged with truth. Will suburbs be around in 20 years? Will they be in the same form? Probably not... Will they be devoured by robots? Again probably not, but we still seem to develop them on a similar vein with little changes to 50 years ago, although we know there are better ways. And the intensity of reactions to life in the suburbs continues to escalate:

Via Treehugger, in an analysis of the bottom of the bag (aka, the cul-de-sac): "Isolated and insular, they become cesspools of self-absorption and pettiness that turn their backs on the wider world. "People who live in a cul-de-sac are out of touch with the rest of their community and most likely do not know much about the folks who live behind the fences of their blocked-off streets," complains a recent report from the American Planning Association."

This isolation and insularity is at the root of suburban development - dare I say the reason for it. All About Cities profiles the phenomenon and it's connection to the American identity: "The automotive era and the growth of suburbia initially reinforced this American dream. One could be close enough to the city, and yet on the edge, building a community on newly conquered territory. There could be a sense of self reliance out in the ‘burbs and now ex-urbs. With your SUV you don’t need government-run transit systems. The isolation is, or was, desired for building character."

And the pure insanity of it all, follow the link from Next American City to analysis of the suburbs-as-slums phenomenon. Also, this biting excerpt from Salon magazine, about the somewhat painful transition to suburban life:

"But then, after all your hard work and some measure of feeling deprived of the good things in life, you get a job with a big salary and someone who sells real estate puts you in her car and drives you around and some person inside you — not the careful-planning you but this other more spontaneous and sensuous you, a you who always wanted to live in a big house with a yard — sees a big, pretty house with a lawn and goes, “Wow!” And you buy it.
And as soon as you move in you feel a profound sense of loss. You can’t put your finger on it but the place you are in does not make you happy. The place you are in is big and pretty. So that makes it hard to explain. Why does big and pretty not make you happy?

It doesn’t make you happy because it’s not made for humans. It’s made for cars. These suburban houses are basically huge garages with attached living quarters for servants — meaning us. We are the servants. We work for the cars who live there. The cars have a very good life. We make sure of that. But our lives are not so good there.

I do believe that suburban living is a form of torture. If you made suspected terrorists live in big suburban houses, they would talk eventually.

Perhaps the American dream turned into a nightmare. While suburbs are hardly torture, I’m sure their isolating effect has made many formerly content people much less so. I would be curious to know whether increased rates of the diagnosis of mental illness and prescribing drugs like Prozac is possibly linked — at least in part — to the isolating affects of living in suburban sprawl."

Bring out the robots, Mr. Maynard. It's time.

Arcology

A recent helpful commenter to a previous post corrected my erroneous assuption as to the roots of the word 'Arcology'. Alas, it was not from Sim City as I was previously led to believe. The concept is most commonly associated with Arcosanti builder Paolo Soleri, but has some interesting heritage and implications for some of the grand planning and design schemes being proposed recently.


:: Arcosanti, Sky Suite - image via NY Times

Not being one to back down from parsing some new (or old) component of the lexicon, I felt as if some further definition and investigation were in order. To start, via Wikipedia: "Arcology, from the words "ecology" and "architecture," is a set of architectural design principles aimed toward the design of enormous habitats (hyperstructures) of extremely high human population density. These largely hypothetical structures, which are themselves commonly referred to as "arcologies," would be self-contained, contain a variety of residential and commercial facilities, minimize individual human environmental impact, and possibly be economically self-sufficient."

Soleri is definitely the most vocal proponent of Arcology and still active in preparing visions, such as a World Trade Center ideas for NY City, as well as the Nudging Space Arcology, both of which provide visions of Arcology in action (or at least paper).


:: WTC NYC Proposal - image via Arcosanti


:: Nudging Space Arcology - image via Arcosanti

This portmanteau of architecture and ecology (really, how can resist a phrase such as that) definitely strikes a chord with my investigations of my concurrent conconcotion of vegitecture and it's all of it's related ilk. These arcologies definitely have a good amount of relation to some of the recent works of mega-towers and city-scale ecoplanning... and I guess time will tell how much is hypothesis and how much turns into reality. Some precedents recently include Foster's Masdar City and the Crystal Island in Moscow, the recent Ultima Tower and even the 1 Billion Dollar Tishman Speyer NYC development recently announced which all have elements of ecology woven into the architecture on a grand scale.


:: Tishman Speyer NYC - image via WAN

More from Soleri, via the Arcosanti website: "In nature, as an organism evolves it increases in complexity and it also becomes a more compact or miniaturized system. Similarly a city should function as a living system. Arcology, architecture and ecology as one integral process, is capable of demonstrating positive response to the many problems of urban civilization, population, pollution, energy and natural resource depletion, food scarcity and quality of life. Arcology recognizes the necessity of the radical reorganization of the sprawling urban landscape into dense, integrated, three-dimensional cities in order to support the complex activities that sustain human culture. The city is the necessary instrument for the evolution of humankind."


:: images via Arcosanti

Some further explanation via Arcosanti site:
"The Hyper Building is an Arcology. In an Arcology, architecture and ecology come together in the design of the city. Arcology is the implosion of the flat megalopolis, the modern city of today, into a dense, complex, urban environment which rises vertically. ... The concept of a one-structure system is not incidental to the organization of the city, but central to it. Such an urban structure hosts life, work, education, culture, leisure, and health in a dense, compact system which also puts the untouched open countryside at the fingertips of the residents. The compactness of an Arcology gives 90 percent more land to farming and conservation than today's urban and suburban sprawl. This compactness makes an Arcology a more workable system. ...The automobile divides a city by scattering it across the landscape. Greater attention is given to human scale in an Arcology. In it the pedestrian reigns. Distances are measured by walks and minutes. Within it the automobile is nonsensical. ...In an Arcology energy is used more efficiently than in a conventional modern city. Pollution is a direct function of wastefulness, not efficiency. The increase in efficiency and reduction of wastefulness means a reduction of pollution. ...One role of the three dimensional city is to stop the spreading out of suburbia and its pernicious effects: hyper-consumption, segregation, waste, pollution, and ecological catastrophe. Therefore we must consider not only this initial Hyper-Building: future developments in the area must be considered. All developments surrounding the Hyper-Building must be Arcological. ...For reasons of economy, to do more with less, life is always framed three-dimensionally. This imperative can be referred to as the Urban Effect. Since the Hyper-Building is emblematic of the Urban Effect, it is not just an expedient though indispensible proposition: its stands for the ontological dynamics of life itself."


:: image via Arcosanti

An interesting theoretical idea is the section on the Arcosanti site 'Arcology Theory' which journeys Soleri's theoretical expositions and the Arcological Hyper Building Design Parameters... which provides additional information from concept to execution.

:: Concept of Hyper Building - image via Arcosanti

And while I slowly dig through the literature on this site, I come back to another burning question - what is the elusive Sim-City/Arcology connection? A post in Unsought Input from 2007 'Sim City Arcologies are Becoming a Reality' mentions this same question, and also mentions the utopic and perhaps impossible Shimzu TRY 2004 Mega-City Pyramid as an example of modern hyperstructure development, at least making me feel less crazy about thinking of the prophecy of video games. Another example, more real and perhaps big but less arcologic is Burj Dubai - which in my opinion is just big phallic oneupsmanship.

:: Try2004 Hyperstructure - image via Wikipedia

I definitely buy the concept - but there are a number of Ecotopia viewpoints that sound great on paper. I wonder how (1) this is not just another utopian vision, and 2) is this an applicable and viable theoretical framework for some of the building that is going up, either in theory, paper, or in reality? One issue is that big does not nessarily equal arcological. It must include some integration between systems and buildings, back to our previous base definition, these must be: "self-contained, contain a variety of residential and commercial facilities, minimize individual human environmental impact, and possibly be economically self-sufficient."

In this case Masdar, Dongtan, Ras Al Khaimah and other eco-cities are attempting to do this by aiming at high goals for sustainable communities on a grand scale. In another case Yeang's bioclimatic skyscrapers are attempting to take these concepts to new heights and make them more integrated, thus minimizing inputs and impacts. With an addition of vertical farming, wind generation, solar, and voila, were' getting somewhere in the vicinity of tall, self-sufficient, low-impact structures.

The real question as always: Is this a utopia that people would want to live in?

Big + Cool: Balmori's Mammoth Endeavor

A recent bit of information from the NY AIA awards, announcing one of the winning entries for 2008. The 'World Mammoth and Permafrost Museum' in Yakutsk, Siberia, which was a first-prize winner in a 2007 competition, is a project that definitely posed some challenges in site and program. The result ended up with an interesting folded form and strikingly subtle landscape. It is really compelling in site design for melding into one of the most delicate microclimates on earth. Add while I do love a good architectural award - the landscape and building interaction on this project is pretty amazing in this example.


:: image via Balmori Associates

Designed by Balmori Associates (and L+U favorite), with Leeser Architecture, and a team including Arup, Atelier 10, RWDI, and Tillett Lighting Design - the project was awarded a AIA New York Chapter Design Award Project Honor in 2008. From Balmori's press release: "We developed a permafrost landscape to respond to its context. This integration of nature and structure provided the twist that ultimately helped to tell one story by landscape and building."


:: Site Context - image via Balmori Associates


:: Site Plan - image via Balmori Associates

I love the graphics on the existing site and site plan - which are appropriate and evocative of the steppe landscape... abstracting but capturing perfectly the nuance of the terrain. This cellular form continues in Leeser's building and seems to fit as well, but it's difficult to see exactly the specific material in these renderings, which are definitely site-centric.


:: image via Balmori Associates

Some additional info on the project, via Core.form-ULA: "The Museum, its Scientific Research Center and Laboratory were established to study not only Siberian mammoths, but also Yakutsk’s Permafrost layer: a condition that makes the ground surface prone frost heave. With each freezing and thawing cycle, soil and stones shift into self organizing patterns and creates a unique condition known only to that region. Balmori Associates developed the plan of making a permafrost landscape, and letting this respond and be derived from its context. This integration of interface between structure and nature, the trademark of Balmori Associates, provided the twist that ultimately helped the project to win."


:: - image via Balmori Associates

The interior and exterior views frame and complement the semi-barren Siberia landscape and require subtle interventions, and can be strongly accentuated with the lightest touch. The image above shows some simple paving with minimal articulation from multi-trunked aspens and a waving ground plane of grasses and simple wildflowers. Similar to a tallgrass prairie, there is simplicity in overall form, with broad brushstrokes of color, but when viewed up close, opens up with subtle and vibrant colors and textures. To capture this is hard. To design with this is near impossible.


:: Interior Landscape View - image via Balmori Associates

There is some more space in the interiors for a bit of stylistic flourish (who says science can't be beautiful?) Again, via Core.form-ULA: "The interior of the museum is covered with gardens that cascade down a sloped surface and help to create an healthy indoor climate. Lush mats of moss and lichen, the natural insulators of permafrost ground grow between latticework of pathways. Each moss and lichen requires different growing substrates (stone, wood, gravel, etc.) which present an opportunity for sculptural design. Based on patterned ground formations that occur above permafrost, the landscape design is both aesthetically and ecologically reminiscent of the local natural patterns.. All plants chosen are native to Eastern Siberia and are showcased as well in the extensive outdoor gardens."




:: Typologies and Plant Materials - images via Balmori Associates

A bit of digging found some more architectural shots from building interiors, which frankly seem a bit clinical (oh, it's the non-fun part of science, right?). The subtlety of the landscape may seem more vibrant when interiors are spare and devoid of color - as the outdoors are glimpsed through corridors at a distance. Perhaps the beauty of contrast.

:: image via Dezeen

All in all a great project and some fine site/building integration. Too bad the mammoths aren't around to enjoy this place that has been created for them, although there is, according to Dezeen: "The centre will contain an intact mammoth discovered nearby and provide access to underground galleries from which the permafrost can be viewed."

I've been a fan of Balmori Associates since my first glimpse of the green roofs in Long Island (recently included in a review of Site/Non-site) and the appreciation of their work in the urban landscape. This project reinforces this idea, with a delicate site design that is as appropriate to a difficult and amazing context. A short bio, gives some more info as to why they fit the idea of Landscape+Urbanism - perhaps a future profile in Veg.itect series is imminent.

Via Core.form-ULA: "Balmori Associates, founded in 1990, is a design firm recognized for its work in integrating architecture, urban planning and landscape architecture into complex urban projects. The firm seeks to incorporate innovative sustainable systems and patterns of use within an overarching sense of place. Balmori Associates combines a high level of artistic design with a deep understanding of ecological principles."

Thanks to Monica and Christina from Balmori for the tip and photos!

Bat-Yam = Landscape Urbanism

A recent reference reminded me to post something about the Bat-Yam International Biennale of Landscape Urbanism, beginning April 13th, 2008. A summary via Archinect: "This international event will present 30 outdoor rooms in the public domain. All sites will be open to the public and introduce innovative ways for using urban open spaces, integrating community projects and students proposals together with designs by artists, architects and landscape architects."


:: Historic Bat-Yam - image via Bat-Yam Biennale

Further explanation from the Bat-Yam website: "The biennale will focus on aspects of hospitality in daily life that generally take place in the privacy of the home. As part of the exhibition "Hosting - 2008", the public space will replace the domestic living room. A series of “Outdoor Rooms” located in open sites around the city will act as points of contact and creativity for hosts and guests. Top-level international and local artists as well as architects and landscape architects have been invited to design each outdoor room as an extension of the home. Architecture and design schools will be integrated into the urban activities. Input will also come from local residents’ organizations and community centers. Planning will be based on ecological thinking, on mixing the natural with the synthetic, and on the use of indigenous vegetation and recycled materials."

A mix of Israeli & International Designers are working on the outdoor rooms. A few notable ideas with some imagery from Israeli designers are found here:

A Piece of Paradise - Zvi & Kerem Halbrecht
"A Piece of Paradise presents a model for ecological home-farming in an urban setting. We have constructed a neighborhood agricultural facility, with areas allocated for growing seedlings, for training and gathering, and for garden-beds for edible plants in a communal garden, adjacent to several Bat-Yam apartment buildings. Our objective is to enable the local community to grow a substantial part of the food it consumes, by employing its under-utilized resources, namely available land and recyclable greywater. The project proposes expanding the apartment building into a partially self-sufficient system."




:: images via Bat-Yam Biennale

City Mix - Irbool Group
"The “City Mix” offers an opportunity for participants to try their hand at creating a “place in the city”: project “residents” are invited to build life size buildings using construction blocks, with virtually no limitations or guiding instructions. While filling the lot with “private” buildings, project “residents” must also acquaint themselves with the concept of shared public space."


:: image via Bat-Yam Biennale

And the International Designers offer some interesting ideas - as well as some of the LU rock stars, including Chris Reed from Stoss.

Mediterranean Improv - Chris Reed, Stoss Landscape Urbanism

"A reconfigurable dune-garden for an improvised beach-life. ...We start with native dune-scapes, most of which have been erased from the region. We excavate and dump big piles of sand to form a field of constructed dunes, behind two remnant dunes on the beachfront, at a scale and height that will resonate in this city-scape of high-rises. The dune-field creates two openings, two rooms that invite occupation and use. The northern void, at the edge of the city, is entirely sand but otherwise empty—a provocative contrast to the bustling street. It is a place to lie on your back, nestled into the sand, and to watch the passing clouds, the stars, and to dream. ...wild dune ecologies + deployable mat / fence systems + trained vegetal surfaces + explicit infrastructure = Mediterranean Improv."






:: images via Bat-Yam Biennale

GREEN ISLAND Art/Nature/Society - aMAZElac Milano
"'Garden' is a word, a work, a value, a process, something in between. GREEN ISLAND stimulates citizens to “act as a gardener – to be part of a process”. They are working on redefining and improving public spaces in an urban environment, trying to develop even minimal interventions for the creation of gardens, hortus, green oasis, places of communication and interaction."

:: images via Bat-Yam Biennale

There is also a forum for Young Designers to show of their LU chops. The following project is one example found in this category on the site.

Boulevard Locales - Asafsuf
"Public places generate community ties through the opportunities they offer for social interaction. It is this benefit we wish to reinforce and increase by intervening at several locations along an existing boulevard and offering the public a choice of activities. The idea is not to create new places, but to offer interpretations of existing ones, with a focus on the sites characteristics and qualities.. Emphasis will be placed on social and community relationships, taking into account underlying cultural layers of the public realm."




:: images via Bat-Yam Biennale

There is much more on the site - so if you can't hop on a plane - at least visit it virtually for some thought-provoking ideas and interesting graphics.

ADDED: 04.08.08

Thanks to Yael Caron for the info on this event as well... today he sent me a flyer and an update for the opening as well... "On sunday we had the pleasure of Charles Waldheim speaking on the subject of Landscape Urbanism to a mixed audience (academics, city hall people and other locals) - he gave a very comprehensive and encouraging lecture. ...We're getting geared up for it next week - can't believe it's actually time...!" Good luck!

Take a Seat

Continuing a more focused look at some landscape elements - there were a bunch of interesting seating concepts that have emerged lately - from the grand, to the contextual, to the bovine. Similar to the discussions regarding texture and materiality, furnishings are something we tend to have a hard time evolving as a stylistic component. Part of this has to do with budgets that warrant off-the-shelf solutions. Part of it has to do with our lack of creativity in pushing design to include not just spaces but the items that augment and define these spaces.

Below is an example from San Francisco of Mint Plaza by CMG Landscape Architects of a pretty typical urban furnishing palette for an urban open space that offers a combination of fixed seating with wood caps and movable, brightly colored, durable chairs for adaptability. I'm not criticizing here, as I like the space and use of furnishings - but just using this as a good illustration of the typical treatment, well done. (There's plenty of examples of the same done very, very poorly). Read a full overview of this project on Brand Avenue.




:: images via Brand Avenue

A couple of recent projects envisioned some pretty inventive ways of providing new models of seating for parks, as well a providing organic natural forms. The first, via gardenhistorygirl, is an entry for a contest which "aims at encouraging designers to imagine and create innovative urban furniture to be placed in the Jardins du Fleuriste park in Brussels..." The following is one of the winners by "...Anika Perez and Brice Genre, this winning entry is designed to look like the shadows cast by the canopy of a tree."




:: images via gardenhistorygirl

Be sure to check out the rest of the competition entries here as there are a number of great ideas. Another recent example of nature informing the shape and style of furnishings. Klein Dytham architecture uses cherry blossoms as the concept for outdoor party furniture Tokyo. From Dezeen: "Large cherry blossom benches float down on to the lawn. Simply sculpted from blocks of polystyrene the seats and tables are coated with a urethane surface which spreads the pressure and stops people in kimonos from puncturing the polystyrene with their chop sticks!"




:: images via Dezeen

This level of integration and customization can lead to significant forms, either derivative or formalistic, not only for the seating itself but to tie a design together. A well-publicized award-winning example of this is the Red Ribbon project, found in the Tanghe River Park, Qinhuangdao City in China (via Coolboom). The overall form of this contrasting form literally knits it's way through the fabric of the site.


:: images via Coolboom

On a more specific scale the ribbons are used for lounging, and have some variation due to planting pockets in the top surface, as well as integrated lighting that provides a mood and illumination during the evenings.




:: images via Coolboom

An example of some integrated customization, via BDonline, is found in a new design for Nottingham's Castle College, marrying wood + gabions in a pretty interesting wall/bench combinations. Although I have to speculate if the gabions would be comfy seating as well - but if the point is to keep people off - it's pretty skateboard proof and nobody likes a jagged hook of steel poking them, well...


:: image via BDonline

Finally, for ultimate customization, perhaps you're doing a project in a faux Western streetscape, or want something ironically evocative of a gritty urban areas meat-packing district roots. My guess is LandscapeForms just isn't going to cut it - and you may need something custom. And by custom, I mean headless cow benches by Julia Lohmann (via Atelier A+D). Classic. Take a seat - see if you can hold on.




:: images via Atelier A+D

And if these custom jobs don't strike your needs, head over to MyUGDG for a comprehensive list of primo outdoor landscape furnishings from a range of designers. Either way, take a seat, and see if you can get it by the contractor...

Materiality: Textured Verticality

It has been a bit since I've discussed the concept of texture and materials - and a quick peek through some saved up links made me realize there was a bevy of project images just waiting to emerge. I will attempt to focus this a bit by concentrating on vertical surface texture - spanning a bit of vegetation, and much undulation, that provides facade and wall panel articulation beyond mere flat planes.

Because of my love of green walls and the fact that facades with green are better than those without (i jest) - I start with the art piece 'Bar Code'. A subtle vegetative example of some simple facade manipulation... via Vegeforme (an unfortunately brief French blog from Richard Dhennin on vertical greening - thx Anne at MyUGDG for this one!)


:: image via Vegeforme

Continuing semi-small, a fence/wall panel from Superblue are trellis wall forms that are evocative of hedgerows to "...create a 'soft' boundary structure--an undulating honeycomb... The varying intervals between the cross-pieces within the panels create striking patterns when lit." (via gardenhistorygirl) Definitely very interesting at a pedestrian scale as well - and a way to reinvent a garden staple in new ways.




:: images via Superblue

The undulation is interesting and can be expressed with a variety of materials. In this case SHoP has created an undulating brick panel facade for 290 Mulberry Street, courtesy of Tropolism and Curbed SF.


:: image via Tropolism


:: image via Curbed SF

A subtle textured concrete from the Auditorium and Conference Center in Mérida, Spain by Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos (via A Daily Dose of Architecture) provides another example of subtle variations to maniupulate light and shadown on a typically smooth material. While some prefer the purity of concrete forms - I do like this little bit bit of tooth to the surface to give the facade a little life.


:: image via Archidose

There do seem to be many opportunities in an architect's toolkit for implementing building skins that are evocative without significantly increasing costs. A project via Architechnophilia from Melbourne, Australia dubbed CH2 (the Council House 2 building) from Design Inc, uses an interesting wood panel facade that open depending on the sun's intensity, providing a bioclimatic function as well as a particularly striking facade.




:: images via Architechnophilia

Use of natural materials such as wood soften facades. Stone is another way to do so, in a variety of ways. No way is more abstractly rigid as the gabion (which I absolutely love). The Konzept Haus 9x9 by Titus Bernhard Architekten uses this technology in the entire form of the house, both for aesthetics and to aid in providing thermal mass for winter warmth and summer cooling.




:: images via Treehugger

Taking this full scale are textures that evoke natural materials and regionalism - in this case using stone to make 'Rocks' - abstractions on basalt columns for a hillside library in Columbia. A profile in Eikongraphia outlines some of the beauty and context of this pretty stunning project by Giancarlo Mazzanti: "The contrast with the landscape, the ‘Biblioteca Parque Espana’ sits in, certainly contributes massively to its beauty. In the green landscape with only beige colored low-rise self-built dwellings the library rises up eight stories, clad in black natural stone."






:: images via Eikongraphia

The sum total of textured facade materials that can be applied to a variety of vertical surfaces. One may ask how this applies to landscape? In a few particular ways.

First, the blurring of line between architecture and landscape makes the link and usage of materials of utmost importance in reflecting regionalism, style, and function. Landscape architecture detailing is often stuck in a formalistic rut when it comes to materials, either evoking nature or relying on spare modernist sensibilities.

Second, these examples bridge the gap between these two poles and draw from the architects more refined and innovative application of materials - providing the desire for organicism but the ability to frame it in striking, architectural forms.

Third, these forms are applied to architectural context but can be abstracted into a variety of scales more common in landscape application: walls, small structures, fences, furnishings, and art.

Fourth, the link between landscape urbanism and form-making of cities draws as much from landscape detailing as from architectural (and really the dialogue between the two) and the palette of materials and how we use them is just as important in the landscape as in buildings - if not more so. Reliance on 'naturalism' is not going to cut it, specifically in urban contexts.

Design for Good

Ok, this is two posts from CNN in the span of a couple of weeks. And I don't actual watch CNN, except for when trapped in an airport with the constant 10 minute new cycle. But this one is pretty impressive for major media outlet... Principal Voices is a ongoing series of discussion and dialogue bringing together top minds in a range of fields... this year fittingly including a part of the series entitled: 'Design for Good':

In short, it's a celebration of the role of building on changing the face of the world. "Whether it's designing efficient skyscrapers, creating whole cities which aim to be carbon neutral or re-building out of the rubble created by natural disasters, architects are changing the way we experience the built environment, finding solutions to the ecological challenges -- big and small -- of the 21st century."


:: Dongtan Eco City - image via Greenline

The title story spans some history, which gives a nice primer on 'green architecture' through phases of history. "Although the term "green architecture" was only coined about 20 years ago, architects have been embracing environmental or sustainable design for decades. ...Today, architects are transforming our urban landscapes in ways which were previous unimaginable. Aided by cutting edge design and construction techniques, the bold new structures of today owe much to the techniques used by pre and early industrial pioneers."

Some interesting precedents of ecological design were mentioned in the article.

The Crystal Palace (1851) is one of: "...the earliest examples of more complex climate control were designed by Joseph Paxton -- who used ventilators in the cavernous vaulted roofs..." The microclimatic shift with a glass interior allowed for significant plantings of the interior atria as well, blurring the interior-exterior shift of architectural form.


:: image via BBC


:: image via Brittanica

The article goes on to cite numerous examples including Giuseppe Mengoni's Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan (1877) and the iconic Flatiron Building in NYC (1902). There was definitely a lag in the environmental movement in the early 20th century, driven by taller building forms and technological advances in air conditioning and heating which disconnected buildings from their microclimate, and thus generated forms that no longer were required to work with the local environment.

This trend dissolved in the 1960s, with a backlash against modernism and the birth of the modern environmental movement shifting the focus back to ecology and environmental issues. While missing in the article from this historical cast is (surprise) Ian McHarg, and his influential mid-sixties planning, this ethic did shape the early and future work of eco-pioneers such as William Mcdonough and Sim van der Ryn as well as birthing such projects as Arcosanti by Paolo Soleri (1970)...

:: Arcosanti - image via Wikipedia

...and notable mid-1970s version of Veg.itecture in the form of Norman Foster's Willis Faber & Dumas Headquarters in Ipswich, UK (1975), which is known for an expansive and usable 'grass' roof. (link to BBC for an interactive 360 panorama as well)


:: image via Archinform

We evolve into the 90s with a lot of momentum, and this bred scores of 'ecological' buildings, as well as the market and industry to support them such as LEED and the UK analog BREEAM. From this came a lot of scorecard-motivated 'eco-architecture' that lacked anything resembling a sustainable ethic, but also some pioneering projects and ideas, such as the Bioclimatic Architecture work of Ken Yeang. His Menara Mesiniaga in Kuala Lumpur (1992) is the seminal work and much has followed.

:: image via Business Week

And the article mentions Foster's Commerzbank Headquarters in Frankfurt (1997) dubbed the world's first "ecological tower". I love this building, but fail to see how it get's the distinction of first, when Yeang's building pre-dated it by a half-decade? From Foster's site, they describe it as the world's first 'ecological office tower'... so maybe that's the distinction? Whatever, they both are amazing precedents.

:: images via Nature in Buildings (MIT)

As the article ends, the concept is here to stay and thriving, based on these historical precedents: "Taking nature's most enduring designs and using them to reshape our own environment is now a thriving branch of environmental architecture. Modern eco-buildings now combine to form communities, like BedZED in the UK. And eco-communities are set to form new eco-cities, like Dongtan in China."

More Design for Good
Back to the general Design for Good thrust and digging a bit deeper, we find the 'thinkers' in which we get our revelatory information. Ok, so it's a little suspect that they include Daniel Libeskind as a 'Big Thinker' (?), but the do redeem themselves with overviews of both Cameron Sinclair ('Frontline Pioneer') of Architecture for Humanity and Open Architecture Network thought experiments as well as Peter Head ('Future Player'), who has some major eco-cred as director of urban design and development at Arup and is a major player in the afforementioned Dongtan Eco-City project.

And I probably would have skipped the entire DFG link if not for an interesting article that caught my attention on the site. 'Borrowing from nature' investigates the role of Biomimicry or Biomimetics in design and ties it briefly into architecture and building. From the article: "In the 21st century, architects and designers are increasingly turning their attentions to Mother Nature as a source of inspiration for their creations. ...The art of copying nature's biological principles of design is now known as biomimetics."


:: Abalone as potential ceramics - image via CNN

We've covered it here prior in brief, and the article focuses on a number of product related design analogs in the Biomimicry literature. There are also some great ideas that are relevant to architecture, landscape urbanism, ecological planning and urban agriculture, worthy of exploration. These will show up periodically in future posts as they have much relevance to the discussion and I guess thanks to CNN for informative and thought provoking journalism. Kudos for bringing good design and 'Design for Good' to the mainstream.

Coda
As an endnote... one notable missing element of the equation is the role of the other non-architecture team members - with this reliance on the power and singularity of the architect's role as master of all. A good thought-piece on this in Slate by Witold Rybczynski entitled 'Architecture is a Team Sport' discusses this thought in relation to the Pritzker Prize and it's award to a single person.


"The Pritzker Prize promotes the fiction that buildings spring from the imagination of an individual architect—the master builder. This wasn't true in the Middle Ages, when there were real master builders, and it isn't true today. The modern architect works with scores of specialists, first and foremost structural engineers, without whom most architects today would be lost. Armies of consultants are responsible for everything from acoustics and lighting to energy conservation and security." Hey wait a second, you forgot... oh whatever.

I guess the acknowledgement of 'team' aspect of project is slowly creeping into architectural consciousness. I actually disagree with Rybczynski when he mentions the singularity of say, the Nobel prize - as any endeavor involves more than a single person to ensure success. If the concept is to celebrate 'ideas' that is one thing - but specifically projects involve a team much greater than the architect, and even the design-team... it does take a cast of thousands...

Veg.itecture #20

The schedule at work is heating up with some great projects getting rolling, so the weekend has become the de facto time to compile and sort all of the weeks great projects from the ether. Today is a compilation of the latest Veg.itecture additions.

The first project is the Aberdeen Arts Centre by Brisac Gonzalez Architects. This simple folded form that suits itself to a seamless vegetated connection from groundplane to roof - with openings for light and access. From BDonline: "The design features three extensively glazed terraced levels that allow it to nestle into the site without obstructing views."


:: image via BDonline

We featured a few of the examples from the Evolo skyscraper competition, and Jetson Green pulled another of the entries out that has some vegetated architecture cred (sans handrails of course...). Escraper by Sohta Mori and Yuichiro Minato offers a braided form with levels of vegetation and open space that provide amenity space as well as potentially some bioclimatic strategies. I like how the twisted form opens up views both outside and from interior levels as well as allows for breezes to flow throughout these spaces and around a more expansive volume of the building skin. Much more care seems to be taken as to the environment of place than some of the more hermetically sealed insular examples around the world.




:: images via Evolo

There has been some comment-discussion about scale and sustainability, which I'm cooking up some more dialogue about in future posts. This next project is one of those grandiose, implausible examples of excess that will inevitably charge up this discussion to another level. Via Inhabitat, the Mile High Ultima Tower by Eugene Tsui (another of the architects whom have a penchant for slapping their own mug on their website, which still drives me nuts), which looks remarkably similar to Foster's Crystal Palace in Moscow and the earlier X-SEED tower (which to me both equal X-CESS.

:: image via Inhabitat

The building does offer some compelling ideas, at least in concept, for bioclimatic and sustainable design. Using biomimetic design, the building is modeled after a termite mound and makes reference to McDonough's building-as-a-tree philosophy. Via Inhabitat, the building is: "...proposed to resourcefully use earth’s surface and allow sustainable distribution of resources within a dense urban setting."

:: image via Inhabitat

The science is definitely compelling (via Inhabitat): "Taking a cue from the principles of transpiration and cohesion... as used by the tree to move water from roots to aerial parts, the designers are working on a method of carrying water from the bottom of the tower to the top utilizing water potential difference between the two points. ... Other significant features of the design include bodies of water placed at 12 separate levels, 144 elevators at the periphery of the building, use of vertical propulsion through compressed air, specially designed windows with aerodynamic wind cowls, reflecting mirrors to bring direct sunlight into the building, open garden balconies, electric cars run by propane and hydrogen gas, complete absence of internal combustion engines or toxic pollutants. The whole building is envisioned by Tsui as a large ecosystem teeming with structures that are ‘living and breathing’."

It will be interesting to see how much of these technologies can be implemented in a range of scales and which require these insanely large projects to pull off. Jumping back down in scale significantly, I have noticed some definitely more modest building examples, kind of simple frosting on top of an otherwise plain cake, which I will dub, 'Simple Green' (with a note of avoiding any potential trademark infringements... ok, it's an inside joke, but if you can figure it out and comment on why perhaps where I work and a certain large-companies new product would be a funny coincidence, i'd love to hear it). These seem to exist for marketing purposes only, but are at least a reference to the role of vegetation, whether it be marketing or ecological.


:: Lucida Condos - image via Environmental Graffiti


:: No. 22 Renwick Street - image via Curbed NY


:: Reading Mixed Use - image via WAN

On a related note and general observation, it's interesting to see the concept of Veg.itecture and how it has started to virally creep into discussions and blogs. As I mentioned previously on L+U, the only reference to the term I had stumbled upon was from Michael Sorkin's article the late 1970's. A quick google search lately uncovered a few folks picking up the thread and using it more expansively, some are adapting the term - some merely passing along my addition to the lexicon. Some links:

:: Veg.itecture: Designed by Ken Yeang (Mad Architect)
:: Visual Essay by Scenic America (Something About Maryman)
:: Veg.itecture: The Green Buildings of the Future (EcoFuss)
:: Featured Presenter: Ken Yeang (EcoCity 2008)

Let's keep it up - and maybe we can all create a phenomenon!

Mimic Nature

Often the use of natural forms is implemented for aesthetic or biophilic reasons, and the resultant forms tend to span the gamut from stunning to awful. We've shown examples of abstracted trees here and here - and the use of natural forms often peeks into building both as a metaphor for ecological function as well as a major feature or accent to provide stylistic cohesion.

A couple of recent projects fit the earlier category of stunning, and need little explanation other than to say, wow! The first via Inhabitat, is a project entitled Orquideorama. Located in a botanical garden in Medellin, Columbia: "...by Plan B Architects. The Orquideorama is an organically expanding wooden meshwork of modular “flower-tree” structures that weaves its way through the garden’s heart. A stunning study on structure and scale, the project unites the micro and macro worlds through an elegant synthesis of cellular and architectural forms.


:: image via Inhabitat

Often abstractions of nature lose the essence of what they are meant to evoke. In this case, the following photo shows how the difference and similarity of forms are strengthened by their location and juxtaposition in context. Place this same item in an urban plaza - and it would be equally stunning but perhaps not as appropriate- although judging from the plaza view picture - pretty great space.




:: images via Inhabitat

The formal quality is expanded in the further description of the "flor-árbol", which is built to mimic growth: "...in the same way that a garden seeds and develops, with one popping up next to another.... Fittingly, this repetitious cellular weave resonates with another organic structure: honeycomb. ... Each “flor-árbol” is composed of a steel reinforced trunk and six hexagonal petals that form an intricately latticed patio. The plants situated beneath each trunk are sustained via rainwater collected by the petals, and are protected from the elements by the translucent pine wood weave that is sourced from reforested lands."

Taking a similar approach is a drop-dead amazing example gleaned via Archidose from April 1st (and I hope this is no joke). These views of Arne Quinze's project in Brussels entitled Cityscape are quite amazing, as well as mimicking the natural features of vegetation, such as filtered light, dappled shade on the ground plane, as well as framed views of sky through organic branching. Maybe it's the black-and-white photos, or maybe it's the use of tree branches, sticks, and unstripped tree trunks, but again - wow!






:: images via Archidose (via the flickr pool by juliazxiao)

I'd like to say good things come in threes, but the final entry hovers near the latter, at least in my opinion. Not necessarily mimickry in a traditional sense, a squat, nastly structure on Prince Charles' house and garden at his organic farm at Highgrove. Bemoaning the loss of a 200 year old Cedar of Lebanon, the Prince commission what can only be described as a 'tomb' for the stump, while maintaining a seedling oak to grow in it's stead. Using "...oak from the farm's woodland. The bottom part is covered with oak roof tiles and has a hole for the new tree to grow through and another one where the one remaining bough of the tree remains--temporarily."


:: image via Treehugger

While abstractions of trees in form and function are great as art and as analogs to the actual thing - one must be diligent about continually abstracting versus actual planting. Inert tree sculptures lack the essence and ecology of real trees, although they maintain some of the beauty and function. And my criticism of the tomb... maybe it's PC's recent criticism of new architecture in the UK, and the overly-nostalgic backwards thinking about historical precedents. I'm sure there's nostalgia and appropriateness contextually with a 200 year old Cedar. And then there's just ugly and indulgent ways to honor it's life and death. I posit that nothing perhaps functions like a tree so much as an actual tree. And they are finnicky... slowly growing, sometimes breaking, and always, evenually - dying. Perhaps it's our need to plan better for succession, especially regarding speciman trees. Perhaps it's just letting a tree die with dignity - and allowing that to be part of the evolution of our landscapes.

Vertical Farming: In Depth

I have a fascination with Urban Agriculture, more recently so due to the strategies that are being considered for implementation that either maximizes production per land acre, or maximizes the amount of acres used in the City for ephemeral or permanent farm operations. A recent post by WebUrbanist, '5 Urban Design Proposals for 3D City Farms: Sustainable, Ecological and Agricultural Skyscrapers' had some interesting prototypes summarized as well - which will undoubtedly show up later in L+U in greater detail, building upon a number of previous posts on rooftop/building urban ag models.

On a related note - have you ever run across a couple a stories that provide such depth and understanding of a subject that you pretty much have to share it with everyone, practically verbatim? Here's a great example, an article in New York Magazine entitled 'Skyfarming: Turning Skyscrapers Into Crop Farms' is one of those pieces that seems to be almost a primer on the subject. I myself had some questions prior to going in - the following is a step-by-step guide to some of the essential components that managed to answer all of my questions (almost!).

Either way, it's a good story and good storytelling - even if a bit much. All quotes and images via the article, authored by Lisa Chamberlain with graphics support via: Architectural Designs by Rolf Mohr, Modeling and Rendering by Machine Films; Interiors by James Nelms ­Digital Artist @ Storyboards Online.



The article focuses on the work of Dr. Dickson Despommier: "...a professor of environmental sciences and microbiology at Columbia University, who believes that “vertical farm” skyscrapers could help fight global warming... Imagine a cluster of 30-story towers on Governors Island or in Hudson Yards producing fruit, vegetables, and grains while also generating clean energy and purifying wastewater. Roughly 150 such buildings, Despommier estimates, could feed the entire city of New York for a year. Using current green building systems, a vertical farm could be self-sustaining and even produce a net output of clean water and energy."

The Basics
(well as basic as possible...)



1. The Solar Panel Most of the vertical farm’s energy is supplied by the pellet power system (see over). This solar panel rotates to follow the sun and would drive the interior cooling system, which is used most when the sun’s heat is greatest.

2. The Wind Spire: An alternative (or a complement) to solar power, conceived by an engineering professor at Cleveland State University. Conventional windmills are too large for cities; the wind spire uses small blades to turn air upward, like a screw.

3. The Glass Panels: A clear coating of titanium oxide collects pollutants and prevents rain from beading; the rain slides down the glass, maximizing light and cleaning the pollutants. Troughs collect runoff for filtration.

4. The Control Room: The vertical-farm environment is regulated from here, allowing for year-round, 24-hour crop cultivation.

5. The Architecture: Inspired by the Capitol Records building in Hollywood. Circular design uses space most efficiently and allows maximum light into the center. Modular floors stack like poker chips for flexibility.

6. The Crops: The vertical farm could grow fruits, vegetables, grains, and even fish, poultry, and pigs. Enough, Despommier estimates, to feed 50,000 people annually.

Further Detail
Aside from the massing and program elements - there are ample opportunities for high tech innovation as well in the vertical farm - including power generation and on-site sewage treament. Some detail on this system:



1. The Evapotranspiration Recovery System: Nestled inside the ceiling of each floor, its pipes collect moisture, which can be bottled and sold.

2. The Pipes: Work much like a cold bottle of Coke that “sweats” on a hot day: Super-cool fluid attracts plant water vapors, which are then collected as they drip off (similar systems are in use on a small scale). Despommier estimates that one vertical farm could capture 60 million gallons of water a year.

3. Black-Water Treatment System: Wastewater taken from the city’s sewage system is treated through a series of filters, then sterilized, yielding gray water—which is not drinkable but can be used for irrigation. (Currently, the city throws 1.4 billion gallons of treated wastewater into the rivers each day.) The Solaire building in Battery Park City already uses a system like this.



4. The Crop Picker: Monitors fruits and vegetables with an electronic eye. Current technology, called a Reflectometer, uses color detection to test ripeness.

5. The Field: Maximization of space is critical, so in this rendering there are two layers of crops (and some hanging tomatoes). If small crops are planted, there might be up to ten layers per floor.

6. The Pool: Runoff from irrigation is collected here and piped to a filtration system.

7. The Feeder: Like an ink-jet printer, this dual-purpose mechanism directs programmed amounts of water and light to individual crops.

8. The Pellet Power System: Another source of power for the vertical farm, it turns nonedible plant matter (like corn husks, for example) into fuel. Could also process waste from New York’s 18,000 restaurants.

9 to 11. The Pellets: Plant waste is processed into powder (9), then condensed into clean-burning fuel pellets (10), which become steam power (11). At least 60 pellet mills in North America already produce more than 600,000 tons of fuel annually, and a 3,400-square-foot house in Idaho uses pellets to generate its own electricity.

So... the question is not whether we can do this. I have the utter faith in our ability to make anything work technologically. The bigger issue should be: Is this the best way to build, grow, and feed ourselves? I understand the utopian vision of wanting to explore these visions, but a big question - is this sustainable? While defining the concept is difficult, there are certain limitations with technological solutions to things that i fear is that the human element of food production get's lost in the search for more production on less land.

Some rationale the article: "Why build vertical farms in cities? Growing crops in a controlled environment has benefits: no animals to transfer disease through untreated waste; no massive crop failures as a result of weather-related disasters; less likelihood of genetically modified “rogue” strains entering the “natural” plant world. All food could be grown organically, without herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers, eliminating agricultural runoff. And 80 percent of the world’s population will be living in urban areas by 2050. Cities already have the density and infrastructure needed to support vertical farms, and super-green skyscrapers could supply not just food but energy, creating a truly self-sustaining environment."

While maximizing production to available acres is good - and reducing food miles by producing (in a sustainable way) food as close to the consumer as possible - we provide a good basis for fundamental sustainability. I applaud and understand this idea - but there are a few issues missing from the discussion.

One: decentralization of food supplies offers us flexibility in dealing with potential problems associated with local conditions. I don't mean growing all of our food in one spot - but concentrating production to a small set of buildings makes them susceptible to failure and blight on a grand scale.

Two: the automation of the facility loses one of the essential components of agriculture - job creation and economic stability for rural regions. Instead of concentrating farming in small scale operations with few humans, maybe we can efficiently manage production using more eyes and hands on the product... leading to better management of soils, water and other resources.

Three: Elimination of agricultural lands as both a cultural and ecological system - and missing the benefits of both of these contributions to human beings and nature. Industrial agriculture has tainted what used to be both a noble and beneficial profession that had a strong land ethic, shaped our landscape with 'amber waves of grain' and provided a place and purpose for many people worldwide.

The concentration and use of buildings and new forms of agriculture will be a necessary component to our overall food production system - but these should never be seen as the panacea for sustainable agriculture. Changing from more local production, in a variety of means, done in a sustainable manner - is the real key to a truly sustainable agriculture. In dense areas where there are certain limitations to growth of adequate food supplies, supplementing production with vertical farming makes sense. In others, it just becomes a knee jerk and grandiose reaction to a system that is fatally flawed and inherently unsustainable (agribusiness). If we really look around and are smart about it, we can supply all of the needs of our residents with available lands, rooftops, and occasionally building - but it will really take a paradigm shift in how we both produce, transport, consume - and more vitally, think about our daily meals.

Midtown Mews

A Garden of Eden Grows in Manhattan

From the blog No Land Grab, via Curbed NY... of all the April Fools ephemera - this one made me laugh the most. Enjoy!


:: image via No Land Grab

Some highlights from the project, which offers:
...22 Acres of underutilized land, transformed into a vibrant*, gated enclave. (*or, vast parking lots... it depends)"

:: World-worthy architecture
:: Won't block views of itself
:: Will include some units affordable to some people if developer obtains tax-free bonds


:: image via No Land Grab

Plus added features to make you swoon...
:: 7 Acres of Green Colored Space
:: Removal of space wasted on sidewalks and streets

And my favorite from the Plan drawings:
:: Publicly Accessible Private Open Space

I love the little broccoli-like vegetated 'hats' as well. Mmmm. I guess if it weren't so plausible, it wouldn't be as funny. Happy April, fools...