Void Metabolism

Eikographia is an amazing site. If you haven't yet, add it to your list of regular visits, as it comes with some stellar and comprehensive overviews of projects, and an added twist of in-depth analysis of the remnant (or overt) iconography present in the work. A recent multi-part example covering a 2007 competition The Great Pyramid (TGP).

The project, via Eikongraphia, was imagined: "...by the German writer Ingo Niermann and entrepreneur Jens Thiel, invited four teams to contest in an explorative competition on the embedding of a gigantic pyramid made of stacked caskets." I like it already. While the range of winning entries (uh, yeah, all four 'won') was pretty interesting, I was drawn particularly to the entry by Atelier Bow Wow - for obvious reasons. Here's it in a nutshell:


:: image via Eikongraphia

The overall plan has a branching structure, much like a tree or the veins of a leaf. This is explained in a bit more detail from Eikongraphia: "Atelier Bow-Wow has considered the whole site as a single void, surrounded by a ring road. Inside that infra ring there is second ring of leaf-like pavilions, where one can meet in a group, or retreat individually. ...'The bedrooms are treated as ritual spaces, where a visitor spending a night on the site can meditate facing the pyramid landscape', Atelier Bow-Wow writes: 'Each room has its own individual path that eventually connects to the pyramid, forming a special connection between the guest and the monument.' ...How cool is that; every griever has its own, unique path to the pyramid. As the pyramid grows more paths can be constructed. The void in between the paths accommodates that growth. The creation of a new path results in the fragmentation of the gardens that materialize the void. Each new path comes with a new garden, planted with a new species. As the dead are stacked in the pyramid, new species – new life – is emerging on the field below."


:: image via Eikongraphia

The leaf-shaped structures are an interesting metaphor, further explained on Eikongraphia: "From the grave to the cradle, we could joke. But seriously, I think growing new (plant) life would bring a positive atmosphere to the complex. Unless, of course it is autumn… or winter. Speaking of which: are the leaf-pavilions, scattered on the ground, secretly a metaphor for the autumn, which in its turn could be a metaphor of saying goodbye? I must be imagining that."


:: image via Eikongraphia

I guess for me beyond the whole argument of meaning - the both physical and literal connection to nature. It has a special resonance for me, as I did a project for my senior thesis at university desiging a cemetery that combined bereavement research and environmental design research to aid in healing the families and friends of those buried. This really galvanized how important the infusion of nature into everyday life is, and has shaped the way I have approached the profession.

The competition is great in this way of looking at a cemetery designs and addressing these issues. While the other ideas were compelling in concept and form (in fact I really like the MADA s.p.a.m entry of a floating inverted pyramid) most of them missed this specific ingredient which is essential to healing the spirit... that of nature. Form is one thing... concept another. All of these are fine, but we cannot disconnect design from things that are proven to aid in the bereavement process.


:: image via Eikongraphia

Green Roof (and Wall) Design Awards

Caroline Nolan from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) was kind enough to send me the recent winners of the 2008 Green Roof and Wall Design Awards. A few of the winning projects have been featured here on L+U as models of the ongoing Veg.itecture series. A few others are new information for me. Read on for some photos and click on the titles for more information about the winners. (all links and images via GRHC)

• The Residences at 900 North Michigan Ave. in Chicago, IL. – Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects, LLC (Intensive Green Roof - Residential Category)


:: image credit - Scott Shigley

:: image credit - Scott Shigley

• West Podium Park, Boston World Trade Center in Boston, MA. - Roofscapes, Inc. (Intensive Green Roof Industrial/Commercial Category)


:: image credit - Pressley Associates, Inc



• Austin City Hall in Austin, TX - McKinney Kelley JV Landscape Architects (Intensive Green Roof – Institutional Category)




:: image credit - American Hydrotech

• Vancouver Aquarium in Vancouver, B.C.– Sharp & Diamond Landscape Architecture Inc. (Green Wall Design Category)



• 909 Walnut Fidelity Tower Building in Kansas City, MO – Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company (Extensive Green Roof – Residential Category)



• TWA Corporate Headquarters Building in Kansas City, MO – el dorado inc. (Extensive Green Roof - Industrial Commercial Category)



• California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, CA – Rana Creek Living Architecture (Extensive Green Roof-Institutional Category)



A few notes on the winners, and how the market and implementation of green roofs have evolved through the years. It is definitely true to form that the winners encompass a range of project types, including green walls, along with a fusion of extensive and intensive projects. I haven't really followed the awards for a few years - as it's typically a similar cross section of projects upon review... a few regional projects, along with some stellar examples of world-class design precedents. I think I will take the time to sift through the criteria and all of the winners over the years to see if I can discern if these show the breadth of winners that rise above the rest - and more particularly to see if there are any trends that emerge. Perhaps just an academic exercise, but having submitted before, it's always interesting to see how the winners stack up against the projects that you've done and not won for (or maybe it's just how they are submitted...?)

Final thoughts... It's interesting that there is no awards given for single-family residential project - which is a smaller (total) but burgeoning (potentially) part of the overall green roof projects. I assume you can submit a project in the residential category, and then compete with much higher end rooftop gardens. Perhaps this is due to the market being driven by designers and manufacturers that are more focused on larger scale commericial, industrial, and institutional projects along with a variety of smaller mixed use buildings. It would be great to add this residential category to give a different project scale. It's also interesting to see how industrial and commerical are lumped into the same category - as these typically have vastly disparate goals of aesthetics (think low-maintenance extensive versus high-maintenance rooftop terrace)

Alas, it's always educational to see awards - as it's someone's task to sift through numerous entries, probably all deserving of praise, and tease out which ones are specifically cutting edge. Nonetheless, over the past 6 years, it's been great to see the award winning projects and I do applaud GRHC for continuing to get green roofs (and now, recently green walls) on the radar and continue to promote their effectiveness and marketability - as well as the varying shades of green these rooftops encompass.

Hot Seat

I did some posts on the High Line in NYC back in March (along with it's fine French predecessor) - and have been tracking it for a bit. There's been some movement in construction, which I will get to in a bit, for now - I just love this one too much not to post it right now... enjoy.




:: images via Curbed NY

This idea of rolling furniture fulfills a few functions. On one hand, it brings up the wonderful adaptation strategy of public space advocated by many, including William Whyte - that movable furnishings allow people to customize the spaces they inhabit. Although constrained to one direction in this case - it's a step in this direction. Second, and potentially as powerful, is this simple way of reconnecting in a very inventive way to the historical railyard context in a functional, not just ornamental way.




:: images via Curbed NY