EcoCity Hamburg

Hamburg, Germany's new planned EcoCity by TecArchitecture and Arup has received a lot of attention as of late... let's take a look:


:: image via WAN

Wind turbines... check. Green roofs and walls... check. Water and futuristic, semi-biomorphic building forms... check. Reuse of structures... check... Multiple green rating systems... check! Looks like an eco-city...

Ok, I'm being coy, because I think the idea is interesting and it's obviously a sales tool, but I always want to see the social side of the eco. Here's some of the info via WAN: "Comprising ten major structures, ECO CITY offers a variety of different spaces for different purposes, bringing both large-scale industry and creative start-ups together in one, cooperative, and ecofriendly business community. The spaces range from studios to large warehouse and production facilities."


:: image via WAN

So there is a glimmer of social equity with industry + startups... and all living in perfect (yet sort of sterile) harmony... any issues with this particular juxtaposition of old and new?


:: image via WAN

World Architecture News adds some details: "The majority of all visible roofs will be green roofs, serving to slow storm water runoff and significantly reducing the heat island effect of ECO CITY. Green areas will be elevated to the second story where there is more access to air and sunlight. In addition to roof gardens, more than half the site will be covered with vertical gardens, further minimizing the development’s carbon footprint and maximizing leisure space. These raised green beltways will create a microclimate of sorts, allowing workers and visitors ample outdoor recreation space."

As always - nice form... now for the follow through. Read and see more at ArchDaily, and Treehugger.

Reading List: Andrea Cochran: Landscapes

I've had the book 'Andrea Cochran: Landscapes' for a while now, since Princeton Architecture Press (2009) sent me a copy. I've paged through it numerous times, but figured I'd get around to reading it at some point, at least formally, before putting the review together. Well, for a review I have to admit that I didn't end up reading much of it, but rather poured through the pages, scanning, absorbing, and staring at small vignettes of material and spatial form. Much like her work, the book is something to savor and view, but not necessarily an overly intellectual pursuit. This isn't to demean the work at all, as I'm sure there's a weighty sum of theory and background that the work is built on. It's a complement. Like art, you can view it and feel it, rather than read about it and think on it. This book gives you plenty to feel - and really, that's the best part.



I definitely will preface this 'mash note' to say that I am a huge fan of Andrea Cochran's work - and thus this review will focus less on the work than on the presentation here. Between the black stained concrete of the Perry Residence and the wonderfully whimsical Children's Garden (shown below) as some of the first projects I had seen from Cochran, I was immediately struck with the intricate simplicity of materials and form, yet blown away by the power of such restraint.



The book doesn't disappoint, as it is image-rich - offering many views of some of the fine work of the firm. Projects include a quick synopsis, a graphic plan, and both long and detailed views, exploring not just the overall form, but the connections and interplay of corten steel and grass, stainless and succulants, black concrete and decomposed grey granite. For instance one of my favorite projects, the Hayes Valley Roof Garden - shows wonderful composition of form and materials - powerful in plan and in reality.





It's also fascinating to see a larger body of work, connecting the above 2002 project and the follow up Ward Residence, which re-purposes the sinuous forms of Hayes Valley into a similar set piece - including stone and larger trees that were not possible in the rooftop scenario.



There is an opening essay by author Mary Myers describing some of the philosophy of the firm. It's a good read - and mostly a great way of summarizing both the historical origins of modern landscape architecture and the influence of the larger construct of art theory. But this isn't necessarily the type of work that needs words, and it's good to see that there's many more images than long descriptions of project directives. The materials are authentic and the focus on the creation of space is overt. Words would just get in the way.



The imagery of the Brookvale Residence (above) shows a simplicity of plantings, using hedges of Equisetum to create spaces; a different mood is evoked at the Stone Edge Vineyard (below) with native oaks, sculptural bay and olive trees, massing of ornamental grasses and water, in this case the lap pool expanding into a distant vanishing point through a small opening in the trees, with the the contrastingly rusty facade of the observatory building to the right.



While minimalist, the work is definitely infused with a regional sensibility - co-opting distant view and existing vegetation, as well as showcasing the original sculptural approach to landscape - again from the Stone Edge Vineyard and the ancient olive and bays in a simple field of gravel.





The end of the book offers some detailed line drawings of the spaces, which are just a minimal as the landscapes themselves. These are divided into plantings and built elements - giving some idea of the component items of the spaces. For instance, the image below shows the specifics on the Portland Art Museum exterior courtyard - one of the fine examples of Cochran's work locally. As a designer, these are a nice touch to be able to see the specific materials, colors of Scofield pigmented concrete, and plantings.





The above image captures one aspect of the beauty of this book - and why it transcends the typical photogenic monograph by showing wonderful projects, beautifully photographed, and just enough supporting info to make it resource as well. While the intro is worthwhile, and the project profiles are short and sweet - there's some meat to the beauty... even if that may reinforce that you can create poetry with a few simple materials, artfully arranged. It showcases both beautiful planting design, but a different side of the profession of landscape architecture. Thoroughly modern, minimal - yet still somehow verdant and contextual. It's an inspiration to see - if not to read.

[all images included are from the book]

Urban Ag-gregations

Nothing is more hot this year than the idea of urban agriculture in it's many forms. Perhaps due to the economic downturn or maybe just a natural extension of our new found urban ecologic sensibility that includes urban agriculture at the highest levels - there is not shortage of the wonderful and the questionable in the realm of city-based food production.


:: image via The Infrastructurist

The interesting and inevitable direction of any trend is the spawning of products to aid in the adoption of gardening. Some notable ones include the idea of services - such as Seed to Plate (below), or the plethora of land sharing or backyard farming options.


:: image via Treehugger

There are also some tools for simple gardening that made me chuckle, such as the Roll out Vegetable Patch which is a "... corrugated cardboard mat ... sowed with four types of vegetable seeds and organic fertilizer all ready to be rolled out - all you need to do is add water and soil."


:: image via Inhabitat

And for the uber-lazy or totally clueless, why not just get a garden in a box sent via post from Rocket Gardens. Perhaps going to the store and picking up some seed packets is just too difficult for some. I jest (somewhat) - because any method of getting people to garden more - particularly kids, is a good thing. But how about teaching them about it in reality - not just reinforcing commodization of our food items by having them show up in a box.


:: image via Treehugger

This education and adoption leads to such interventions as window boxes which continue gaining ground in dense areas, a number of more refined (but somewhat elegantly simple) solutions pop up as well, such as Earth Boxes. (more here)


:: image via Inside Urban Green

Urban gleaning isn't a new idea, but seems to have re-emerged as a viable pursuit. As GOOD magazine puts it - food grows on trees, so we may want to take advantage of what's there in a more formal way. And in a new twist the idea of tapping urban trees for maple syrup - one I haven't seen before.


:: image via cbcnews

Finally, the idea of seed bombing is both subversive and getting more commercialized - and has also created a number of iterations - such as this great post on 'Johnny Apple Sandal' via BLDGBLOG. Also, check out the video by Guerilla Gardening guru Richard Reynolds for mixing up your own verdant morsels via the Guardian.


:: image via ecolocalizer