Veg.itecture #27

The next installment of the Vegetated Architecture series - with a grab bag of interesting examples. For starters, the announcement that Jean Nouvel's winning entry for the landmark tower in Paris's La Defense district (featured in Veg.itecture #18) bested entries by Liebskind, Foster, and others. Some additional images of the project, and a quote via BDonline: From jury president Patrick Devedjian: "The jury chose the project because of the technical plan, sustainable development, and innovation. It presents tower typology never seen before. The powerful silhouette reshapes the landscape of The Defense around the La Grande Arche.”




:: images via BDonline

A bit more modest-scale is a project featured on Jetson Green, the Vader Garage in Philadelphia is up for sale on Craigslist - complete with some awesome material stylings and double canted green roof - visible from interior spaces. A few images:




:: images via Jetson Green

Similar scale with curve thrown in, is this residence via Dezeen: "New York-based architects Studio Dror have designed residential villas for Nurai, a resort on a natural island off the coast of Abu Dhabi." Something about green roofs that return to terra firma just makes for a stunning statement - interestingly enough - this is the only exterior shot... which is much cooler than the rest of the home, which is pretty interesting but nothing terribly special. Maybe it's landscape bias?


:: image via Dezeen

The idea of 'sweeping the amenities under the carpet' is mentioned, along with a statement about it's contextual ideology: "The carpet is an elegant and simple solution and native to the arts and crafts tradition of the Persian Gulf. We perceive it as a field upon which we can sculpt and manipulate landscape and topography to achieve suspended states of privacy." Another interstitial outdoor space is the pool between open curved roof planes:


:: image via Dezeen

Kicking earth-sheltered back up a notch - this project in Aragon, Spain by Foster & Partners comes via Mad Architect. Not a nod to Detroit, La Ciudad del Motor (Motor City) offers some stunning earth sheltered form - along with a really cool rendering of the vegetated and sun-filled atrium spaces.




:: images via Mad Architect

And veering slightly from the vegetated, via The Design Blog, I like the futuristic form nestled in the surrounding mounds, which takes a bit of the sci-fi quality down a notch... but really do you want your bubble windows facing just a mass of lawn? I guess the distant view ain't bad, either - and you can even see through the inhabitants. A form of veg.itecture in the true immersion in landscape.




:: images via The Design Blog

Alas, amidst the technology and designerly aspirations, integrated urban forms, and bioclimatic wonders - sometimes simplicity is just, well, simple. This project via Treehugger, embodies the concept of veg.itecture in it's true form: "Grand Designs Live, the slightly addictive t.v. show about house renovations, has named its Voters' Choice Home of the Year, 2008. Winner of the Best Conversion category, Black Sheep House went on to beat off all the other contenders to win the overall prize. That is quite a feat because some of the other houses were far more sophisticated, designer, and stylish. Instead voters went for a sweet hippy house on a remote corner of the Hebrides islands overlooking the sea. Its turf roof and gently curved stone walls blend into the surroundings; so much so that the house cannot be made out in an aerial photograph."


:: image via Treehugger