Veg.itecture #41

As I mentioned so innocently in the last installment of Veg.itecture, the quantity of projects out there in the world blending landscape and architecture has grown exponentially. This has two impacts... one is continuing to grow my backlog (it's at about 70 projects) and making me question the rapidity and interval at which I post about this projects. So it may be time to again revise the format... so any thoughts would be helpful. One option is to do a more DailyVeg sort of feature (or in reality semi-daily) or a thrice-weekly version... I'll think on-it.

In the interim, a load of new projects. For starters from ArchDaily: "Greenland Street invited Office for Subversive Architecture to develop the first of their annual architecture commissions which will inhabit the roof of The Blade Factory." Here's the cool glowing translucent roof, which is pretty cool - especially alongside a simple vegetated patio terrace.


:: image via Arch Daily

The next is from WAN, a project by RMJM Architects for the Champalimaud Foundation Centre in Lisbon, Portugal which has some blurred interior and exterior spaces: "Building A will house a rainforest garden which can be visited by patients and staff, in addition to diagnostic, treatment and wellness centres; Building B is to encompass an auditorium, exhibition centre and restaurant; while Building C is expected to be an open-air amphitheatre to hold community events and public performances."




:: images via WAN

This cool project/graphic from BDonline - for a project by Sarah Featherstone and Jeremy Young for a small house in Wales.


:: image via BDonline

This is a bit more subtle, from Arch Daily again... pretty non-descript on the outer shell for this Research Facility, but with some interesting rooftop and courtyard paver greening...


:: image via Arch Daily

A recent post from Coolboom linked to a couple of great projects. First, a link to Materialicious and the turf houses of Iceland... the original greening, and probably safer than Icelanding banks... :)


:: image via materialicious

And a lead to Archidose and an amazing designer from Japanese architect Terunobu Fujimori. While Archidose rightly points of the standardization of roof greening as 'product' something I've discussed at length - these Fujimori projects: "...whose surfaces hint at the uniqueness of his buildings, what Thomas Daniell describes as "shaggy and bristling, humorous and grotesque, uncanny and vaguely obscene, and at times surreally beautiful." This last can easily be attributed to his handling of vegetation on roof surfaces."






:: images via archidose

A great example of vegetated form-making via WAN - these 'Park Houses' by Ushida Findlay Architects in the UK offers a number of interesting strategies: "Park Houses' design features an undulating green roof linking five individual homes and shared family leisure facilities, subtly integrating them with the surrounding landscape and ecology. ... Strips of indigenous plants, set within furrows in the roof, will flourish to merge the building with the landscape, and attract local flora and fauna to the site."






:: images via WAN

It's interesting to see the range of examples... from the innovative to the simple, which is one of the great adaptations of Veg.itecture - both in application and budget to meet the needs of any project. Some more pragmatic examples... first via Jetson Green - the pregrown vegetation slated for Olive 8, which will be one of the largest green roofs in Seattle when completed in November. It's kind of like a little sedum porn.




:: images via Jetson Green

And on the other coast, a recent tray-based installation via Treehugger for the ConEd building in New York, with a


:: image via Treehugger

And to finish off, a cute little blob of greenery upon some 'favela-like' ephemeral creations, via Treehugger: "Argentinean architects Gustavo Dieguez and Lucas Gilardi took 18 wood boxes that were waste from the Brazilian automobile industry and transformed them into the Plug and Live System: a collection of modules to build transitory habitats and experiment with different ideas of housing." I personally love the GM stencils all over it as well... :)


:: image via Treehugger

And some equally cute 'green roofs' via MoCo Loco: "...works by Nobuhiro Sato of Kyoto-based studio Pull+Push. Sato puts his background in cement modelmaking—and his abiding interest in architecture—to good use in his clever designs, which include sculptural concrete vases, incense pots, and coasters. Our fave: his Mansion planters, incredibly detailed miniature homes complete with little staircases and windows. They’re witty, but also quite poetic, bearing the earmarks of painstaking, even obsessive, handcraftsmanship. A green home for your greenery!"




:: images via MoCo Loco