Vertical Gardens: Bringing the City to Life by Anna Lambertini & Jacues Leenhardt

Introduction by Jacques Leenhardt

I did not use this book entirely since it is mostly showing examples of vertical gardens around cities, but instead I used the introduction since it has a detailed history regarding these vertical gardens.

The garden is the most natural thing in this world, according to Leenhardt it is a space of untamed nature. It grows untamed and covers every surface of the earth if no one intervenes in its process. It is natural for vegetation to grow vertically but when it is confined to grow in a restricted area it is showing the intervention of humans. With regards to architecture and vertical gardens, this goes back to The Hanging Gardens of Babylon which were created by Nebuchadnezzar for his wife who was home sick of her childhood paradise. This was the start for gardens to be integrated with architecture as well as the uprooting of vegetation from their original territory to be placed some other place and producing the same conditions for the plants to grow. Originally plants like vines used to grow vertically by using natural support such as tree branches which is still used today in parts such as the Mediterranean but this support was abandoned not before long to be replaced with man-made structures. There are not many records with regards to the evolution of such gardens between the Roman period and the Middle Ages and was not until the 14^th Century that examples appeared in Europe of such development. Other developments occurred in 15^th Century Paris where the idea of The Hanging Gardens of Babylon was also featured in the gardens of Versailles. Containers were starting to be used which extends the idea of uprooting vegetation and placed outside the natural earth and put into these containers which were the initiation of the pot.

When the plants were taken out of their natural ground there was a problem with the nutrition for these plants. Plants need the support and substrate layers which the natural soli provides both, but once the plant is place into a pot one must deal with the humidity and nourishment this plant needs. Hector Horeau was one to deal with this problem in the beginning of the 19^th Century when there was a development in metal architecture where structures could be made lighter and transparent. This aspect helped him to develop the project to cover the boulevards in Paris by enhancing the overhead glass roofing by introducing containers for plants to cascade elegantly downwards. He even designed an irrigation system from collected rain water to distribute it according to the various plants’ needs. This idea helped avoid vandalism on the plants and also damage caused by stray dogs.

When it comes to urban centres, today we are searching for areas to plant vegetation to help diminish the carbon dioxide produced by traffic. Ebenezer Howard inspired urbanism of the garden-cities where large industrial sites that are no longer in use are being converted to create green parks. This also applies to various railway lines which are not in use any more as well as urban motorways with planted gardens although in urban areas these large areas are difficult to find. Leenhardt states that as part of Frank Lloyd Wright’s legacy, in the seventies, a new movement began to appear called the “green architecture” which was in strong contrast with the modern trends of the time. The main figures of the movement were James Wines and Emilio Ambasz. The idea of this movement was to build a vertical structure with a number of houses on each floor, each having its own style and each having its private garden. This idea was then repeated 20 years later by Edouard François which was actually constructed and giving each home the conditions comparable for the type of garden surrounding it.

HighRise of Homes by James Wines

Flower Garden by Edouard François

With regards to aesthetics vertical gardens could very well be considered like paintings with the various plants adding texture and shades like it would be done with traditional paint in paintings. One who is most in this area of botany is Patrick Blanc who manages to create wonderful wall gardens with plants that are usually found in tropical forests such as canopies and shrubs.

Literature Review - Chapters

Chapter 1: Interior Patios and Gardens

This chapter gives examples of homes which make use of such interior patios and gardens which are mostly situated in the middle of the home surrounded by the other rooms. This is so each room can enjoy the view of said garden to the maximum without having to worry about what may be seen from the outside. Such interior patios could be categorized into two types, the traditional ones with trees, flowers and glass sliding doors, and the other type is inclined more towards the oriental following the art of feng-shui to harmonize the energy.

Chapter 5: Natural Materials

As for this chapter, it focuses on homes which have used their surrounding natural elements as part of their construction such as homes which were carved into rock and said rock is used as walls. Stones and boulders are also used as flooring and patios, sometimes it is taken a step further and even large trees are used as part of the interior and design of the house which links this chapter to the previous one thus it contributes to my area of research with more interesting elements and possibilities as to how such interiors could be featured.

Chapter 6: Outdoor Furniture

The idea of bringing the outdoors in does not necessarily means that it is done by bringing nature inside, but also by using elements that are usually found outdoors as part of an interior. This is done by making use of outdoor furniture inside the home. This would give the home a modern yet different touch to the interiors. A wide variety of materials could be used to enhance this concept.

Literature Review - Article

URL: http://freshome.com/2013/11/18/love-nature-open-space-showroom-integrates-interior-garden/

URL: http://www.dezeen.com/2014/08/15/sisii-fashion-showroom-kobe-yuko-nagayama-associates-iron-platform-rockeries/

Love for Nature: Open Space Showroom Integrates an Interior Garden

 - Retail shop designed by Yuko Nagayama and landscape designer Toshiya Ogino in Japan which has an interior garden and the products are hung “randomly” but strategically around this garden

 - The idea is to make customers happy, relaxed and more at ease in this environment

 - The space is to showcase the products, hold meetings and for employees to work

 - The use of different levels is to make a pathway and separate the areas. It resembles the nearby landscape of Mount Rokkō

 - Native trees, moss and foliage are used to make it easier for maintenance

Literature Review - Book

Interior Gardens by Haike Falkenberg

This book focuses more on the aspect of interior gardens, but at some points also mentions vertical gardens when used both for outdoors and indoors. Vertical gardens are more likely to be used when there is a lack of horizontal space for a garden, thus the designers decide to go vertically instead. The book is split into 3 main sections and each section focuses on specific aspects of such gardens.

Typologies of interior gardens

In this section, Falkenberg illustrates a number of case studies regarding the types of interior and vertical gardens he mentions. Each case study is given with the context of the concept being analysed together with the plans, planting procedures, types of plants to be used and reasoning behind each decision making process.

General basic planning

This section aims more at explaining the general planning that goes into such gardens. It is referring to concepts in more general terms with images to explain the given example better. This section tackles the perception and principles of design as well as the creative approach to the concepts. The budget is the main factor that affects the decision making process since it establishes the choice of materials as well as how much technology is invested in the construction.

Materials and construction

Here Falkenberg goes into the technicalities of the materials needed as well as the construction requirements for specific intentions. He does not give a set of rules for one to follow to the letter but rather general guidelines for one to keep in mind when designing such interior gardens.

It is a very helpful book and helped me greatly to understand better the concept and ideologies behind such designs. More research is obviously needed to compile the long essay but this book provided a lot of information with regards to the subject and provided a path on what to research further.

History of Vertical Gardens

URL: http://landarchs.com/vertical/

Going Vertical: The History of Green Walls

 - Vertical gardens date back to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon (605BC)
 - Important for the Art & Crafts and Modern style movement in Europe
 - Used green façades to make the garden transition smoothly over the house by the Jugendsil movement in the early 20^th century but decreased in the 1930’s due to concerns
 - Patrick Blanc is the first to design ‘modern’ pattern but the concept was already theorised by Stanley Hart White in 1937
 - Help reduce energy loss and provide a green space where space is already scarce
 - Indoor vertical gardens are scientifically proven to help people psychologically


LAN, January 2014. Going Vertical: The History of Green Walls. [online] Landscaperchitects Network. Available at: http://landarchs.com/vertical/ [Accessed on 23rd March 2015]