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 14th Century
that examples appeared in Europe of such development. Other developments
occurred in 15th 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 19th 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.
