An Antigravity Forest
The new facade of the Atheneum Hotel in London sports 12,000 hanging plants, creating a lush curtain of greenery. Wired Magazine has pictures of the facade and other similar sites.
The Atheneum facade was designed by botanist Patrick Blanc.
"Blanc uses a kind of techno-trellis as the underlying structure: A plastic-coated aluminum frame is fastened to the wall and covered with synthetic felt into which plant roots can burrow. A custom irrigation system keeps the felt moist with a fertilizer solution modeled after the rainwater that trickles through forest canopies.
But plants for this vertical landscape must be chosen with care. Because the walls are so high, conditions vary widely."
Full Story:
Published on Monday, August 24, 2009 in
- Details of Illinois' $45 Billion Infrastructure Investment Plan
- Leadership in Urban Planning, After Two Successful Stints as a Planning Director
- Neighborhood Responds as Gentrification Concerns Spread in Cincinnati
- Development Depleting Groundwater in Arizona
- The Gentrification Effect of Urban Parks
- A Climate Change 'Paradigm Shift' in Florida
- Scooter Rides Aren't So Cheap Anymore
- The Constitutional Clause Being Used to Threaten Climate Change Policies
- Life on the 'Nation's Most Photographed Street'
- Largest Condo High-Rise Since the Recession Planned for Chicago's Michigan Ave
- How to Improve Buses, the Overlooked but Essential Part of Urban Mobility
- House Legislation to Fund Vision Zero Investments Proposed
- Covington's New Neighborhood Development Code Wants to Ease Development, Protect Charm
- Home Prices Grows as Inventories Tighten in Detroit
- Robert Moses Inspires 'Motherless Brooklyn'
- Another Bay Area City Considers Urban Tolling
- Study: Sprawl Costs Local Governments More
- Report: Lime Likely to Lose $300 Million in 2019
- 2020 Conferences in Planning and Design
- New York MTA Reports Service, Ridership Improvements
