How about combining your garden and your sculpture investment and commissioning a piece of art (topiary) from Jeff Koons? The artist is responsible for this imaginative 43 foot high ‘vertical garden’ at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao in the mid-1990s. http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/ecology/15-living-walls-vertical-gardens-sky-farms/1202/2
For fire, water, air and earth see also http://firefeatures.com/index.htm the environmental sculpture of Elena Columbo.
It is said that the landscape architect Lawerence Halprin “worked closely with his wife, whose experiments with movement – in conjunction with a circle of avant-garde composers – informed his user-friendly designs.”
Halprin was keen to design participatory spaces rather than spaces that were merely aesthetic.
It is surprising, given his background was in plant sciences and horticulture before studying landscape architecture at Harvard, that he is best known for his work on public spaces. Although it is possible to surmise that his formative architectural interests and Bauhaus teachers influenced his sense of formal spatial design.
http://www.portlandtribune.com/features/story.php?story_id=122098201532999900 and http://www.artscatter.com/general/deep-portland-history-lawrence-halprin-and-ira-keller/ and http://www.tclf.org/pioneers/profiles/halprin/index.htm
Vauxhall Sky gardens: http://www.amintaha.co.uk/
As garden-in-architecture skygardens are new to the urban design agenda. I suppose what we are talking about here when considering the introduction of skygardens into the garden and architecture typology is a form of greenhouse or biodome in the sky. Vauxhaull it would appear is a semi-private garden akin to the penthouse suite or the executive boardroom. While Fenchurch Street seems to promote public thoroughfare and viewing…even though it is not a podium space but rather akin to garden- as- observation- deck.
Other projects are shown on http://www.greenroofs.com/blog/. and http://marquetteturner.wordpress.com/2008/07/04/the-urban-jungle-how-architects-are-helping-city-dwellers-get-back-to-nature/ but it will be even more interesting as the type gains popularity and skygardens become a more developed typology….
20 Fenchurch street: http://www.capitalcommitment.co.uk/site/portf.ec3.20fenchurchstreet.off.aspx
Source: http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/1726246.html
New York continues to inspire with reports that an investment company in Abu Dhabi is looking for a 75% stake in one of the cities most iconic buildings the Chrysler Building. http://www.therealestatebloggers.com/2008/06/12/chrysler-building-for-sale-to-abu-dhabi-investment-company/ While in Dubai the impression is of seeing double…..
When Japan finally opened up to foreigners in 1854 after being “impenetrable to the western world” the fascination with Japanese gardens immediately made itself felt within English high culture and by the beginning of the twentieth century Japanese garden styles were still setting trends for popular gardens as well as inspiring a reconsideration of the early Japanoiserie gardens as cultural heritage in Britian. http://www.humanflowerproject.com/index.php/weblog/comments/1681/
Urban living has many challenges! One of those is how to go from A to B if there is more just yourself to transport….
For example, how do you travel with young children and shopping or with bulky items like a surf board?
The website Inhabit features the Madsen Bucket bike as a solution.
I imagine this solution has its limitations in terms of how far you are likely to want to pedal, what to do in wet or cold weather, terrain and speed. On weekends recreation places different transport demands on the commuter than weekday commuting. Also needing to take two children to different schooling destinations could present quite a predicament for the modern parent – especially if they also needs to be on their way to work in Monday morning peak hour!
Source: http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/06/23/transportation-tuesday-madsen-bucket-bike/
Great to see ideas in sustainable design tackled with an artistic sensibility! This solar forest charging system for parking lots could equally well be located on a roof as on a ground site enabling cars to charge-up as well as remain cool in warm conditions.
