Architect Taketo Shimohigoshi has overcome the challenge of finding green space among dense, urban skylines with an elevated installation of vegetation. His design concept frames the city sky with slices of moss-covered beams, which define and connect the cityscape in a greener perspective. His vision has earned him a 2007 AR Award for Emerging Architecture – the definitive honor for young architects.
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Shimohigoshi’s design is a direct response to site – Tokyo’s crowded built environment. On his AR entry, the architect described his intent “Vegetation handling in mid-air, where nature is not in its natural place, stirs up imagination and sensuality. This vegetation becomes a buffer where ground is connected to the sky.”
The jury, which included architecture heavies like Paul Finch from The Architectural Review, found Shimohigoshi’s approach a solution that addressed the welcome vibrancy that density brings to urban spaces while utilizing the “blank world of contiguous under-used space” above the city streets.
+ AR Awards 2007
+ Taketo Shimohigoshi / A.A.E.
What an ingenious idea, and great design!
This is a great project that looks cool in it’s surroundings. However the architects comment about vegetation handling in mid air where nature is not in its natural place is a little questionable, its moss. Mosses can grow in some pretty harsh environments, with a steel beam topped with a controlled growing medium not being one of them. Throw some substantial vegetation on top of those beams and then my imagination and sensuality might get stirred up.
as rude as it may sound, I dont think this is such a new concept. i think that everyone should look back into old late 60′s early 70′s comercial design, i seem to remember alot of beams in malls covered with draped ivy.
I just dont get it….what is new about this – or even practicable? I might be missing something here…help me understand the genius in this.
Utter nonsense and a total waste. Let’s see some ideas for low-cost production of food and energy on the thousands [millions?] of acres of urban rooftops, to feed urban populations in The Long Emergency of energy descent.