Comments on: Foliage Covered Botanical Building by Mass Studies

By: tensile

tensile — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:45:45 +0000

The building is defined through the convergence of natural and artificial, interior and exterior, rather than demonstrating a stark contrast between the dualities.
wow, really cool, never thought someone would build somethink like this!

By: Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:10:30 +0000

WOW I never thought something like this was possible. I wish my home had grass all over the house. It gives it a unique look.

By: Two Things « Words From The Center, Words From The Edge

Two Things « Words From The Center, Words From The Edge — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 01:31:45 +0000

[...] Botanical Architecture! Take a look at a building in Seoul, South Korea that has foliage covering bo… Although the city boy in me fears the bugs that might be rampant in such a structure the secret [...]

By: Fran

Fran — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 19:51:54 +0000

I feel really dumb – I thought it was fake grass, it would be easier to maintain but I suppose all the plastic used wouldn’t be environmentally friendly either – inless it was recycled plastic. Looks amazing though, I love the staircase and use of glass.

By: saumya

saumya — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 21:10:23 +0000

this looks really gr8…n literally GREEN…. n d architects r nt sayin tht its green or sustainable…..but i think its jst an attempt 2 try smthing different..as v all like 2 do…

By: SM

SM — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 15:48:05 +0000

After checking the Mass Studies site and seeing more detailed photos… it seems the exterior is ivy, the interior stairwell is moss. The ivy is very sustainable, easy to maintain, does work as both insulation and air conditioner, and is pleasing to the eye, and I think a good design solution. The stairwell looks to be moss… very hard to maintain as there doesn’t seem to be external misters (it could have a hidden watering system). Also very aesthetic and functional as air purification, I certainly do not mean to take issue with this type of design… but I think the moss may die, and then it will look very ugly. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong… if it stays alive I find the design innovative and hopeful. I just am skeptical of some design that is aesthetic or “green thinking” before “green functional”. What I especially love is how plants overgrowing a structure give it a “built ruin” look so… more power to this direction of design.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 05:20:07 +0000

I would be interested to find out the nitty gritty details (cost and sustainability) but I think that people underestimate a great quality of this building – it makes people happy.

Cities are often run down and gray – this building is vibrant, soft looking and botanical.

By: Jervis

Jervis — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 16:59:28 +0000

Wow! What a great way to bring nature into urban architecture. Not sure about the mechanics though…how is it sustained over time? How is it watered, replaced, etc.? I’ve been trying to build a playset that does the opposite of this building…one that blends in with nature as opposed to bringing nature into the city. (http://www.errantdreams.com/thraveon/2008/01/10/playset-in-progress/) I’d like to figure out how to grow that kind of sod on several of the vertical surfaces…

By: the shire

the shire — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 01:32:22 +0000

that is so awesome I want a house like that sodd walls and all

By: ryan

ryan — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 20:02:03 +0000

i would love to see a wall section of this! can this ‘grid-of-sod’ be simply tied back like masonry or is the system more complex? how do the vertical units remain?

By: Paul Lloyd Johnson

Paul Lloyd Johnson — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 18:50:29 +0000

I find the negativity about this building alarming. I hope this negativity isn’t coming from actual architects, as we should know better.

By: Alex

Alex — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 18:29:15 +0000

I want to reiterate what Kat said on January 8th at 5:51 am. These green walls (green roofs as well) are designed to have as little an impact on maintenance costs and energy costs as possible. They actually cool the walls/roof via evaporation and transpiration through the plants, they add an effective insulation layer, and they reflect light and therefore heat away from the building by shading the walls/roof. The energy needed to pump water and provide nutrients are not enough to counter the energy savings achieved through reducing the heating/cooling load on the building.

By: Duke

Duke — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 22:10:29 +0000

Hey Leo Mac,

Looks like your buildings are not the only things floating!

By: daniel bremmer

daniel bremmer — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 20:20:59 +0000

It looks like there’s a grid in the green siding, almost like sod or something. Is there a product that people can just go out and buy and stick to the side of their homes and small buildings? If you lived in a wet climate (like the northwest) it wouldn’t require much irrigation, and for people in CA you might be able to create a dripping hose system using grey water.

By: Kat

Kat — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 09:51:00 +0000

Almost exactly one year ago, Inhabitat did an article about living walls (www.inhabitat.com/2007/01/15/vertical-gardens-by-patrick-blanc/) and it’s interesting to read comments posted by people with actual facts, rather than just condemning conjectures stated as fact. it would seem that living walls may not just be some wild, fantastically wasteful aesthetic statement, but that aside from being beautiful (especially the ones from that article), they could actually serve a viable purpose. geez!

By: Kristi

Kristi — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 01:07:35 +0000

It’s an interesting concept, however, I think nature would be better demonstrated if there weren’t obvious geometrical “tiles” of the greenery being used. Nature doesn’t form in the form of box tiles, normally.

I agree, too, that this building would be a nightmare to upkeep. Plants require specific light and moisture levels that not every corner of the house will be able to supply, which means the need for a daily gardener, and probably in some cases, the need to be constantly replacing some of those “tiles” as the plants die off.

By: Garth

Garth — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 22:50:27 +0000

@Leo Mac Ender:

House boats?

By: Rainbow

Rainbow — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 21:30:24 +0000

Amazing! It looks pretty artificial for my taste.

By: Juan Carlos

Juan Carlos — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 20:24:41 +0000

Isn’t this akin to the huge waste of water that comes from maintaing golf courses and the such?

By: SM

SM — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 20:08:40 +0000

I have to agree with Edna this is more conceptual art than anything useful. I’ve seen installations done like this before and oftentimes it’s photographed days, if not hours, after plants are physically and manually installed onto the side of plaster buildings… as you can see from the interior, a few plants are already browning… there’s no misters in place, something you’d need for moss if that’s what it is. And what is it saying? Plants are paint? Let’s slap plants on modernist cubes? I believe the architects weren’t intending for it to be sustainable, or practical, it’s meant to be surrealist in nature, and visually it is very interesting… but don’t be fooled into thinking it’s somehow environmentally friendly.