If you happened to be in San Francisco this Friday, November 17th, you might have noticed the grass couches which sneakily popped up around the Ferry Building and Justin Herman Plaza. The couches were part of a series of interactive green installations celebrating the launch of a new website, www.letsgreenthiscity.com. You may remember this sod grass couch from a Readymade How-To that was published back in 2005. Well, we couldn’t get enough of it then, so we stopped by to test those couches out for ourselves. Apparently we weren’t the only ones – mayor Gavin Newsom was spotted relaxing on one in front of city hall. To see our pics, click here >
photo by Jen Siska
Geared to raise environmental consciousness and provide resources to San Franciscans, Letsgreenthiscity.com is a small piece of a larger campaign demonstrating individual and collective efforts to make San Francisco the “greenest city in the nation.”
Sponsored by Pacific Gas and Electric Company and of course, ReadyMade Magazine, we were happy to find out that the materials used for the installation will be donated immediately following deconstruction to local non-profit organizations.
If you’re not able to make it to the four-couch cluster, check out additional couches in Alamo Square, in front of City Hall, 77 Beale Street, on Market Street in the heart of the Castro, and at the 16th Street Mission BART.
www.letsgreenthiscity.com
+ Pacific Gas and Electric Company
Your blog is so beautiful. And I love the grass couch!
AWESOME!
This is so amazing. Is there a place where I could go to get the plans & how it is done? We have a spiritual university here in Texas & what a great project! Blessings in Gratefulness Thunder
yah, this is great!
are they really comfortable?
These look really comfy!
I was one of the participants that helped put the couches together. It was a really fun event. They couches were actually very comfy!;-)
Well, we don’t have to wonder why most of the people, other than the vote-hungry mayor, are sitting down. Unless these babies come with biodegradable, plastic slip covers, they aren’t much more than a charmingly silly idea.
Anybody ever hear of GRASS STAINS?
Grass stains? No problem. I envision these in parks and other recreation areas where you are probably dirty and sweaty anyway from plaing a pick-up game of soccer or frisbee. Appropriate for dressy people in the city? No, probably not. Pleasing to the eye? Yes. Makes you smile? Yes.
I’m interested in the sofa’s construction. What did you use for a base? Then it appears you put sod on top that will obviously need watered. I’m interested in building some–in an area that gets dry in summer and a fair amount of snow in winter.–Sharon Breay, A.S.I.D., Deer Creek Canyon, Colorado
Found your link on the construction. Thanks!!
Hey Shambhavi,
I think the reason the photographs don’t show people ON the couches is so you can see that they’re couches! Loads of people (and dogs …) were all over the couches – lounging and playing. In fact, at each couch there was a person with a Polaroid camera to take pictures of people on the couches, pictures that could then be slipped into a recycled cardboard frame printed with instructions on how to build your own! Thousands were taken – which means thousands of people sat on the couches.
wow. i LOVE the couches.
would ONE be available to get for EARTH DAY at the Oakland ZOo? I produce this event and it is a great way to get the green word out to the mainstream guests of the bay area. No, it is not SF, but we are right here across the bay, looking for green action and change. In fact, the theme is Earth Day 2007: Get Your Green Groove ON and it is on April 15th.
Thanks!
Amy G.
510 632-9525 x122
Hi. im an industrial design and industrial engineering student, in Colombia, South America, doing both of my thesis on “growing furniture”. Besides this couch, the terra grass chair by http://www.lazyboneuk.com/store/pro132.html, and the arborscupture technique, do you know any other projects i could look up to see the state of the art?
any other related info would be really helpfull !
thank you very much, and i hope you can help me try to make this a greener world