Welcome to iGrow News, Your Source for the World of Indoor Vertical Farming
Green Skyscrapers That Add A Touch of Nature + Sustainability To Modern Architecture!
Polish designers Pawel Lipiński and Mateusz Frankowsk created The Mashambas Skyscraper, a vertical farm tower, that is in fact modular!
06/09/2021
Skyscrapers have taken over most of the major cities today. They’re symbols of wealth and power! And most of the skylines today are adorned with glistening glass skyscrapers. They are considered the face of modern architecture. Although all that glass and dazzle can become a little tiring to watch. Hence, architects are incorporating these tall towers with a touch of nature and greenery! The result is impressive skyscrapers merged with an element of sustainability. These green spaces help us maintain a modern lifestyle while staying connected to nature. We definitely need more of these green skyscraper designs in our urban cities!
Zaha Hadid Architects designed a pair of impressive skyscrapers that are linked by planted terraces, for Shenzhen, China. Named Tower C, the structure is 400 metres in height and is supposed to be one of the tallest buildings in the city. The terraces are filled with greenery and aquaponic gardens! They were built to be an extension of a park that is located alongside the tower and as a green public space.
Polish designers Pawel Lipiński and Mateusz Frankowsk created The Mashambas Skyscraper, a vertical farm tower, that is in fact modular! The tower can be assembled, disassembled and transported to different locations in Africa. It was conceptualised in an attempt to help and encourage new agricultural communities across Africa. The skyscraper would be moved to locations that have poor soil quality or suffer from droughts, so as to increase crop yield and produce.
The Living Skyscraper was chosen among 492 submissions that were received for the annual eVolo competition that has been running since 2006. One of the main goals of the project is to grow a living skyscraper on the principle of sustainable architecture. The ambitious architectural project has been envisioned for Manhattan and proposes using genetically modified trees to shape them into literal living skyscrapers. It is designed to serve as a lookout tower for New York City with its own flora and fauna while encouraging ecological communications between office buildings and green recreation centers. The building will function as a green habitable space in the middle of the concrete metropolis.
ODA’s explorations primarily focus on tower designs, in an attempt to bring versatility and a touch of greenery to NY’s overtly boxy and shiny cityscape. Architectural explorations look at residential units with dedicated ‘greenery zones’ that act as areas of the social congregation for the building’s residents. Adorned with curvilinear, organic architecture, and interspersed with greenery, these areas give the residents a break from the concrete-jungle aesthetic of the skyscraper-filled city. They act as areas of reflection and of allowing people to connect with nature and with one another.
Heatherwick Studio built a 20-storey residential skyscraper in Singapore called EDEN. Defined as “a counterpoint to ubiquitous glass and steel towers”, EDEN consists of a vertical stack of homes, each amped with a lush garden. The aim was to create open and flowing living spaces that are connected with nature and high on greenery.
Designed by UNStudio and COX Architecture, this skyscraper in Melbourne, Australia features a pair of twisting towers placed around a ‘green spine’ of terraces, platforms, and verandahs. Called Southbank by Beulah, the main feature of the structure is its green spine, which functions as the key organizational element of the building.
Mad Arkitekter created WoHo, a wooden residential skyscraper in Berlin. The 98-meter skyscraper will feature 29 floors with different spaces such as apartment rentals, student housing, a kindergarten, bakery, workshop, and more. Planters and balconies and terraces filled with greenery make this skyscraper a very green one indeed!
Algae as energy resources are in their beginnings and are seen as high potential. Extensive research work has dealt with algae as an energy source in recent decades. As a biofuel, they are up to 6 times more efficient than e.g. comparable fuels from corn or rapeseed. The Tubular Bioreactor Algae Skyscraper focuses on the production of microalgae and their distribution using existing pipelines. Designed by Johannes Schlusche, Paul Böhm, Raffael Grimm, the towers are positioned along the transalpine pipeline in a barren mountain landscape. Water is supplied from the surrounding mountain streams and springs, and can also be obtained from the Mediterranean using saltwater.
Tesseract by Bryant Lau Liang Cheng proposes an architecture system that allows residents to participate in not just the design of their own units; but the programs and facilities within the building itself. This process is inserted between the time of purchase for the unit and the total time required to complete construction – a period that is often ignored and neglected. Through this process, residents are allowed to choose their amenities and their communities, enhancing their sense of belonging in the process. Housing units will no longer be stacked in repetition with no relation whatsoever to the residents living in it – a sentimental bond between housing and men results.
In a world devoid of greenery, Designers Nathakit Sae-Tan & Prapatsorn Sukkaset have envisioned the concept of Babel Towers, mega skyscrapers devoted to preserving horticultural stability within a single building. The Babel towers would play an instrumental role in the propagation of greenery in and around the area. These towers would also become attraction centers for us humans, like going to a zoo, but a zoo of plants. Seems a little sad, saying this, but I do hope that we never reach a day where the Babel Tower becomes a necessity. I however do feel that having towers like these now, in our cities, would be a beautiful idea. Don’t you think so too?
Greenroofs.com Featured Project
Sky View Parc
Flushing, NY, USA
55,000 sf. Greenroof
April 15, 2019
Wow, this awesome project looks like something you’d see in pro-environmental design Singapore with its highrises, beautifully landscaped park, and living architecture, right? But it’s not – the lucky location is in the New York City borough of Queens.
Image: Sempergreen
Due to its undeniable scale and multi-color presence, the distinctive Sky View Parc green roof benefits not only condominium’s residents and the environment, but developers and marketers, too. It’s as a great sales tool for eco-friendly design!
Read the entire article here
Call For Videos: 2019 Greenroofs & Walls of The World Virtual Summit
Linda Velazquez on April 19, 2019
Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit 2019
The 2019 Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit – Greenroofs.com’s 5th completely online conference – will be held Live in September.
Held biennially since 2011, the Mission of the Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summits is to inform, share, and create a global social media experience online for learning and networking via the power of the Internet.
The theme of the 2019 Virtual Summit:
“Cooling a Warming Planet with Living Architecture”
The climate crisis is now and we need to embrace bold solutions and address it in many ways, especially with nature-based design and projects that promote green infrastructure as well as those with social and socially equitable benefits.
Encompassing a broad range of design solutions and a diverse community of multi-disciplinary professionals are crucial in our effort to mitigate and reverse the cataclysmic effects of human induced global warming.
Unique in our industry, the Greenroofs.com Virtual Summits are community destinations that allow you to connect with everyone and experience greenroofs, greenwalls, and green living infrastructure online. Participants have an incredible opportunity to learn about innovative site-specific, cultural, and climatic approaches in living architecture and – this time around – some transformative climate policy.
And with our social media and live events, you can connect and meet awesome experts and practitioners – all with with no carbon footprint!
#VirtualSummit2019
Earth. Image: NASA
Call for Videos
New this year and for the first time, we are issuing an Open Call for Videos! Do you have something unique and interesting to share with the world regarding “Cooling a Warming Planet with Living Architecture?” We’d love to hear from you!
What
Think of your video as an interactive live presentation that is prerecorded by you. We are looking for creative videos about 10 – 30 minutes in length of ideas, people & projects talking about how design can and does address climate change. We are open to videos from both individuals and multi-speakers either in a panel-type or multiple interview format.
Watch previous speaker videos on our Albums / GreenroofsTV channels: 2017, 2015, 2013 and 2011.
Send us an Abstract of your proposed video, either in writing or short under 1-minute video format (much more fun!). But it’s up to you.
Please include: Video Title; Primary Presenter(s); Contact Info; Type(s) of vegetated LID (Low Impact Development) Living Architecture (for example greenroof, greenwall, green street, bioswale, bioretention pond, storm barrier, etc.); Abstract (300 word maximum); and Biography: (100 word maximum).
We need engaged speakers: you MUST be available to participate in social media and make time for a Live Q & A!
By submitting your video, you grant Greenroofs.com permission to share your work with our readership via website, email, and on social media channels.
What Not
We are not looking for:
General information on green roofs and/or green walls/living architecture/green infrastructure – we have a pretty sophisticated audience!
Simply narrated PowerPoint presentations – sure you can show a few narrated slides, but overall it has to be lively and dynamic. Go outside and film your subject or film inside with people discussing and actively engaging with each other.
Your entire video – please only send us What is listed above for now!
Just Another Day on Aerosol Earth. Image: NASA/Joshua Stevens/Adam Voiland
How
Send Abstract and/or Video Abstract to: virtual@greenroofs.com
Our distinguished 2019 Advisory Board and I will review all Video Abstracts to determine a diverse group of sustainability and living architecture professionals.
Key Dates
Upon acceptance of your video, specifics will follow but these are the Key Dates to keep in mind:
Call for Videos: April 19, 2019
Call for Video Abstracts Due: May 31
Notification of Accepted Videos: June 7
Completed Videos Due: July 26
The 2019 Virtual Summit is Open with Scheduled Live Happenings & Social Media Events: September 1-30
Earth. Image: NASA Earth Observatory by Robert Simmon, using Suomi NPP VIIRS data from Chris Elvidge (NOAA National Geophysical Data Center)
#VirtualSummit2019
Join Us and the World in September
The 2019 Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit will be a fun and interactive experience for all.
We hope you join us online in September to learn and share your vision for a healthier planet enveloping living architecture with the world!
For additional info, contact me at:
Linda S. Velazquez, ASLA, LEED AP, GRP
Greenroofs.com Publisher & Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summits
Host
linda@greenroofs.com
o: (770) 772-7334 | t: (888) 477-1326
ARCHITECTURE, CLIMATE CHANGE, GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE, GREEN ROOFS, GREEN WALLS
VIA 57 West
VIA 57 West, a decidedly fantastic architectural mash-up with resident connection to views and nature
Linda Velazquez on September 24, 2018 at 2:50
VIA 57 West
22,000 sf Courtyard Greenroof
New York, NY, USA
Greenroofs.com Featured Project September 24, 2018
With the launch of our website redesign today, what better way to follow up the awesome Venice-Mestre Hospital (Ospedale dell’Angelo Mestre – Angel Hospital) than with the over-the-top VIA 57 West, a decidedly fantastic architectural mash-up with resident connection to views and nature at the forefront of its design strategy?
And the fact that BIG is one of my personal favorite team of architects just sealed the deal.
We also chose VIA 57 West this week in honor of CitiesAlive 2018– Green Infrastructure: Designing the Future of Resilience held in NYC starting today, September 24 and running through Friday, September 28. Brought to you by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, this year’s conference theme focuses on how green infrastructure builds resilience and equity in cities.
New York City has had quite a ride with an early array of beautiful and sensitive greenroof projects, and VIA 57 West adds a splash of the dramatic to its list of greened buildings.
Image courtesy of BIG, ©Iwan Bann
Mini Description & Details
Comprised of VIA, FRANK and Helena, the 57 WEST Superblock is an oasis in one of New York’s most vibrant neighborhoods. Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), the multi-award winning 35-floor VIA 57 WEST is redefining green living with a vision of sustainability that both respects nature and promotes wellbeing.
And its gleaming tetrahedron shape is an immediately recognizable presence on Manhattan’s West Side. A hybrid between the European perimeter block and a traditional Manhattan high-rise, VIA 57 West combines the advantages of both typologies: the compactness and efficiency of a courtyard building with the airiness and the expansive views of a skyscraper.
Image courtesy of Starr Whitehouse
Image courtesy of BIG
By keeping three corners of the block low and lifting the north-east corner up towards its 450 ft peak, the courtyard opens views towards the Hudson River, bringing low western sun deep into the block and graciously preserving the adjacent Helena Tower’s views of the river.
The form of the 77,202 square meter building shifts depending on the viewer’s vantage point. While appearing like a pyramid from the West-Side-Highway, it turns into a dramatic glass spire from West 58th Street.
Image courtesy of BIG, ©Iwan Bann
Image courtesy of BIG, ©Iwan Bann
Designed by Starr Whitehouse, the design of the open-air landscaped courtyard shares the exact proportions as Olmsted’s Central Park, planted with 47 species of native plant material including over 80 trees and lawn.
Starting in a grove of fern and birch, the path meanders up one story into a plaza that recalls a forest glade. Crossing through a fog feature, the path climbs a flight of stairs to arrive on a platform overlooking the Hudson. At this rocky summit, visitors can barbecue, enjoy the view, or sunbathe on a grassy knoll beneath a honey locust, surrounded by sumac, pine, and meadow grasses.
Image courtesy of Starr Whitehouse
Image courtesy of Starr Whitehouse
The single-source greenroof system chosen for Via 57 West is the Garden Roof Assembly® with Waterproofing Monolithic Membrane 6125® from American Hydrotech.
Built with an array of sustainable features and materials – not to mention stunning, unsurpassed vistas across the Hudson River and Manhattan – the spacious alfresco courtyard sky garden beckons to become a part of the engaging VIA 57 West community.
Image courtesy of BIG, ©Iwan Bann
Image: VIA 57 West Facebook page.
Year: 2016
Owner: The Durst Organization
Location: New York, NY
Building Type: Multi Use, Multi-Family Residential
Greenroof Type: Intensive
System: Single-Source
Size: 22,000 sq.ft.
Slope: 5%
Access: Accessible, Private
Image courtesy of Starr Whitehouse
Credits:
ARCHITECT: BIG
PROJECT ARCHITECT: David Brown, BIG
EXECUTIVE ARCHITECT: SLCE Architects
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER OF RECORD: Thornton Tomasetti
MEP ENGINEER OF RECORD: Dagher Engineering
CIVIL ENGINEER: Langan Engineering
MAIN CONTRACTOR: Hunter Roberts Construction Group
FAÇADE CONSULTANT: Enclos Corp., Vidaris, Inc.
TRAFFIC CONSULTANT: Philip Habib & Associates
VERTICAL TRANSPORTATION CONSULTANT: Van Deusen & Associates
ACOUSTICS CONSULTANT: Cerami & Associates
WIND CONSULTANT: CPP (Cermak Peterka Petersen)
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT: AKRF and ROUX Associates, Inc.
LIGHTING CONSULTANT: Brandston Partnership Inc.
GREENROOF SYSTEM: American Hydrotech Roof Garden Assembly®
Image courtesy of BIG, ©Iwan Bann
All the Info:
View the VIA 57 West project profile to see ALL of the Photos and Additional Information about this particular project in the Greenroofs.com Projects Database.
Image courtesy of BIG, ©Iwan Bann
Featured Project
Watch the VIA 57 West Featured Project Video above or see it on our GreenroofsTV channel on YouTube.
Greenroofs.com Featured Project 9/24/18 video photo credits: Courtesy of BIG, ©Iwan Bann and ©Nic Lehoux; Starr Whitehouse, ©Iwan Bann and others; and American Hydrotech, ©Kirsten Bucher.
Did we miss your contribution? Please let us know to add you to the VIA 57 West profile.
Would you like one of your projects to be featured on Greenroofs.com? We have to have a profile first! Submit Your Project Profile.
Love the Earth, Plant a Roof (or Wall)!
By Linda S. Velazquez, ASLA, LEED AP, GRP
Greenroofs.com Publisher & Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summits Host
dmvA Suspends Greenhouse For Urban Farming Over Steel Rods In Belgium
September 28, 2018
house tp is located in the working-class area in mechelen, belgium – a local woman with green fingers bought there a little house next to the church and asked dmvA to reconstruct it. due to the specifics of the site and the client’s requirements, the architects have created a levitating greenhouse in the home’s courtyard.
the client had the desire to do urban farming, which is not evident in the center of the city. moreover, the plot was fully built and the backside is oriented north, being in the shade of the house most of the time. a green spot behind the house seemed difficult to create due to the lack of sunlight. dmvA, therefore, decided to remove the rear of the building, except for one steel beam.
the beam inspired the architects to add some extra beams and place a greenhouse on top of them. by hanging the structure up in the air, dmvA found a solution to the lack of illumination that ensured the patio to stay bright and light. as there is less light reaching the ground floor due to the orientation of the house, the bedroom is downstairs, while the living room is upstairs. next to the patio, there is a small living space that can also be used as a bedroom in the future.
by removing all interior walls and creating open spaces, the house seems larger than it is, despite its small living area of 80 square meters. the stairs are always placed on a side of the building so that the open spaces would not be disrupted.