Especially in big dense cities, roofs and facades are the only places left to make things greener. Figures show that governments and developers taking action. For example, nearly 8 km2 of green roofs - the equivalent of about 1,100 soccer fields - were installed in Germany in 2020. It seems the question is no longer whether greenery on buildings is the future, but how much and what form it should take.
The selection of projects related to green cities in this issue of DETAIL magazine shows the diverse forms that green buildings can take. In Leeds, Heatherwick Studio created a green oasis for patients with cancer in an otherwise dreary hospital environment. Sou Fujimoto’s hotel extension in Maebashi, Japan, is intended for a very different target group yet serves a similar function in the cityscape. In Osaka, Tomohiro Hata gave “tree tenants” plenty of space on the terraces of a single-family home. And in Eindhoven, Stefano Boeri and Inbo have proven you can create a habitat for trees, shrubs, and perennials with the limited budget of a social housing project. Meanwhile, MIA Design Studio and Atelier du Pont show how plants can enhance and bring calm work environments with their new office buildings in Ho Chi Minh City and Paris.
One of the most zealous custodians of Hundertwasser’s legacy today is the Milanese architect Stefano Boeri. In an in-depth interview in this issue of Detail, he speaks about his “vertical forests” and why he sees them as just one element in a diverse network of green spaces needed to support biodiversity.
Especially in big dense cities, roofs and facades are the only places left to make things greener. Figures show that governments and developers taking action. For example, nearly 8 km2 of green roofs - the equivalent of about 1,100 soccer fields - were installed in Germany in 2020. It seems the question is no longer whether greenery on buildings is the future, but how much and what form it should take.
The selection of projects related to green cities in this issue of DETAIL magazine shows the diverse forms that green buildings can take. In Leeds, Heatherwick Studio created a green oasis for patients with cancer in an otherwise dreary hospital environment. Sou Fujimoto’s hotel extension in Maebashi, Japan, is intended for a very different target group yet serves a similar function in the cityscape. In Osaka, Tomohiro Hata gave “tree tenants” plenty of space on the terraces of a single-family home. And in Eindhoven, Stefano Boeri and Inbo have proven you can create a habitat for trees, shrubs, and perennials with the limited budget of a social housing project. Meanwhile, MIA Design Studio and Atelier du Pont show how plants can enhance and bring calm work environments with their new office buildings in Ho Chi Minh City and Paris.
One of the most zealous custodians of Hundertwasser’s legacy today is the Milanese architect Stefano Boeri. In an in-depth interview in this issue of Detail, he speaks about his “vertical forests” and why he sees them as just one element in a diverse network of green spaces needed to support biodiversity.
