**Summary and Key Insights on Vertical Gardens/Green Walls in Sustainable Architecture**

**1.

Growing Trend in Sustainable Design:**
Vertical gardens, also known as green walls or living walls, are gaining popularity among leading architects for transforming urban spaces.

They are frequently incorporated in projects aiming to merge innovation, sustainability, and aesthetics, from the upcycled Quay Quarter Tower to civic and workplace environments.

Practical Benefits:**

- **Air Purification:**
Green walls significantly improve indoor air quality by absorbing pollutants like VOCs, CO₂, and particulate matter through plant leaves and root systems, creating healthier environments.

- **Temperature Regulation:**
Living walls provide natural insulation—reducing indoor temperature fluctuations, lowering air-conditioning needs, and addressing urban heat island effects.

In temperate climates, they can help retain warmth, and in tropical climates, facilitate cooling through shading and transpiration.

- **Mental Health Impact:**
Exposure to indoor green spaces, including vertical gardens, is linked to improved concentration, lowered stress, increased productivity, and greater overall well-being.

They transform sterile interiors into soothing, biophilic environments, contributing to positive psychological states.

- **Aesthetic & Place-Making Qualities:**
Green walls add beauty and a dynamic connection to nature in any setting, reinforcing local identity and cultural references.

They enhance occupant experience and building marketability.

Maintenance Considerations:**

- **Systems & Infrastructure:**
Living walls require irrigation, often automated, and adequate drainage.

Maintenance involves regular pruning, replanting, occasional pest management, and monitoring plant health/nutrient levels to ensure lush, healthy growth.

- **Cost vs.

Benefit:**
Initial installation and ongoing care can be resource-intensive, but the long-term health, aesthetic, and energy-saving benefits often outweigh these costs, especially in high-traffic or signature spaces.

Suitable Plant Selection by Climate:**

- **Temperate Regions:**
Plants like ferns, spider plants, philodendrons, and certain ivies thrive indoors with moderate light and humidity.

- **Tropical Climates:**
Epiphytes, bromeliads, pothos, and philodendrons tolerate high humidity and warmth; choosing pest- and disease-resistant species is key.

- **Dry/Arid Conditions:**
Succulents, cacti, and drought-resistant grasses are ideal for minimizing water input while maintaining greenery.

- **Local Sourcing & Adaptive Design:**
Using local plant species not only ensures better acclimatization but supports biodiversity and regional character—a principle echoed in sustainable design thinking.

Sustainable Value:**
By integrating green walls, architects foster environmental stewardship, contribute to regenerative urbanism, and exemplify circular design, particularly when coupled with energy-saving practices and local material sourcing.

In sum, indoor vertical gardens offer wide-ranging, concrete benefits to sustainable building design when thoughtfully planned and maintained, supporting both ecological health and human well-being across diverse architectural contexts.

**Vertical Gardens in Sustainable Architecture: Key Nuggets**

- **Integration of Nature and Built Environment**:
  Vertical gardens (or green walls) are increasingly integrated within urban design, public spaces, schools, hospitals, and residential towers worldwide—particularly in cities seeking to improve quality of life and environmental health.

- **Health & Well-being Benefits**:
    - *Air Purification*: Indoor green walls help filter pollutants and improve air quality, making breathing easier and healthier in enclosed spaces.

- *Mental Health*: Access to greenery, even indoors or vertically, supports psychological well-being, offering relaxation, reduced stress, and a sense of harmony—a concept utilized in hospitals for patient recovery.

- *Children’s Development*: Incorporating greenery into schools and urban spaces fosters improved development and learning environments.

- **Thermal & Environmental Advantages**:
    - *Temperature Regulation*: Green walls provide natural insulation.

They help reduce the heat island effect in urban areas, lower energy consumption for cooling/heating, and contribute to carbon neutrality—especially when combined with the use of sustainable materials like wood in construction.

- *Biodiversity*: They create habitats for birds and insects, supporting urban ecosystems.

- *Landscape Enhancement*: Emphasizing seasonal variety and lushness, vertical gardens can create year-round visual appeal and reflect local climates and histories.

- **Design Innovation**:
    - *Space Efficiency*: Vertical gardens allow greenery to flourish where traditional lawns are impractical, maximizing limited land—critical in dense urban areas.

- *Multifunctional Spaces*: Their inclusion in atriums or common areas encourages both transit and congregation, making spaces healthier and more inviting.

- **Public and Social Value**:
    - *Community Engagement*: Green spaces—especially those that are visually, physically, and functionally accessible—offer social, recreational, and educational benefits for residents of all ages.

- *Resilience & Adaptability*: Green wall systems are being designed for unique local challenges (e.g., wind, limited space, severe climate) and social needs, such as affordable housing and migrant accommodation.

- **Sustainable Technology & Urban Challenges**:
    - *Innovative Waste Management*: Some vertical garden projects double as environmental clean-up solutions (e.g., integrating plastic waste collection and oil spill remediation).

- *Water Management*: Efficient irrigation systems, sometimes powered by natural water flow, support plant health with minimal waste.

- **Maintenance & Plant Selection**:
    - *Maintenance Needs*: Green walls require regular upkeep—pruning, monitoring of irrigation systems, pest control, and periodic soil or substrate renewal.

Automated systems can streamline some of these tasks.

- *Plant Selection for Climates*: Choice of plant species is vital.

In temperate zones, ferns, ivies, and native perennials thrive; in arid climates, succulents and drought-tolerant plants are preferred.

In cold regions, hardy evergreens and mosses offer year-long greenery.

- **Aesthetics and Connection to Nature**:
    - By integrating vertical gardens with open architectural designs (e.g., folding walls to merge indoor and outdoor), architects eliminate the boundary between nature and human-made environments, fostering well-being and environmental stewardship in daily life.

**Conclusion**:
Vertical gardens are a multifaceted innovation in sustainable building, offering tangible environmental, aesthetic, and health benefits while presenting design and maintenance challenges that informed plant selection and advanced technologies help address.

Their successful integration is transforming how urban spaces look, feel, and function.

**Vertical Gardens: Practical Benefits & Implementation in Sustainable Architecture**

**Introduction & Context**
Vertical gardens, also known as green walls, living walls, or plant walls, are transforming the built environment by merging natural elements with modern architectural design.

Emblematic of sustainable trends in “green architecture,” they support goals of longevity, resource efficiency, and waste reduction, aligning with global ambitions to create buildings that balance cultural identity and ecological responsibility.

---

**Key Benefits of Indoor Vertical Gardens**

1.

**Air Purification**
Vertical gardens are effective biofilters.

Their dense plant cover absorbs pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon dioxide, and particulate matter, thus improving indoor air quality.

Certain plants are especially good at trapping airborne toxins, offering healthier environments in residential and commercial buildings.

**Temperature Regulation**
Living walls moderate indoor temperatures in several ways:
   - They naturally insulate spaces, reducing heat gain in summer and heat loss in winter.

- Through evapotranspiration—the process by which plants release water vapor—they cool the surrounding air, alleviating the urban heat island effect and lessening reliance on HVAC systems.

**Mental Health & Well-being**
Exposure to greenery has proven psychological benefits.

Indoor green walls can:
   - Lower stress levels.

- Boost productivity and creativity.

- Enhance mood and support recovery from mental fatigue.

Their presence contributes to biophilic design principles, reconnecting occupants with nature in urban environments.

---

**Practical Aspects: Maintenance & Suitability**

1.

**Maintenance Needs**
   - **Irrigation:** Most green wall systems use automated watering, but regular checks are needed to avoid over/under watering.

- **Fertilization:** Nutrients must be supplied periodically; hydroponic systems often integrate this into the irrigation process.

- **Pruning & Plant Replacement:** Dead or overgrown plants need pruning or replacing to retain health and aesthetics.

- **Pest & Disease Management:** Routine inspection is essential to prevent infestations and disease outbreaks.

**Plant Selection by Climate**
   - For **tropical/humid climates**: Ferns, pothos, philodendrons, and peace lilies are robust choices.

- For **arid or temperate zones**: Succulents, sedums, and drought-resistant species like certain grasses or herbs do best, especially for outdoor installations.

- Indoor walls typically utilize shade-loving, low-maintenance plants such as spider plants, snake plants, or dracaenas.

- Selection should factor light availability, humidity, and maintenance capabilities.

Their growing popularity—highlighted by their inclusion in notable global projects—signals an important evolution in how we design the built environment for the future.

**Summary and Key Insights on Vertical Gardens/Green Walls in Sustainable Architecture**

**1.

Title:

Content: Hindustantimes wants to start sending you push notifications. Click allow to subscribe

World Environment Day: 5 sustainable and eco-friendly design ideas that can transform your workplace into a green haven

Jun 04, 2023 05:47 PM IST

On this World Environment Day, embrace a greener future with these five innovative and sustainable design ideas to transform workspaces into eco-conscious hubs.

World Environment Day, celebrated annually on June 5, is a global initiative that raises awareness about pressing environmental issues. It is a reminder of our responsibility to protect the planet. With an increasing focus on environment-friendly practices, "future of workplace" has evolved into a more sustainable approach to design spaces that we work in. Creating a sustainable workspace is not only beneficial for the environment but also for the well-being and productivity of employees. In honour of World Environment Day, let's discover five innovative and practical design ideas that can transform your workplace into a green haven, fostering sustainability and eco-consciousness. (Also read: 5 environment-friendly and cost-effective home design strategies )

Sustainable Workspace Design Ideas

Apoorv Mittal, Architect, Concept Consilio India Pvt. Ltd, shares with HT Lifestyle, five innovative design ideas that not only enhance productivity and well-being but also prioritise environmental sustainability.

1. Use furniture and fixtures that are sourced locally

A huge part of designing a space sustainably is to source all the furniture and fixtures locally. This cuts down immensely on carbon emissions in transportation and in turn, helps in reducing building costs of the project.

2. Provide green areas in and around the office

Pockets of green around the office can create a net positive impact on the well-being of the users as well as give the space a refreshing energy. Furthermore, there can be several HR initiatives that can help support the biophilic nature of this design scheme; such as "adopt a plant" and the use of hydroponic plants.

3. Use of modular meeting spaces and booths

Modular meeting spaces and modular booths are great innovations in truly reusing and recycling not only the waste that we create but also the spaces we use. Using such modular settings enables the design to last longer, which in turn leads to a more sustainable approach.

4. Proper use of natural light

Designing efficiently to maximize the use of natural light can reduce the load of electricity consumed by a space. On similar lines, the use of diffused light should be considered and utilised as much as possible to increase visibility while reducing the heat incurred. This brings down the air conditioning needs of the design as well.

5. Utilizing eco-friendly materials

The utilization of eco-friendly materials involves employing natural alternatives instead of synthetic products, which not only imparts a visually appealing natural aesthetic but also contributes to a more environmentally friendly approach. An example of such an alternative is the use of cork boards as a substitute for synthetic materials in the construction of acoustic panels. By opting for cork boards, we not only achieve a rich natural appearance but also prioritize sustainability and the preservation of our ecosystem.

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Growing Trend in Sustainable Design:**
Vertical gardens, also known as green walls or living walls, are gaining popularity among leading architects for transforming urban spaces.

They are frequently incorporated in projects aiming to merge innovation, sustainability, and aesthetics, from the upcycled Quay Quarter Tower to civic and workplace environments.

Title:

Content: Skip to main content

Some of the world’s top architects are competing to transform a downtown space into something worthy of a nation’s capital. The competition ends April 26

When was the last time the federal government commissioned a great building? This hasn’t happened for half a century in Ottawa, where recent public architecture has been unambitious and underwhelming. That is likely to change with Block 2, a new office complex to be built across the street from Parliament Hill.

Some of the world’s top architects are vying to lead the Block 2 design, in an international competition conducted in collaboration with the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. Next Tuesday, a 25-member jury of parliamentarians, academics and architects, led by the philosopher and novelist John Ralston Saul, will announce a winner from among six shortlisted teams.

These teams unveiled their designs for Block 2 in a public online presentation last week. While they presented a diverse set of visions, whichever is selected will become the most ambitious work of public architecture the capital has seen for many years.

However, it won’t be flashy. Block 2 will be largely an office complex, for the use of parliamentarians and civil servants. It forms part of a 25-year project to rebuild the entire Parliamentary Precinct, the area on and around Parliament Hill. Block 2 is bounded by Wellington, Sparks, Metcalfe and O’Connor streets; this city block currently includes 11 existing buildings and several vacant lots. Two buildings in the middle are reserved for a future Indigenous Peoples’ Space. The remainder will be demolished or incorporated into the new office complex.

The government launched the process in March, 2021, with a request for qualifications from design teams. Twelve of these were invited to develop a detailed design concept. The jury then whittled them down to six, using an exhaustive set of aesthetic and technical criteria. These many constraints, not to mention the challenge of responding to the Parliament Buildings across the street, make it difficult to create an icon.

Instead the shortlisted designs show sophisticated and varied solutions to the competition’s puzzle. The designers include an international who’s who of contemporary architecture. They nod to the materials and detailing of the triad of Parliament Buildings; they include bold modernist form-making and articulation; and they incorporate thinking from Indigenous architecture.

There are commonalities. Several of the schemes extensively use engineered wood, or mass timber, an attractive and low-carbon material. All of them respond to the competition requirements with a mix of office space, meeting rooms and grand atriums.

But there are also some key differences in approach. The team led by London firm WilkinsonEyre imagines a rooftop C-shaped conference space. The team led by Paris-based Renzo Piano Building Workshop takes liberties with the existing heritage buildings to establish a uniform, monumental facade along Wellington Street. And the team led by Montreal’s Provencher Roy bets heavily on Indigenous design to shape Block 2 itself.

Some of these designs stretch the rules of the competition, which is apt; the main benefit of a design competition is to test different ideas and designers, in order to produce an excellent result. Block 2 is likely to deliver on that aim. Its public areas and street facades will send two clear messages: that the work of government matters, and that public architecture can embody the highest cultural aspirations.

Here are early assessments of the six shortlisted schemes, based on the architects’ video presentations.

Zeidler Architecture with David Chipperfield Architects

Of the six proposals, this is the clear standout. David Chipperfield’s London firm is known for its sensitivity to heritage. This proposal “weaves together past, present and future to create a tapestry of forms and styles,” Mr. Chipperfield said during the presentation. The scheme, created by a team that also includes Toronto’s Zeidler Architecture, retains almost all of the exteriors of the existing buildings. The new ones have mass-timber structural systems and are dressed in panels of recycled copper – a poetic nod to the copper roofs of Parliament.

Inside, two large atriums link the existing buildings on site, unifying floor levels to provide accessibility, while a variety of meeting and hallway spaces feature recycled masonry. The team – including Mohawk architect Matthew Hickey of Two Row Architect – has also designed a Peoples’ Square that sits alongside a new Indigenous centre and in line with the Peace Tower across the street. At a small scale and at the scale of the block, this promises complexity and variety that could, as the architects suggest, represent the diversity of the country.

NEUF architect(e)s with Renzo Piano Building Workshop

This project, by contrast, remakes the facades along Wellington Street into two uniform and finely detailed boxes – the kind for which Renzo Piano’s Paris-based firm is globally known. (Its partners on this project include Montreal’s NEUF.) Clad in clear low-iron glass and limestone, these facades present a timeless and beautiful face to Parliament, topped with rooftop groves of large trees. The other main facade, on Sparks Street, restores and keeps elements of some heritage buildings, as is the case with the other schemes. But this design tops them with precisely carved slabs of glass and arrays of solar panels. If the competition jury wants a statement of uniformity, coherence and precision, there is no proposal better suited for the task.

Diamond Schmitt Architects with Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), KWC Architects and ERA Architects

This team brings together international stars BIG with established Toronto and Ottawa firms. Its vision includes buildings that are multifaceted, literally: New office blocks facing Wellington are irregular in shape, slanting inward from top to bottom to define new public squares around the future Indigenous centre. (Thoughtfully planted rooftop gardens by the landscape architects PUBLIC WORK provide an additional amenity.) The facades arrange Queenston limestone panels into a forceful modernist grid, contrasting with the remaining restored heritage facades. Windows are sized and arranged to control light and heat gain on each facade. Inside, offices and atriums are consistent, and rather bland, in finish and spatial qualities. This scheme aims to balance architectural flash with Ottawan conservatism.

Provencher Roy

The team led by Montreal’s Provencher Roy focuses hard on the Indigenous component of the project. Working with Indigenous architect and planner Aaron Aubin, it imagines a round Truth and Reconciliation Tower that stands opposite the Peace Tower and houses committee rooms. This attempts to address a fundamental challenge of this block: the decision to put an Indigenous centre in what used to be the U.S. embassy on Wellington. That 1932 building by architect Cass Gilbert speaks a language of neoclassicism that has strong negative connotations for many Indigenous people. It’s an open question whether the Provencher Roy design of rather corporate-feeling spaces within Block 2 meaningfully solves this problem.

WilkinsonEyre with IDEA Inc.

The London architecture firm WilkinsonEyre, which recently completed a new headquarters for CIBC in Toronto, is the dark horse. (Its partners on this project include Ontario firm IDEA Inc.) This team’s design builds on the neoclassicism of the former U.S. embassy building, translating the three-part organization of its facades into an architectural language familiar from contemporary London. To add Canadiana, wooden “trees” of structural timber show up both on the interior and the exterior. Ovoid meeting rooms hang within the building’s large atrium, like berries on stems. This design has a symbolism that is easy to read; however, the busy and mannered approach to the interior architecture may not age well.

Watson MacEwen Teramura Architects with Behnisch Architekten

The German/American firm Behnisch is known for its commitment to sustainability, and that is reflected in the design of this team, which also includes Ottawa-based Watson MacEwen Teramura. A complex series of atriums and winter gardens on different levels aids in the management of light and ventilation, helping the building complex function for part of the year without mechanical ventilation. Like most of the other shortlisted designs, this one breaks up the mass of the offices into smaller pieces. Stefan Behnisch suggested in his team’s presentation that the architecture should “herald tolerance, inclusion, collaboration and communication.” But it goes further than most, covering the exterior with slanted light shelves that provide shade and capture sunlight with solar panels. The effect, inside and out, is very subtle. Is subtlety the right architectural message? That is for the competition jury to decide.

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Practical Benefits:**

- **Air Purification:**
Green walls significantly improve indoor air quality by absorbing pollutants like VOCs, CO₂, and particulate matter through plant leaves and root systems, creating healthier environments.

- **Temperature Regulation:**
Living walls provide natural insulation—reducing indoor temperature fluctuations, lowering air-conditioning needs, and addressing urban heat island effects.

Title:

Content: 7 Bioclimatic Façade Strategies for Tropical Architecture

When we think of the word "tropic," the image that typically comes to mind is an exotic space, characterized by perpetual warmth and humidity, with frequent and heavy rainfall nurturing lush vegetation. Throughout history, this tropical climate has been romanticized as a paradise and criticized for potentially fostering weakness due to its perceived clemency.

Thankfully, those judgments and associations have been relegated to the past, paving the way for theoretical and practical projects that outline the advantages and disadvantages of living in a tropical climate. These projects acknowledge the various strategies to enhance human adaptability within these distinctive climatic conditions.

+ 15

Certainly, climate is the most pivotal element of the natural environment, as it impacts all geomorphological processes, from soil formation to plant growth. It's this profound interconnection that renders climate change so concerning. Hence, akin to how the natural environment reacts to climate, architecture must also be responsive to it.

In temperate climates, houses typically remain "closed" to shield occupants from harsh weather, retaining warmth. Conversely, in tropical climates, it's essential to "open up" the house to dissipate heat and humidity while shielding it from the sun and heavy rainfall. The abundance of tropical climate and vegetation often encourages outdoor living or greater interaction with nature. The main challenges in tropical architecture involve protecting against rain and direct sunlight, with a focus on strategies to regulate internal temperatures.

Bioclimatic strategies play a crucial role in achieving these objectives. They guarantee that buildings adapt to the local climate, boost energy efficiency, and enhance occupants' comfort. These strategies encompass principles and design techniques that leverage natural elements to establish sustainable architectures. By minimizing buildings' environmental impact and prioritizing occupants' well-being, these strategies collectively contribute to overall sustainability.

Since many of these strategies are implemented at the junction between a building's interior and exterior, we've listed below seven bioclimatic strategies and how they are applied to the facades of residential projects in tropical climates.

Shading Elements

Incorporating shade devices such as brise-soleil, cobogós, or other latticed structures on facades is crucial. These elements effectively block direct sunlight while allowing diffused light and natural airflow. This helps to minimize solar heat gain, reduce glare, and maintain comfortable indoor temperatures.

The Kenz House / Srijit Srinivas Architects

Casa Delta / Bernardes Arquitetura

Vegetation

Introducing vegetation on facades through vertical gardens, living walls, or planters can provide natural insulation, reduce heat absorption, and improve air quality. Plants also contribute to shading and evaporative cooling through transpiration, further enhancing thermal comfort and reinforcing the tropical ambiance within architecture.

Tropical Shed / Laurent Troost Architectures

Stepping Park House / VTN Architects

Ventilation Strategies

In tropical architecture, facades often incorporate operable windows or strategically positioned openings to facilitate cross-ventilation and natural airflow. This design approach effectively reduces humidity levels and improves indoor air quality.

Valley Expansion House / Studio Heya

OF House / Studio Otto Felix

Sun Orientation

Ensuring the correct solar orientation of buildings maximizes natural light penetration while minimizing solar heat gain. In tropical climates, designing buildings with a north-south orientation reduces direct sunlight exposure, particularly during peak heat hours of the day.

The House of Silence / Natura Futura Arquitectura

Country house in Puente Iglesias / Oficina de Arquitectura y Paisaje OAP + MDE estudio

Thermal Mass

Using materials with high thermal mass, such as concrete, stone, or adobe, in facade construction helps absorb and retain heat during the day. The heat stored during the day is gradually released at night, helping to stabilize indoor temperatures and reducing the need for mechanical cooling systems.

Discreet House / Jirau Arquitetura

Earth Farmhouse / Studio Verge

Reflective Surfaces

Using light-colored or reflective materials on facades helps minimize heat absorption by reflecting solar radiation. This reduces the need for cooling and helps mitigate the urban heat island effect.

Nagato House / RASA Architektura

House COVE(R) / TOUCH Architect

Adaptability

By integrating responsive facade systems like adjustable blinds or dynamic shading elements controlled by sensors or automation, buildings can adapt in real-time to environmental conditions. This real-time adjustment optimizes both energy performance and occupants' comfort.

Patio House / Caio Persighini Arquitetura

ABK House / Bernardes Arquitetura

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About this author
Cite: Ghisleni, Camilla. "7 Bioclimatic Façade Strategies for Tropical Architecture" [7 Estratégias bioclimáticas aplicadas nas fachadas da arquitetura tropical ] 10 Apr 2024. ArchDaily. (Trans. Simões, Diogo) Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1015392/7-bioclimatic-facade-strategies-for-tropical-architecture> ISSN 0719-8884

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In temperate climates, they can help retain warmth, and in tropical climates, facilitate cooling through shading and transpiration.

- **Mental Health Impact:**
Exposure to indoor green spaces, including vertical gardens, is linked to improved concentration, lowered stress, increased productivity, and greater overall well-being.

They transform sterile interiors into soothing, biophilic environments, contributing to positive psychological states.

- **Aesthetic & Place-Making Qualities:**
Green walls add beauty and a dynamic connection to nature in any setting, reinforcing local identity and cultural references.

They enhance occupant experience and building marketability.

Maintenance Considerations:**

- **Systems & Infrastructure:**
Living walls require irrigation, often automated, and adequate drainage.

Maintenance involves regular pruning, replanting, occasional pest management, and monitoring plant health/nutrient levels to ensure lush, healthy growth.

- **Cost vs.

Title:

Content: Gloria Cabral: “Everything Begins With the Wisdom of a Place”

Gloria Cabral: “Everything Begins With the Wisdom of a Place”

Born in Brazil and educated in Paraguay, Gloria Cabral is an architect who early on learned that home can be many places—or none at all. Guided by a comprehensive understanding of the geography, culture, and social conditions of the places she designs, she has left her mark on buildings and artistic installations constructed in various locations, from Assumption to Venice.

Besides her interest in the specificities of the places where she operates, Gloria focuses on resource economy and material reuse — a trending theme that Gloria has championed for over fifteen years. We had the opportunity to speak with the architect about her experiences in Paraguay and Brazil, some of her works involving recycled brick, and her insights into architecture and sustainability.

+ 10

Romullo Baratto (ArchDaily): Until recently, I did not know you were Brazilian. I always thought you were Paraguayan. I would like to hear about your childhood in these two countries.

Gloria Cabral: My parents are Paraguayans, and they came to work in São Paulo. They already had two children at the time, but my younger sister and I were born in São Paulo. We lived on Bela Cintra Street, right in the center. Last year, I visited the building where we lived. It's still there, small and beautiful. It's curious how, upon visiting, I realized that it is actually much smaller than the image I had in my memory.

In my childhood, we spent a lot of time at MASP and Ibirapuera Park. My mother loved Ibirapuera and even studied landscaping there with Burle Marx. When I was six, we returned to Paraguay, and at the age of nine, I joined the Colegio Experimental Paraguay-Brasil, designed by Affonso Eduardo Reidy. That was my journey from one marvelous building to another. I completed my entire elementary education in that building and was fascinated by those concrete structures. I knew they were not just for providing shade. It was great to walk under those beams during recess.

RB: In interviews, you often mention that you are neither from here nor there, and your father used to say you're a citizen of the world. This brings to mind the word "desterrar" (to be unrooted or without land). Perhaps you are a kind of unrooted person or, even more, someone with many "lands"—many places to call home. This seems an essential aspect of your personal story. How has this influenced how you perceive and practice architecture, a discipline so deeply connected to a sense of place?

GC: Interestingly, I find myself in situations where people do not know if I am Paraguayan or Brazilian. But now, I truly feel I belong to both places. I have this fondness for putting down roots wherever I go. For feeling like I belong to the local culture. For taking off my shoes and sensing the energy of the place.

I enjoy sensing and understanding how people live in each location. Once this is comprehended, I try to envision how to enhance these spaces. That is our tool – how we can improve people's quality of life by changing scales and altering the proportions of spaces. I do not believe there is only one way to think about architecture. There are thousands of approaches for each situation.

When someone commissions a project, be it for an office, a house, or anything else, understanding the context and the way people live enables us to envision improvements. By grasping the unique dynamics of the place, we can always find ways to enhance it not just for the client, but for everyone around them. And what works here might be entirely different in Stockholm, for example. But I can work both here and in Stockholm with bricks and demolition materials. Creating shade in a place with only 6 hours of sunlight in winter does not make much sense. Designing a place that offers shelter and protection with the same materials, that's when it starts to make sense.

RB: You started designing in Paraguay. How did the landscapes there influence your projects?

GC: In Paraguay, after finishing high school, I was not sure if I would study architecture, medicine, or something related to mathematics. I chose architecture, perhaps influenced by my mother. Initially, the university seemed trivial, concerned only with aesthetics and what was trendy at that moment. When I realized that we could bring about change through architecture, that it is our tool for making the societal transformations we desire, that's when I truly started to enjoy the profession. I was on the verge of quitting the course when I discovered the work of Gabinete de Arquitectura. Understanding how we could change society through our discipline made me realize that this was what I wanted to do.

One characteristic of Paraguay's landscape is that temperatures can reach almost 50ºC. So, my practice revolved around figuring out how to create architecture that does not rely heavily on air conditioning. At Gabinete de Arquitectura, our research heavily focuses on creating shading structures to shield us from the sun — a crucial aspect that has always held great value in Paraguay. The challenge now is dealing with extreme heat in places not accustomed to such temperatures. It has become a global necessity: architecture that is not heavily dependent on air conditioning, incorporating passive comfort strategies.

I believe everything begins with the wisdom of a place. However, when you not only understand what to do but also why you're doing it, wisdom transforms into adaptable knowledge applicable to any region.

RB: I have realized that your approach to architecture extends beyond conventional aspects of geography like territory, topography, biomes, and climate. Your comprehensive view of geography also embraces the social aspect. This is evident in the practices at Gabinete de Arquitectura, where there's a distinct interest in the materiality of brick, particularly due to its connection with Paraguayan culture. In Latin America, characterized by economic scarcity, it seems there is an expansion in the understanding of the landscape that goes beyond mere territory considerations to encompass social and economic spheres.

GC: Certainly! For example, when clients approached Gabinete, we aimed to maximize the built area within the available budget. A good example is the rehabilitation project for Teletón: the funds available would cover only a third of the required area, and there was a long waiting list of children in need. I knew that if we could lower the cost per square meter, we could offer more built space and provide all the necessary services, such as physiotherapy, hydrotherapy, and speech therapy.

If we didn't construct the entire necessary area, the children would have to wait until the following year to receive certain treatments. That was the pressure the project was under.

Doing this required a significant planning effort to reuse all the demolished bricks. However, it was crucial to ensure that reusing them did not incur an additional cost in the budget. When I talk about economic issues, it is not a matter of finances. It is about energy savings. If we were to reuse the bricks in the Teletón project, we would have to clean the demolition bricks and then prefabricate the closure modules again, for instance. At that time, bricks were inexpensive in Paraguay, so the cost of buying new bricks, breaking them, and using them, or taking demolition bricks, breaking them, sorting them, and using them was practically the same.

However, I knew we would save on the energy spent in producing new bricks and allocate about 65% of the budget to labor, instead of new materials, by using demolition bricks. This would involve more work and more people on the construction site, resulting in less embodied energy. It also meant more complications, especially when dealing with the inherent challenges of working with people. Certainly, it was easier to call a supplier and order new bricks than to plan and calculate everything that reuse entailed.

We were also going against all members of the Foundation's Board, who wanted to build quickly. It required calculating how many people we needed to hire to avoid exceeding the deadline and not spending more money. In the office, this meant a lot more work. The same happened with the glass we used, all from rejected tempered glass with flaws. By purchasing these glasses and using them creatively in the openings, we reduced glass expenses to one-fifth, and with that savings alone, we managed to build an additional 300 square meters. That was the challenge: how to do more with less.

RB: I immediately made a connection with your indecision between architecture and mathematics. It seems your approach to architecture is closely intertwined with mathematics, calculations, and spreadsheets. A pragmatic approach that involves solving a complex puzzle.

GC: When I joined Gabinete, we spent more time working on Excel spreadsheets than on actual drawings, seeking ways to cut the budget. The spreadsheet was crucial. It is not just mathematics; it is logic. We exchanged this for that and opted for this glass instead of that one...

RB: Yet, it is socially and economically responsible, and using the word everyone employs, sustainable. In the end, it is about saving resources. It is a logical exercise, as you mentioned, to do more with less.

GC: Exactly. When I started giving lectures in 2008, our projects were seen as picturesque. A novelty, something unusual. Now, people call me because they need to learn new ways of building. Especially in Europe, where there are already many laws in this regard, they are seeking examples and different ways of practicing architecture. The questions are all practical. "How did you do this?" "How do you work with bricks in this way?" "Is it possible to do it with wood?" These questions are frequent. They indicate an urgent interest in reusing materials that would have been discarded and turned into waste before.

For me, the idea of disposal, of waste, shouldn't exist. It's incongruent with the notion of sustainability. Everything has to be part of the cycle. We are discriminating against a material, setting it aside, but it's not to the side; it's right there.

RB: This material will be somewhere on the planet...

GC: Certainly. I am starting a research project with an artist here in Santa Catarina who works with discarded fishing nets. She began weaving and creating sculptures with these nets, which are usually thrown into the sea. A single boat can have about 30 of these nets. I am exploring how they can be used in the construction of prefabricated elements. In other words, it is about using what we have around us. Here, perhaps it is not bricks but fishing nets — it is essential to observe the specificities of the place.

It is clear that, in other situations, it will be necessary to produce new materials. There is no good or bad material. There are no villains. The material itself is not bad. Concrete is not bad. Concrete is great for many things. But we need to think about the best way to use it. If we prioritize demolition materials, the use of concrete becomes a fraction of what would be initially required. Concrete remains great for many things, but we need to find the right equation and the relevance of using a particular material in different contexts.

RB: Speaking of waste and unconventional materials in construction, I read that you are also working with biomaterials. Can you talk about that?

GC: I conduct research when invited to teach at universities. In Panama, Bolivia, Hong Kong, and Paraguay, I guided students to use materials that closed the cycle. We worked with mycelium, algae, cork, bioconcrete, translucent wood, and more. The most interesting part is that, typically, these students continue their research later on. It's a new universe that needs to be explored.

It is not just about stopping the production of materials that do not close the cycle but using traditional materials combined with new ones to close the loop. The idea of waste needs to disappear from our minds.

RB: Parece que esse é o único caminho possível para a arquitetura — e a sociedade — encontrar um equilíbrio. Ainda sobre reuso, gostaria de ouvir você falar sobre seu projeto na última Bienal de Arquitetura de Veneza: um muro, que na verdade é uma tapeçaria, feita com resíduos de vidro e tijolo do próprio local.

GC: I participated in the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative between 2014 and 2015, where I was a protégé of Peter Zumthor. The program has just completed twenty years, and to encourage the protégés — currently numbering more than sixty — Rolex invites them to collaborate on projects that combine their areas of interest.

That is how I began working with the artist Sammy Baloji, whose practice aims to highlight African roots in artistic works in Europe. When we started discussing our collaborative project, he was creating a sculpture in Belgium using bricks produced from material sourced from mining exploration. I was interested in brick production using industrial waste, so we decided to combine our research in the project Debris of History, Matters of Memory.

When Sammy expressed the desire to create a tapestry, I suggested using demolition bricks. We collaborated with the art historian Cécile Fromont and the activist architects' group Mutaforma in Venice. I chose to be involved in the entire process, not just hiring a construction company. We built the wall with local bricks, glass from the region, and a brick box from Belgium with Sammy's material. The variety of colors in the Belgian bricks was a crucial part of the project. When I see people touching the wall, taking pictures of the glass that allows light to pass through, I sense the energy the tapestry conveys.

RB: Brick and tapestry share the same tactile nature: we perceive both with our hands. This aspect of the process you mentioned is evident in the presentation. The scaffolding was kept, right?

GC: No regulation in Italy allows the construction of a wall with a width of 5 cm and a height of 4.5 meters using demolition material.

RB: Did the organization have reservations about removing the scaffolding?

GC: Is it impossible to obtain approval from the relevant authorities and leave the wall unsupported? We assembled the scaffolding as we built, securing props for support and wire ties to maintain compression and prevent the wall from collapsing. Since it was a laboratory, we decided to leave the scaffolding after completion.

RB: In this conversation, we have talked about Paraguay and  Venice, and now I would like to know why you returned to Brazil — and why Guarda do Embaú in Santa Catarina.

GC: For several reasons. Firstly, my sister moved to Florianópolis, which is nearby, 15 years ago. I came here to be closer to her and my nieces. Another reason is my desire to be surrounded by nature. Just yesterday morning, I encountered a lizard in my backyard. Occasionally, amid my meetings, a large blue bird perches on my window and begins to sing. I only bought one pair of shoes during the 3 years I lived here. I avoid using air conditioning, prefer walking everywhere, and only use the car once a week. Such experiences are uncommon in the midst of a city.

What captivates me here is the slow pace. I have realized that skipping work on a Wednesday won't be the end of me; in fact, it's quite the opposite. I dedicate Mondays and Tuesdays to work, reserving Wednesdays for learning something new—whatever it might be. Whether delving into understanding tensions or exploring new structures, Wednesday is my day. If I am keen on picking up a new language, Wednesday is the day for that. Dancing or singing? Wednesday is when I dive into those pursuits. I return to work on Thursday and Friday. Here, I find relaxation, breathe fresh air, and enjoy a good night's sleep.

We need to reflect on how we got to this point. At what moment did humanity enter this cycle? The pandemic revealed to us that it is not necessary (to work every day) and that we can stop at any moment, but we are forgetting it, missing the opportunity to learn something from that period.

For a long time in Paraguay, I used to say, "We should build in this or that way," but every day I would get into my air-conditioned car, drive to the office with air conditioning, and work all day. Twelve hours later, I would leave in my car and return home, turn on the air conditioning, and sleep to do the same thing the next day. Not anymore. If the day is beautiful, I close everything and enjoy the nice day. And when I have a lot to do, I work on Sundays, no problem. But the next day, I rest.

RB: It seems like a worldview quite aligned with the circularity you mentioned earlier. It's good that this came towards the end because it appears that you have not only learned a lot from the landscape of Paraguay but also the landscape of Guarda do Embaú. Today is Wednesday, and I've learned quite a bit too.

GC: It is an interview, a moment of learning together.

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About this author
Cite: Baratto, Romullo. "Gloria Cabral: “Everything Begins With the Wisdom of a Place”" [Gloria Cabral: "Tudo começa com a sabedoria de um lugar"] 24 Jan 2024. ArchDaily. (Trans. Simões, Diogo) Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/1012261/gloria-cabral-everything-begins-with-the-wisdom-of-a-place> ISSN 0719-8884

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Benefit:**
Initial installation and ongoing care can be resource-intensive, but the long-term health, aesthetic, and energy-saving benefits often outweigh these costs, especially in high-traffic or signature spaces.

Suitable Plant Selection by Climate:**

- **Temperate Regions:**
Plants like ferns, spider plants, philodendrons, and certain ivies thrive indoors with moderate light and humidity.

- **Tropical Climates:**
Epiphytes, bromeliads, pothos, and philodendrons tolerate high humidity and warmth; choosing pest- and disease-resistant species is key.

- **Dry/Arid Conditions:**
Succulents, cacti, and drought-resistant grasses are ideal for minimizing water input while maintaining greenery.

- **Local Sourcing & Adaptive Design:**
Using local plant species not only ensures better acclimatization but supports biodiversity and regional character—a principle echoed in sustainable design thinking.

Sustainable Value:**
By integrating green walls, architects foster environmental stewardship, contribute to regenerative urbanism, and exemplify circular design, particularly when coupled with energy-saving practices and local material sourcing.

Title:

Content: Projecten

Nieuw project

At Cartoni we combine our knowledge of design and sustainability to help architects and designers create healthy and durable designs without ever losing sight of aesthetics. We believe architects and designers can create better designs if they understand what is really sustainable what components are available. We feel strongly about taking our responsibility and explaining how our work fits in a broader societal context. At Cartoni we research and source sustainable components that designers can use every day. We track these components down to the very fiber and make sure they can be used and modified according to industry standards. Always keeping in mind that these components not only have to be healthy but also need to be aesthetically pleasing and modular. By creating a simple system for these components and sharing our knowledge, we help them get ahead. Making truly better designs possible. Positive for architects, designers, society, and our own personal lives.

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In sum, indoor vertical gardens offer wide-ranging, concrete benefits to sustainable building design when thoughtfully planned and maintained, supporting both ecological health and human well-being across diverse architectural contexts.

**Vertical Gardens in Sustainable Architecture: Key Nuggets**

- **Integration of Nature and Built Environment**:
  Vertical gardens (or green walls) are increasingly integrated within urban design, public spaces, schools, hospitals, and residential towers worldwide—particularly in cities seeking to improve quality of life and environmental health.

Title:

Content: Architect
Design of public spaces and residential premises.
Execution of sketches, design and working documentation of the architectural section, calculation of specifications and compilation of statements, layout.
Portfolio link: https: / / drive.google.com / open? id = 14qjA1ucID2bPf-me _ 3M6Z8RAAODzhZq3

- **Health & Well-being Benefits**:
    - *Air Purification*: Indoor green walls help filter pollutants and improve air quality, making breathing easier and healthier in enclosed spaces.

Title:

Content: Winner and laureates: success of SPbGASU at the International Prize "Golden Trezzini"
Source: MIL-OSI English Language News
Source: Saint Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering – Awarding ceremony
The winners and laureates of the VI International Architectural and Design Award “Golden Trezzini 2023 ” were awarded on November 15 at the Hermitage Theater.
The international prize "Golden Trezzini" is annually awarded to the authors of the most artistically valuable projects in the field of architecture, design, restoration, scenography and museum business.
The jury of the Golden Trezzini Prize includes representatives of 32 countries.
Honorary Chairman of the International Council of the Prize - President of the World Club of Petersburgers, General Director of the State Hermitage Mikhail Piotrovsky.
This year, the jury considered more than a thousand projects from 72 countries.
Master student of SPbGASU Victoria Ivanova was recognized as the winner in the nomination "The best student project of a building or structure".
Victoria designed a multifunctional complex - one of the key points in the structure of public space along the embankment of the Polui River in the city of Salekhard.
“When working on the appearance of the building, I took into account the features characteristic of the architecture of the northern regions.
A large volume of the building with steep slopes of the roof, sharp corners formed by the joints of the walls, deliberately creates a contrast with the existing around the building - reconstructed barracks, characteristic of Salekhard, and residential buildings of average height, "Victoria said.
She is convinced that the public and business complex makes the environment attractive and improves the quality of life in the city, creating additional jobs and all-season recreation spaces.
The winner of the award in the same nomination was a fifth-year student Saveliy Lugovskoy, who designed the Levashovo airport in St. Petersburg - a unique architectural solution that combines functionality, environmental friendliness and aesthetics.
“I offered a new perspective on airport architecture, using folded structures and glass façades to create a memorable image.
The building in the form of a giant fold reflects the idea of movement and dynamics, symbolizing the take-off and landing of aircraft.
Folding structures are made of steel, which ensures the strength and durability of the building.
The glass facade and skylights of the airport provide maximum illumination and offer an impressive view of the runway.
Inside the airport, all the necessary services and amenities for passengers are provided: from shops and cafes to check-in desks and waiting rooms.
Thoughtful zoning and the use of colors makes it easy to navigate in space, ” Saveliy explained.
Teachers Igor Khramov, Marina Khramova, students Ksenia Chernyak, Angelica Ivanikhina, Polina Ipatova, teacher Alexander Ponomarev
The winner in the nomination "The best architectural project of the museum" was announced the project "Museum and exhibition complex of modern art" Cube "".
Its authors are teachers Igor Khramov, Marina Khramova, Alexander Ponomarev and students Angelica Ivanikhina, Daria Parfenova, Ksenia Chernyak, Polina Ipatova.
According to the authors, the museum and exhibition complex "KUB" in St. Petersburg will be located in the middle of the Gulf of Finland, 250 meters from the embankment of the public space "Sevkabel Port".
It is a cube located above the water on two supports having mirror surfaces.
Such a technique creates a complete illusion of an object floating in the air.
“It will be possible to get into the“ Cube ” only through an underwater tunnel with a transparent ceiling leading to the elevators.
Since the supports are not visible, when climbing the elevator there will be a feeling of teleportation to the “Cube ”.
Visitors will have a feeling that they have become participants in the performance, that the process of getting into the “Cube ” is also a modern art, ” explained Igor Khramov.
The aesthetic characteristic of modern art will also be manifested in the fact that the plastic solution of the walls of the main volume will make them a huge QR code, with which, being outside the museum, you can go to its website and get information about the events held.
Among the winners in the same nomination was a student of SPbGASU Tatiana Grishina.
She designed the Museum of Glass and Light on the territory of the French Bucket of the Obvodny Canal in St. Petersburg, on the site of an old industrial building.
According to the student, in this way she immortalized the memory of the group of factories "Glass Town", once operating in the area.
“The museum will draw attention to this area of production and its role in the history of the district.
A new public building with a museum function, due to the improvement of the territory, the contextual component and the architectural appearance, forms a new public space for recreation, leisure and education.
It is planned to organize permanent exhibitions “Glass + Light ”,“ Glass Town ” and “Modern Glass Art ” in the museum.
There are conditions for master classes and lectures dedicated to glass business, ” said Tatyana.
The authors of the project "Museum and Exhibition Complex of Contemporary Art" Cube "" became laureates in the nomination "The best project of a public building or structure" with the project "Glamping: when nature enters the house", within the framework of which they created a new typology of glamping for the closest unity of man and nature.
“Due to the opening of the side walls, we have removed the boundaries between the room and nature.
Flat transparent roof in winter provides natural insulation with snow, and in summer - natural lighting.
The floor is designed so that the grass grows inside the residential block, which further connects the interior of the premises with nature, ” explained co-author of the project Angelica Ivanikhina.
Congratulations to the laureates and diploma winners of the Golden Trezzini 2023 award!
Note; This information is raw content directly from the information source.
This is exactly what the source claims and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source.
It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
MIL OSI

- *Mental Health*: Access to greenery, even indoors or vertically, supports psychological well-being, offering relaxation, reduced stress, and a sense of harmony—a concept utilized in hospitals for patient recovery.

Title:

Content: News of Sevastopol
Hospitals will have healing gardens.
Special botanical gardens, plants in which will bloom all year round and will help in the treatment of patients, have been developed for hospitals in Sevastopol, the press service of Sevastopol State University reported.
Special botanical gardens, plants in which will bloom all year round and will help in the treatment of patients, have been developed for hospitals in Sevastopol, the press service of Sevastopol State University reported.
“In total, within the framework of the project, scientists are working with more than 300 plants, of which therapeutic gardens of certain color and therapeutic directions will be created in the future.
Plants have not only a therapeutic effect, but also a coloristic effect has a great impact on humans. <... > Scientists have already developed six botanical gardens for city hospitals.
One of the projects — a rose garden for the hospital named after Dasha Sevastopol — will be presented in the near future, ” — quotes the message of TASS.
It is specified that the work was carried out within the framework of the research project “The concept of landscape and urban development of the territory of health facilities of Sevastopol ”.
It is planned that the gardens will bloom all year round: the flowers are selected in such a way that when one plant blooms, it is replaced by the next.
“We selected flowers specifically for the color and aroma that affect specific diseases.
We have a white garden, there are pink, red, orange and greenish and blue gardens. <... > This is the connection of the color code of plants, their habitus, height, competent combination: we selected natural compositions so that it does not have an aggressive effect on a person.
When a person gets into the conditionally natural environment created by human hands, he calms down, ” the words of the head of the Department of Architecture and Design, Professor Elina Krasilnikova, are quoted in the message.
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- *Children’s Development*: Incorporating greenery into schools and urban spaces fosters improved development and learning environments.

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Content: Right now
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Cloudy, No precipitation
It feels like -10.
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Science at home.
Who and how creates modern courtyards for the whole family
10010
Share
A slide, a sandbox and a couple of benches - such a set of landscaping has long been in the past.
Today, the courtyard of the residential complex is a complex system that works according to the laws of pedagogy, psychology and ergonomics.
And at LEGENDA, they know this very well.
“From the very beginning, we chose a functional approach to the design of courtyards, ” says Margarita Zabrodskaya, deputy director of marketing for the product LEGENDA. – Even before it became mainstream, we thought about zoning in terms of age psychology, insolation, wind rose.
We have always paid great attention to safety.
Each of our yards is an example of competent landscape design and rich landscaping.
But LEGENDA does not stand still, and today we are practicing a new approach – functional-component. ”
Creating a backyard space in their LCD, the developer uses the author's model, consisting of four principles: multiscenario, gamification, ergonomics and safety.
The result is a common space where it is pleasant and even useful to be all residents of houses – from adults to the smallest.
Principle No. 1.
Gamification, or the best for children
TerraTaktil component
Every parent knows why it is so important to take care of the development of babies both physically and intellectually.
Why it is necessary to develop fine motor skills that affect speech, memory, attention and imagination.
In the yards of LEGENDA, the TerraTaktil component is responsible for this.
Biziboards help kids train hand and eye coordination, the water station allows you to play with water, dry and wet sand.
And even rolled pebbles, used in the yard as a coating, contributes to the development of fine motor skills.
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Kinetigy Component
When the child is engaged in active games, he develops physically.
It also releases energy, which improves night sleep.
Playgrounds for active and dynamic games are combined into the Kinetigy component.
Here children run, jump, swing and ride.
For them, trampolines, horizontal bars, ladders and carousels were installed, artificial hills for climbing with hooks and ropes were created.
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Easy Landing Component
Active games in the yard bring courage and determination, teach to take risks - and are inevitably accompanied by falls and bruises.
This is how the child defines the limits of his physical abilities.
In the yards of LEGENDA, children are not afraid to fall, because in the play areas natural loose coatings are used, which cushion when falling: sand, pebbles and wood bark.
This component is called “Easy Landing ”.
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“Impulse of development ” component
Experts say that a child develops better when the environment meets the needs of his age group.
LEGENDA fully agrees with this and has provided in the courtyards a component "Development momentum".
The equipment corresponding to the age makes staying in the yard as interesting, safe and useful as possible.
Thus, the physical and intellectual development of children is stimulated.
Not one playground is being built for all, but special playgrounds are allocated for children up to 3 years old, preschoolers and younger schoolchildren, adolescents.
All this gives impetus to their growth and development.
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Principle No2.
Organomics, or Our yard as a garden
Component Total Green
Feeling the power of nature in an urban environment is a rare privilege.
For this, many of us go out of town or go for a walk in the park.
The Total Green component in the courtyards of LEGENDA is responsible for creating an atmosphere of relaxation in nature.
For example, the yard in the project “Sampsonievsky, 32 ” * is as close as possible to the natural landscape.
The area of   the lawns is reduced in favor of trees and shrubs, which form a kind of private garden, where there is no access to cars and strangers.
Component "Floriculture"
Walking among the lush greenery is not only pleasant, but also informative.
Residents of the house study unknown to them flora, get acquainted with interesting plants.
For landscaping, the developer chooses rare or unusual species.
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Landscape Balance Component
Creates an integral space in which all the elements of the yard are organically connected to each other.
It helps to relax and evokes a sense of harmony.
A barrier-free environment is formed in the yard.
Instead of the usual fences and curbs for zoning, different types of coatings, artificial hills and landscaping are used - they, in addition, add volume to the landscape.
Coatings are selected so as to correspond to the functional area: for walking routes - wooden flooring or paving, for games - tartan and bulk materials.
And transitions between different surfaces are made visually organic and without height difference.
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Principle No. 3.
Multi-Scenario, or Space That Can Do Anything
Point of Light Component
Complex lighting design makes comfortable different types of recreation and decorates the yard at any time of the day.
Landscaping of the territory is designed taking into account natural light: playgrounds are located in the sunniest places, recreation areas for adults - in shaded ones.
The role of the main artificial light is played by high lanterns and floor lamps.
Lamps below are located near the main functional areas and in gazebos.
In paving and landscaping, decorative lighting is provided.
Color Dynamic Component
Landscape design emphasizes the change of seasons and allows you to create a landscape that pleases the eye at any time of the year.
Plants are selected so that the landscaping is diverse throughout the year.
In spring, apple and cherry blossoms attract attention, bright maple leaves stand out.
In summer and early autumn hydrangeas bloom.
And thanks to the mountain pine trees in the yard there is greenery even in winter.
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Principle No. 4.
Security, or My yard is my fortress
Protects residents from physical threats, creates a sense of privacy, provides psychological comfort.
The internal territory is closed to outsiders, cars do not enter here.
For guests of the residential complex, a single access through the main entrance group is implemented.
Security is provided not only by a developed network of video surveillance, but also by a security service whose employees patrol the yard.
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What is the most important thing for you in the yard?
Choose the answer option
* Residential complex "Malookhtinsky, 68" - the developer of JSC "LEGENDA MALOOKHTINSKOGO", project declaration on the website nash.dom.rf
Residential complex "Chernaya rechka, 41" - developer LLC "SZ LEGENDA BLACK RECHKA", project declaration on the website nash.dom.rf
LCD "Sampsonievsky, 32" - the developer of LLC "LEGENDA SAMPSONIEVSKY", project declaration on the website nash.dom.rf.
Illustrations provided by the press service of the company Legenda
LLC "SPECIALIZED DEVELOPER" LEGEND SAMPSONIEVSKY ", INN: 7810780584
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- **Thermal & Environmental Advantages**:
    - *Temperature Regulation*: Green walls provide natural insulation.

Title:

Content: Wooden high-rise buildings, mushroom bricks and other trends of modern architecture
Ksenia VOROTYNTSEVA
18.07.2023
The material was published in No. 6 of the printed version of the newspaper Kultura on June 29, 2023.
How we will build and live in the coming years
It is believed that Schelling called architecture “frozen music ”.
However, the appearance of buildings and neighborhoods is determined not only by rhythm and proportions – the economic component, including consumer sentiment, is important.
Architecture does not exist in a vacuum, and examples of this are the trends of recent years.
The pandemic wave that swept the world seems to have come to naught, but its echo will be felt for a long time to come.
Many have tried life outside the city, but they can not buy a house yet - it is too expensive.
But multi-format development is becoming increasingly popular, which some consider a product of the crisis: in Russia, it was widely recognized after 2008, although examples have been met before.
Multiformat means that in one territory there are buildings that differ in type and cost: cottages, as well as blocked, low-rise or apartment buildings.
Such projects help the developer to save money: to reach a wide audience and quickly sell objects.
And for buyers, this is a ticket to business class, and with a discount: you can live outside the city, in a pleasant atmosphere - even in an apartment.
In recent years, another trend has emerged.
For example, at the ARCH Moscow held in late May, Valery Artemyev, the project manager of the Mechta residential complex in the Dmitrov district of the Moscow region, admitted: “We believed in multiformat 20 years ago.
At the beginning of our journey we felt like builders: we had to build houses and sell them.
But after a few years, the builders already felt 20 percent, and 80 percent of the hassle and worries were devoted to education, medicine, culture.
In other words, developers caught the mood of consumers who no longer wanted to live in a village with exactly the same houses and without the usual infrastructure - without clinics and schools.
So, in Dobrograd — an urban-type settlement in the Vladimir region — there were private schools and a kindergarten, and now a municipal school is being built at the expense of the infrastructure budget loan.
In addition, they promise to build a kindergarten and a cultural and recreational complex with a swimming pool, plans also include a polyclinic and a pharmacy.
It seems that developers believe that the suburbs will become more popular.
However, they should think about transport accessibility, because not all buyers of housing in multi-format settlements have cars.
WOODEN SKILLS ARE WAITING FOR US
Another interesting trend is wooden houses, and multi-storey, although now it seems fantastic.
Nevertheless, they are not built abroad for the first year, in a variety of countries - from the United States to Japan.
They are especially popular in Scandinavia: the tallest wooden building was the 18-storey Mjøstornet in Norway (although concrete was used in the construction).
In general, airports, dormitories, and museums are built from wood.
In Russia, despite the forest wealth, the trend did not take root for a long time, especially until 2019 it was impossible to build buildings with load-bearing wooden structures above three floors.
Then the law changed, and now such objects can reach a height of 28 meters.
External circumstances have also changed dramatically.
Due to sanctions, timber exports in the first quarter of 2023 decreased by 21 percent compared to the same period last year.
It was not easy to redirect flows to Central Asia and China, including due to logistics problems.
So the interest in the domestic market is inevitably growing.
However, wooden high-rise buildings are not shaky country buildings at all.
In their construction, they use the technology of CLT (Cross Laminated Timber - panels made of cross-glued wood) or LVL (Laminated Veneer Lumber - laminated veneer lumber).
In Russia, the first technology is promoted by Segezha Group, which launched the country ’ s first large-scale industrial production of CLT-panels.
And last year began the sale of the first high-rise CLT-houses in Russia: two wooden four-storey buildings were erected in the city of Sokol, Vologda region.
In addition, in Arkhangelsk, in the Sulfat microdistrict, they are going to build a four-storey building of CLT-panels - people from emergency housing will be resettled there.
Another developer, Samolet Group, plans to build nine-storey buildings from CLT in the Moscow region.
Developers are interested in these designs for a number of reasons.
First of all, the buildings are being erected quickly: for example, the construction of two houses in Sokol took eight months.
You can work all year round without breaking technology, and even on swampy soil or melting permafrost.
However, the consumer does not know much about CLT yet.
And in general, it is afraid of fires, although manufacturers claim that CLT panels are fire and earthquake resistant, and their strength is comparable to concrete.
Whether buyers will believe in wooden high-rise buildings and whether they will become a big Russian trend, time will tell.
NEAR THE EARTH
A separate trend was the bionic architecture, which still seems outlandish: however, some believe that it is the future.
We are talking about structures that exist in harmony with nature.
For example, bricks created from mycelium - the fibrous vegetative body of fungi.
They are carbon-neutral, that is, good from the point of view of ecology.
And it is a durable, fireproof, easily formable material.
Another example is mycokarst, designed by Russian architect Anna Budnikova.
This is a new generation of materials of the urban environment based on soil or stone composite and fungal spores, capable of self-healing in extreme conditions.
The invention should solve the problem of karst dips arising from the dissolution of soft soil rocks by groundwater.
In general, initially architectural structures opposed nature: this was told in his lecture at ARCH Moscow by architect, founder of the bureau Le Atelier Sergey Kolchin.
Architecture dates back to the Egyptian pyramids: for centuries, it was a form that ignored the natural context (as opposed to pre-architectural forms like a cave and a dugout).
In the Enlightenment, for example, the idea that nature needs to be transformed and conquered was established, and a regular park appeared.
However, in the XVIII century there was an aesthetic of ruins - dilapidated buildings, as if defeated by nature.
And with the advent of Art Nouveau and its floral ornaments and bends, it became clear that the revenge of natural forms still took place.
And indeed: there were ideas of the city-garden, opposing the stone jungle.
There were creations of the popularizer of organic architecture Frank Lloyd Wright, inscribed in the landscape.
Today, materials created with the help of nature are popular - for example, bricks made of rammed earth.
And the buildings themselves are trying to fit into the landscape - so that they do not have to cut down trees on the site.
Man again turned to face nature - and at the same time to himself, making the habitat more natural and cozy.
CULTURAL CENTER OF CONTAINERS
However, all this may seem sweet dreams, because the outskirts of Russian cities look very different: they are built up with the same type of gray panels.
Their gloomy charm has recently gained many fans in Western social networks.
But it is one thing to admire chthonic images from afar, and quite another - to live surrounded by the same high-rise buildings.
Not surprisingly, many consumers – not just young ones – dream of a more diverse architecture, even in the economy class segment.
How to achieve this?
For example, you can localize it - correlate with the city, its history.
In particular, we recall the modern residential development of Amsterdam, where new buildings are trying to “fit ” into the historical quarters in scale and even style, without resorting to copying.
In Russia, such examples are not yet widespread: many cities are “scarred ” by point construction.
In other cases, reference to the city is made through the use of local “materials ”.
The most striking example is the cultural center “Container Hall ” in Murmansk.
It was built near the port of 12 old shipping containers stacked on top of each other.
Outside, they were painted black - because coal dust flies from the port, and inside they hold exhibitions, film screenings, lectures.
And as a result, the depressed area received a new point of attraction.
DO YOU NEED A PERCENTAGE FOR ART?
Another lifesaver can be modern art – for example, public art.
Its peculiarity is that it focuses on the wide, that is, the inexperienced viewer and helps him to change his perception of the urban environment.
In this case, objects, as a rule, are site-specific - they are inscribed in the space in which they are located.
Among the famous examples are the art object "Happiness is not far off" (author - Boris Matrosov), installed on the embankment in Perm; "Archiles" by Nikolai Polissky in Peredelkino - woven tree trunks resembling flames: they were installed in the place of six old fir trees.
Or the project of Marina Zvyagintseva for the Morozovskaya hospital: under her leadership, modern artists turned a strict space into a boring and playful one.
However, viewers do not always like such art interventions.
Most often, problems arise with objects that are moved from place to place, not taking into account the local context.
This happened with Urs Fisher ’ s “Big Clay No. 4 ” installed in 2021 in front of the HPP-2 building.
Before that, the sculpture had already visited New York and Florence, where it caused a mixed reaction.
In Moscow, she was also not happy – disputes broke out serious.
In Russia, public art does not have a clear legal status: sometimes it is referred to as MAF - that is, small architectural forms, along with playgrounds and gazebos, and sometimes confused with festive decoration.
In general, the regulatory gap is obvious.
And there is no state support for public art yet.
Nevertheless, developers are increasingly turning to artists: after all, this is not only image glasses, but also a very specific profit.
People do not want to buy a cell in a concrete box, but a comfortable and beautiful space: when the primary needs are satisfied, the turn comes to aesthetics.
By the way, in the United States there is a program Percent for Art, under which developers are required to allocate 1 percent of the budget for art objects.
Russian developers oppose such a "binding", assuring that excessive regulation will not lead to anything good.
At the same time, some companies order public art and murals on their own initiative.
For example, in 2019, an art object by Dmitry Aske, a famous street artist and graffitist, appeared on the territory of the Balchug Residence residential complex built by Inteko.
The five-meter sculpture "Guardian", depicting a girl sitting on horseback on a wolf, looked extremely impressive.
By the way, the artist continues to cooperate with developers: in Rostov-on-Don, the Magistrat-Don company (part of the Inteko perimeter) is building the 5th Element Aske quarter.
This is a residential complex, in the design of which Dmitry participates: his murals will appear on the facades, in addition, the artist created sketches for the design of public spaces inside the houses.
PHOTOGENIC ARCHITECTURE
The demand for art is a manifestation of a global trend: visual communication is coming to the fore these days.
Consumers want their homes to be “photogenic ” – they can serve as a beautiful backdrop for social media posts.
And these requirements are gradually beginning to be taken into account - especially in the segment where functionality can fade into the background: in restaurants, hotels or expensive stores.
And sometimes functionality is inferior to aesthetics under the pressure of circumstances.
This happened with the building of GES-2, reconstructed by the famous Italian architect Renzo Piano.
Declared as the House of Culture, it is still inferior to other venues - in terms of exhibitions and programs.
Perhaps, it was simply unlucky with time: the opening of HPP-2 was at the end of 2021, and after a few months almost all international projects were curtailed.
Nevertheless, the interiors of the building - a huge bright space and light crossroads of beams - fell in love with photographers of all stripes.
However, the context is also important, the history of the place.
You can recall the scandal around the Zoya Museum, which happened in 2020.
One portal called the museum — a bright modernist building in the village of Petrishchevo, where Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya was martyred — “an ideal backdrop for fashion photography. ”
There was a lot of noise: many felt it was wrong to combine two different contexts - tragedy and fashion.
TOGETHER WITHDRAWAL
All this is only a part of the ongoing processes, it is impossible to cover them all in one text.
We can also recall the rethinking and restoration of heritage: for example, modernist buildings, highly valued in the West, are rarely considered monuments.
Although gradually the attitude is changing - as evidenced by the recent project "Steel. Glass.
Concrete ” by the famous photographer Mikhail Rozanov, dedicated to modernist buildings.
More and more people are involved in the life of the city - this is the so-called participatory design; new local centers are emerging - growth points of remote urban areas.
And it turns out that the architecture is much less susceptible to inertia than we used to think, and responds sensitively to many changes.
Photos: Valery Matitsyn / TASS; Vladimir Smirnov / TASS.

They help reduce the heat island effect in urban areas, lower energy consumption for cooling/heating, and contribute to carbon neutrality—especially when combined with the use of sustainable materials like wood in construction.

- *Biodiversity*: They create habitats for birds and insects, supporting urban ecosystems.

Title:

Content: “If you manage to realize at zero, this is already a good result ”
How Ural developers build schools in Yekaterinburg
The shortage of places in schools encourages Ural developers, together with the authorities, to design and build educational institutions in the built-up and newly developed territories.
Developers depart from the principles of the same type of Soviet development and apply modern approaches in their work, including work not only with architects, but also with psychologists, and also focus on the principles of sustainable development.
Schools are at their peak
According to the Department of Education of the Administration of Yekaterinburg, there are 165 municipal schools in the city, 191,000 children study there.
Annually, the number of students increases by 8-9 thousand and, according to forecasts, by 2025 will exceed 200 thousand people, including due to migration flows.
Since the educational sector has been experiencing a serious shortage of places for several years, the municipal program “Creating new places in general education organizations of Yekaterinburg ” was launched in 2016.
In seven years, 16 new buildings were built in the city, 13 operating schools were overhauled and 17 thousand educational places were created.
Only this year there will be 3,400 new places.
On September 1, school No. 40 will open on Michurina Street, the construction of which is at the final stage, will be overhauled in schools No. 24 on Sevastopolskaya Street, No. 99 on Bauman Street, No. 140 on Reshetnikov Drive and No. 63 on Crowley Street.
The municipal program will last until 2025, but taking into account the dynamics of the growth in the number of children, Deputy Head of the Department of Education of the City Hall Mikhail Ladeyshchikov believes that the timing of the program should be increased.
Social responsibility of developers
The design and construction of schools in Yekaterinburg is most often done by local developers.
The work is carried out jointly with the administration, since in the vast majority of cases the customer and the financier of social projects is the state or municipal authority.
“Business, including developers, assist in the implementation of these projects.
This is mainly expressed in the design, providing the necessary data.
If possible, the largest developers allocate land ”, — said the President of the Guild of Builders of the Urals Vyacheslav Trapeznikov.
He noted that the practice, which is common in Moscow, when developers at their own expense build schools and kindergartens, unfortunately, in the Urals and the rest of Russia is impossible: “Profitability indicators do not allow our business to build such facilities at its own expense. ”
Despite the fact that both developers and city authorities are interested in the construction of social facilities, the process itself has many nuances.
“Working on a contract for the construction of schools and kindergartens is often not about financial benefits.
If such projects can be implemented at zero, this is already a good result.
However, the importance of such work for the future growth of the enterprise and the city is enormous, ” said Valery Ananiev, General Director of Atomstroykomplex.
According to him, it is impossible to develop the city one-sidedly, erecting only commercially profitable objects.
In order for people to want to live, work and invest in a particular territory, a fully balanced urban environment is needed there.
“If you have children, you will hardly want to buy a modern, spacious apartment in an area where there are no schools and kindergartens.
The developer will not invest his funds in the construction of a new quarter where there is no demand for new housing.
Consequently, this urban land will not be involved in circulation, it will not have new streets, cafes and shops, will not be updated networks, will remain unsettled dilapidated houses, the Treasury will not receive taxes from those enterprises and owners that could appear on it, ” explained Mr. Ananiev.
The head of the development department of Pervostroitel Group, Andrei Ponomarev, agreed that citizens should receive ready-made kindergartens and schools together with the apartment, but pointed out that the state finances the construction of social facilities not as quickly as developers would like.
“There is a dissynchronization that disturbs everyone.
To keep the balance, there are two ways: to build commercial facilities for the appropriate purpose or to help the city build municipal facilities, ” said Mr. Ponomarev.
The developer determines his task in assisting the mayor ’ s office in the construction of social facilities within the framework of the formation of land plots for construction, the preparation of various documentation, including for obtaining budget financing, and the passage of state expertise.
Another Ural developer, Brusnika, due to the increase in the share of social facilities in its portfolio (11 facilities are in operation), organized an additional workshop, which focused only on the design of schools and kindergartens, it also includes specialists in interior and landscape.
“We design some of the social facilities ourselves, and we entrust some of them to contractors.
Depending on the agreements with the municipalities, Brusnika either transfers the project documentation of the social facility to the city administration for further construction, or prepares it independently.
Examples of such cooperation are a school in Novosibirsk, a kindergarten and a school in the Vidny Moscow Region, ” Brusniki ’ s press service said, stressing that despite the changing agenda in the world, the company has not abandoned ESG initiatives.
Another approach
During the USSR, schools were built according to standard projects.
Therefore, in different cities you could see almost identical objects, not too different from each other.
Now developers, though standardize the typical elements from which projects are “assembled ”, but at the same time strive to preserve the uniqueness of each object.
“Standardization will speed up both design and construction, allow the use of prefabricated elements and reduce the commissioning time, while maintaining the quality of the product, ” explained Brusnik.
The design institute of the company "Atomstroykomplex" has developed several standard projects of schools and kindergartens, which are now recommended by the Ministry of Construction of the Russian Federation for replication throughout the country, their use allows to reduce the time and cost of preparing design and working documentation.
Now the developer is trying for himself the role of concessionaire.
The company was the first in Yekaterinburg to enter into concession agreements for the construction of two schools in the city along Kotelnikova Street and Sovetskaya Street.
According to Valery Ananiev, through concessions, the provision of educational services itself reaches a new level, since PPP implies that the design, construction and operation is concentrated in the hands of one company.
And yet, approaches to construction are changing – schools are becoming more like multifunctional centers, which in some cases become available not only to students, but also to all residents of the city.
“The modern school is like a spaceship, where the maximum of processes — from access control to the regulation of the microclimate — are automated.
Almost every classroom, every public space of the school is equipped with complex equipment - media systems, sports equipment, dispatching.
This requires colossal competencies from both the one who builds and the one who will manage the facility, ” said Mr. Ananiev.
Unlike Soviet schools, when designing modern educational institutions, preference is given to open spaces, unused premises are minimized, developing and unifying environments are created, that is, the developer follows the principle of economy in the operation of the building.
So "Brusnika" in its project in Novosibirsk refuses the H- and U-shaped in favor of a rectangular building with an atrium.
“This solution allows to reduce the total area of   the building by 5 thousand square meters, while the usable area in terms of one student becomes more.
Another solution is an atrium instead of an assembly hall.
This principle is based on studies that show that the assembly hall in the school is empty 90% of the time.
Atrium performs its function and becomes the most visited space - the heart of the school.
It connects the floors with each other and acts as a transit zone.
Also, due to the large area of   glazing in the room, it is light most of the day, it allows you to save electricity, ” the press service of the company commented.
Often, when designing schools, developers resort to the advice of psychologists and sociologists to understand how to more effectively implement all methodological recommendations in the future school.
For example, "Brusnika" did this when designing a school in the microdistrict "Eurobereg" (Novosibirsk).
This consultation helped to introduce into the project the idea of   inclusivity of a modern school - its readiness for joint education of children, regardless of their social status, abilities and characteristics of health.
Forum Group also used such advice when designing the new building of Gymnasium No. 99 on Elmash.
As the general director of the company Maxim Shaburov said, the developer ’ s team held a session to discuss the concept of the project with the participation of the Department of Education of the Administration of Yekaterinburg, the team of the gymnasium and experts of the Center for Psychological and Pedagogical Innovations, which deals with the architecture of educational spaces from the point of view of pedagogy and psychology.
Another principle practiced by Ural developers is the absence of blind partitions between class-clusters and the recreational area, as well as the rejection of the basement - instead of it, all communications are placed on the floors and on the technical floor under the roof.
Such architectural solutions reduce the heated area of the building, simplify the construction and operation of the school.
“In our projects, the landscape is responsible for the development and learning at school, including a dense and diverse landscaping, in the area around schools and kindergartens, we design places for bird watching, zones for the development of tactility, beds for growing greens and vegetables, ” the press service of Brusniki noted.
Developers also strive to minimize the number of partitions, fences, gates and other obstacles on the territory of social facilities, but so far this is difficult during the coordination of projects.
Non-standard solutions
With the complex development of built-up areas, developers sometimes have to resort to non-standard solutions.
For example, during the development of the territory of the former Uralobuv enterprise (Vtuzgorodok, Pervostroitel is engaged in the development of the territory) in 2015, it became clear that the prospects for the development of the new district exceeded the capacity of the existing school.
At the same time, it became clear that there was not enough land for the reconstruction of school No. 134 or the construction of a new
To solve the problem, the developer proposed to increase the capacity of the school from 600 seats to 1.5 thousand seats by adding a neighboring section of the children ’ s clinic and building a new school building.
To form a land plot for the development of the school, the company designed and built the building of the children ’ s clinic, and then equipped it and transferred it to the regional Ministry of Health.
Last year, “Pervostroitel ” at its own expense developed the design documentation of the school building, and this year the developer plans to receive a positive conclusion of the state examination.
In addition, the company appealed to the administration of Yekaterinburg with a request to include the reconstruction of the building in the municipal program for the construction of schools, which will ensure the financing of the future facility.
The package of agreed documentation for the inclusion of the project in the budget funding will be ready by the end of May.
Maria Ignatova
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- *Landscape Enhancement*: Emphasizing seasonal variety and lushness, vertical gardens can create year-round visual appeal and reflect local climates and histories.

- **Design Innovation**:
    - *Space Efficiency*: Vertical gardens allow greenery to flourish where traditional lawns are impractical, maximizing limited land—critical in dense urban areas.

Title:

Content: Architect
Design of public spaces and residential premises.
Execution of sketches, design and working documentation of the architectural section, calculation of specifications and compilation of statements, layout.
Portfolio link: https: / / drive.google.com / open? id = 14qjA1ucID2bPf-me _ 3M6Z8RAAODzhZq3

- *Multifunctional Spaces*: Their inclusion in atriums or common areas encourages both transit and congregation, making spaces healthier and more inviting.

- **Public and Social Value**:
    - *Community Engagement*: Green spaces—especially those that are visually, physically, and functionally accessible—offer social, recreational, and educational benefits for residents of all ages.

- *Resilience & Adaptability*: Green wall systems are being designed for unique local challenges (e.g., wind, limited space, severe climate) and social needs, such as affordable housing and migrant accommodation.

Title:

Content: Architectural magazine eVolo, which back in 2006 established the Skyscraper Competition, dedicated to various bold projects of skyscrapers, named the winners of 2023.
In addition to the triumphants, more than a dozen works were noted, and, most pleasantly, the projects were mainly aimed at combating environmental problems.
Who knows, maybe in the near future we will see these buildings put into practice.
And more importantly, it will save our planet.
First place: Nomadic megacities
Country: China
This project is aimed at solving the problem of housing for migrants and those who constantly move from place to place.
The capsule is relatively compact, and its design consists of a fixed part (for example, the kitchen and toilet are located in fixed parts of the house for connecting piping systems) and a rotating part, which includes the rest of the living quarters.
The capsule closes the issue of psychological comfort of the tenant associated with the move, and also saves resources for the construction of new houses for people rocking the planet.
Second Place: Ocean Re-clamation
Country: New Zealand
The skyscraper is a stunning example of an innovative idea that solves the problem of plastic pollution, as well as contributes to the conservation of biodiversity and wildlife.
First, the tower itself will be built from recycled plastic.
Secondly, it is designed so that, moving along the natural flow, collect plastic debris, which will later be sent for processing.
And thirdly, thanks to its unique design, the skyscraper has vast spaces and balconies that can accommodate trees and other natural objects that attract birds to live and nest.
And another important point: in addition to collecting plastic, the skyscraper systems are also designed to eliminate oil spills in the ocean.
Third place: K8 Forest take-off
Country: Germany
The K8 skyscraper aims to protect the Amazon rainforest ecosystem from anthropogenic damage, while improving the living conditions of its biodiverse inhabitants and neighboring communities.
Well, below you can get acquainted with other architectural projects that were awarded the attention of the jury.
Plastic skyscraper of blown panels
Country: USA
A skyscraper is a place where plastic waste can be useful.
The tower itself is built of recycled plastic, and the panels inflated with compressed air can be turned into steam balls that will pollinate the area around.
Spiral Farm Skyscraper
Country: Indonesia
A spiral farm skyscraper is a system of vertical farming.
Plants are located in the building so that they do not shade each other and receive enough sunlight for active growth.
The driving force that ensures the nutrition of plants, as well as the mobility of trays, is the flow of water.
Evaporative cooling and geothermal heating systems are used to minimize energy costs.
Gate of Cairo
Country: China
Cairo is one of the most water-poor cities in the world.
The Cairo Gate skyscraper system incorporates a tensioning membrane to produce water resources by collecting mist from the Nile water.
The captured water resources allocated from the mist will be used to grow desert algae that will replace fertilizers.
And also this liquid can irrigate agricultural land and be used for the daily needs of residents.
The skyscrapers themselves will act as full-fledged residential premises.
Wind seeding tower
Country: China
The sowing tower was created in order to stop the desertification of Mongolia and restore the natural ecology and national economy of the country, sowing fields for grazing and, thereby, once again increase the level of livestock production.
The tower itself is designed taking into account the unique conditions of Mongolia ’ s strong wind for spreading grass seeds.
The seeder uses the principle of accelerating the Laval nozzle, which can increase the wind speed by 10 times only by changing the cross section, so that the seeds can be sown on the ground at a distance of 1 km.
Origami skyscraper
Country: China
Fiji is known for its cyclones and other destructive natural phenomena.
The origami skyscraper is a place where you can hide from tropical cyclones.
Also, the building can become a place that will provide employment for the population.
And here you can conduct meteorological observations and equip habitats for birds.
Under normal conditions, the system will be flat and suitable for the development of agriculture and fisheries, but as soon as tropical cyclones appear, it will collapse to protect people, birds and ships.
PRIMUS: terraforming structure of Mars
Country: China, USA
Primus systems provide for the creation of industrial structures that will use modern technology to gradually change the Martian environment to make it suitable for human habitation.
The interior space under the system is intended as initial housing for Mars explorers and inhabitants, and it will provide the necessary infrastructure for research.
Antarctic Rescue Line
Country: China
In order to slow down the melting of glaciers and the imminent environmental catastrophe, a complex has been developed that will absorb heat from the cracks of the earth's crust (which accelerates melting) and convert it into electricity, which will then be charged in batteries.
Battery-powered submarines from other areas will transport discharged batteries here and full ones to other areas for use.
In addition, the upper part of the tower can create ice, which will gradually accumulate on the upper walls of the caves, strengthening and restoring the glaciers.
The Renaissance Skyscraper
Country: China
The essence of the project of this skyscraper is to help restore the Great Barrier Reef, increase the coral population and restore the marine ecosystem.
As the authors of the project say: "Life originated in the ocean, and this is not only the revival of corals, but also the revival of humanity."
Whale: Coral Forest
xxx
Country: South Korea
The whale is another system designed to restore the marine ecosystem by collecting plastic and other debris that actively accumulates on the water surface.
On the outer underwater surface of the building are corals, which perfectly harmonize with the marine fauna.
Also, the generators actively enrich the space around with oxygen, which helps to breathe and move freely and naturally to various marine inhabitants.
Source

- **Sustainable Technology & Urban Challenges**:
    - *Innovative Waste Management*: Some vertical garden projects double as environmental clean-up solutions (e.g., integrating plastic waste collection and oil spill remediation).

- *Water Management*: Efficient irrigation systems, sometimes powered by natural water flow, support plant health with minimal waste.

- **Maintenance & Plant Selection**:
    - *Maintenance Needs*: Green walls require regular upkeep—pruning, monitoring of irrigation systems, pest control, and periodic soil or substrate renewal.

Automated systems can streamline some of these tasks.

- *Plant Selection for Climates*: Choice of plant species is vital.

In temperate zones, ferns, ivies, and native perennials thrive; in arid climates, succulents and drought-tolerant plants are preferred.

In cold regions, hardy evergreens and mosses offer year-long greenery.

- **Aesthetics and Connection to Nature**:
    - By integrating vertical gardens with open architectural designs (e.g., folding walls to merge indoor and outdoor), architects eliminate the boundary between nature and human-made environments, fostering well-being and environmental stewardship in daily life.

**Conclusion**:
Vertical gardens are a multifaceted innovation in sustainable building, offering tangible environmental, aesthetic, and health benefits while presenting design and maintenance challenges that informed plant selection and advanced technologies help address.

Their successful integration is transforming how urban spaces look, feel, and function.

**Vertical Gardens: Practical Benefits & Implementation in Sustainable Architecture**

**Introduction & Context**
Vertical gardens, also known as green walls, living walls, or plant walls, are transforming the built environment by merging natural elements with modern architectural design.

Title:

Content: Wednesday 26 June 2024
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Editors
Abdurrahim Ali
Editor-in-Chief
Dalia Abdul Rahim
Chairman of the Board of Directors and Editorial Board
Abdurrahim Ali
Editor-in-Chief
Dalia Abdul Rahim
Reports & Investigations
University Coordination 2024 | Conditions of Enrolment at the Faculty of Fine Arts Helwan University and Available Departments
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Students who have obtained high school for the current year seek to enroll in colleges that develop their talents and make them distinguished in the future.
“Portal News ” provides information about the Faculty of Fine Arts in Zamalek, which contains many different departments to help new students to determine their choice in different departments.
The Faculty of Fine Arts at Helwan University was established in 1908 under the name of "School of Fine Arts" at the initiative of Prince Youssef Kamel and with the help of the French sculptor Galician Leblanc, it is considered one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the field of arts in Egypt and the Arab world.
Scientific Sections
The faculty includes scientific departments such as Architecture, Photography, Sculpture, Decoration, Graphic and Visual Communication, and offers various programs in Graphic Design, as well as Sustainable Architectural and Urban Design, Animation and Multimedia, Interior Architecture Design Program.
The college also focuses on promoting creativity and innovation among students through teaching them the latest technological methods and techniques in the fields of visual arts and design, and aims to prepare creative graduates who are able to invest their knowledge theoretically and practically to meet the needs of the labor market and achieve sustainable development.
Interior Architecture Design Program
The College also includes the Interior Architecture Design Program at the Department of Decoration, which works to achieve leadership and excellence in the field of interior architecture design by promoting opportunities for transition, creativity and the employment of digital technology to keep pace with modern design trends and the requirements of the local and global labor market.
The program helps to qualify the interior architect to use his tools and combines design knowledge and skills with digital tools to enhance the design process so that these digital tools are used within the framework of the design decision service as modeling tools or representation, analysis, presentation and demonstration based on the designer ’ s input without being applied on the basis of the designer ’ s design thought.
It also aims to create a distinctive creative endeavor in the field of interior architecture that meets the functional and aesthetic needs of the human being related to the nature and function of the interior space, which multiplies comfort, behavior and productivity by providing an advanced academic and administrative system based on the latest digital technologies.
The program includes basic knowledge and skills studies related to interior spaces and their functions and how to deal with them in horizontal and vertical dimensions according to user requirements to enhance the function and shape of the space.
The program grants a bachelor's degree in Interior Architecture Design, provided that the student passes 165 credit hours in five levels, in addition to the two summer semesters in case of non-completion of the number of credit hours, distributed over a number of courses in accordance with the requirements listed in the internal regulations.
Students on this program work in companies and consulting offices in the field of architecture design and interior architecture, as well as design, planning, quality and inspection in the field of interior architecture, and freelance in the interior architecture of various types and forms including residential, commercial, health, tourism, hotel, cultural and entertainment facilities.
Admission Requirements:
Students who obtain high school and Arab and foreign certificates equivalent to high school sports division and science division and the importance of passing the aptitude test in arts within the college.
Accepted students may be admitted on condition that they pass the aptitude tests, and under the same conditions, whether transferred from the corresponding and non-corresponding colleges, provided that the student is not dismissed or canceled from the transferred college, where a scientific clearance determines the enrollment at the appropriate academic level in accordance with the standards approved by the College Council and determined by the councils of scientific departments.
Graphic Design Program in the Department of Graphic
The program aims to prepare a graphic designer capable of designing websites and working in the field of advertising, magazines, books, catalogs, products, commercial goods, marketing messages and illustrations to formulate ideas and create digital content as well as the ability to design logos and visual identities.
The program also takes a creative approach to communicate the visual message by combining technology, aesthetics and creative thinking, so that it relies on modern technology to produce graphic works, according to the philosophy of providing the student with a broad specialized culture and graphic, and in helping him to form a huge and diverse visual memory, and in preparing him skillfully through training on all techniques, media and tools to make him innovative. And graduate a creative designer capable of innovation in the field of graphic design and absorb the needs of the labor market.
As for the entry requirements of the program, get a decent fine arts in the previous tests of abilities, and get the minimum admission to the college in the total high school year obtained.
Transfers from any college are also accepted on condition that the study starts from the first level and that he is fit in abilities (in the year of his secondary school), and has a total.
Sustainable Architectural and Urban Design Program
The program aims to prepare architects who are familiar with the basics of engineering and technical sciences and specialists in architectural and urban engineering sciences in general and sustainable architecture and sustainable urban design in particular.
The program enables students to understand sustainable architecture and urbanism, foster creativity and innovation by studying the relationship between communities, buildings, urbanism and the environment, provide students with modern technological tools to meet the needs of the professional market, enable students to explore complex architectural and urban challenges, and qualify students for interdisciplinary studies related to the field of specialization.
Animation & Multimedia Software
The Animation and Multimedia program is a credit hour program taught in English and relies on modern technology to produce works of art with a distinctive and innovative character.
Contributes to the graduation of a creative designer capable of innovation in the field of animation and multimedia and able to deal with modern technology and absorb the needs of the labor market.
The areas of the program are the production of animated films, the design of web pages and advertisements and the use of montage software and electronic tricks, as well as the field of 2D and 3D animation.
The programs accept students who have a minimum college total for high school students or equivalent foreign certificates and equivalents, provided that they pass the aptitude exam determined by the Supreme Council of Universities at the level of the Republic.
The program also accepts transfers from the corresponding and non-corresponding colleges provided that they pass the aptitude exam and the minimum total for the year of the advanced student and the beginning of the first level.

Emblematic of sustainable trends in “green architecture,” they support goals of longevity, resource efficiency, and waste reduction, aligning with global ambitions to create buildings that balance cultural identity and ecological responsibility.

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Content: Architects: Sustainability and Resource Conservation a Priority
T + T - normal size
Sustainable architecture is based on the vision of the artist and architect and the possibilities available.
Sustainable architecture means the design of buildings that consume water, energy and natural materials as little as possible by retreating waste water and using it to irrigate the garden and using modern technologies so that the energy consumption of the building is automatically saved for cooling, air conditioning and lighting as well as the use of building materials resulting from recycling previous products.
Contextual sources
Al-Bayan met with the architect and artist Abdullah Al-Mulla, who designed many conservative constructions and contributed to the preservation of the environment, and says:
When designing sustainable architecture, I give priority to natural materials with contextual sources, while ensuring that they blend seamlessly with the local environment and cultural scene.
This approach reduces the ecological footprint and respects the original ecosystem.
Next, I focus on the longevity and roundness of the structure.
This includes the selection of durable materials and an adaptable and reusable design, prolonging the life cycle of the building.
The aim is to create a structure that not only stands the test of time, but also promotes resource efficiency and waste reduction, ensuring a sustainable legacy for future generations.
A sustainable idea
Dr. Lina Al-Mousawi, who has several lectures in the field of sustainable architectural thought, said:
Sustainability has become the concern of most countries of the world, which have strived to develop and strengthen it because of its importance in various economic, social, environmental and architectural fields. Sustainability means the permanence and survival of something to serve future generations.
Natural materials
She added: “True sustainability starts with how to achieve a comfortable living environment, by studying and determining the appropriate climate inside the spaces and providing the right amount of ventilation and natural lighting. This may be by designing indoor gardens and natural shades, as well as shade and light design that contributes to regulating temperatures and creating a sense of comfort, tranquility and beauty. ”
Architecture is not only the art of choosing a beautiful shape and luxurious building materials, but the formation of a beautiful shape with a correct sustainable function that serves the future generations.
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**Key Benefits of Indoor Vertical Gardens**

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5 buildings around the world that are environmentally friendly and beautiful
There are various futuristic ideas that architects around the world are developing.
But they have something in common: precise knowledge of the location, and the use of the resources available in the region. It is essential to adopt effective methods to keep our planet habitable.

**Air Purification**
Vertical gardens are effective biofilters.

Their dense plant cover absorbs pollutants such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon dioxide, and particulate matter, thus improving indoor air quality.

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Content: Reviving the Heritage Trades.
Researchers at Al-Azhar Climate Conference call for sustainable environmental materials
Sunday ، 19 December 2021 02: 39 PM
Al-Azhar Climate Conference
Books – to me.
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Researchers at the Third International Scientific Conference on Environment and Sustainable Development at Al-Azhar University, entitled "Climate Change; Challenges and Confrontation", discussed research topics on the issue of "Sustainable Development and its relationship to confronting climate change", in the first session of the second day of the conference, which is held under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, at Al-Manara Convention Center in the Fifth Settlement.
Engineer Basant Abdul Hakim Abdo, a British grant holder, presented how to use paper models as a sustainable environmental material and an easier and faster solution to facilitate the design and preparation of prototypes, and reviewed how to take advantage of the Japanese experience in the use of paper and invent new ideas to improve life and exploit it optimally and revive traditional crafts.
Eng. Ashraqat Abdel Hakim Jouda, a researcher at the Faculty of Engineering, Al-Azhar University, presented a research paper entitled "Towards the integration of biophilic design and smart technologies to face environmental degradation and climate change", and recommended the need to support and encourage civil society and investors and guide politicians and decision-makers to the seriousness of the construction industry.
The paper presented by Eng. Iman Helmy, a researcher at Al-Azhar University, Faculty of Engineering, dealt with the impact of using smart materials on the environment and how to use building facades to implement the idea of smart buildings, reduce environmental problems and reduce cost to balance the internal and external environment of the building and reduce the consumption of internal and external energy.
The paper presented by Dr. Mahmoud Abu Al-Anwar, Assistant Professor at the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Al-Azhar University, entitled "Shaping Islamic Architecture as a Tool to Combat Climate Change", discussed the aspects of sustainable development and contemporary applications of formations in Islamic architecture, highlighted the idea of sustainable buildings and their evaluation systems, and called for the need to take advantage of serious practices aimed at maximizing the values of Islamic architecture in order to preserve the environment.
Mostafa Mahmoud Ali Al-Sayed Fouda, Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Girls of Al-Azhar University, presented a paper entitled "The impact of climate change on buildings in Egypt and methods of technological maintenance", stressing the importance of activating the role of maintenance for buildings and how to use modern technology, and making organized plans of specialists to face climate change and preserve the environment.
In his paper entitled “The Role of Value Engineering in Determining the Economic Impact of Climate Change ”, Eng. Mohamed Abdel Raouf Aboul Fotouh, Assistant Professor in the Department of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering, Al-Azhar University, presented theses to develop a methodology for designing the outer shell of buildings and how to use value engineering to accurately calculate the cost, function and environmental status of buildings and how to benefit from them.
The second day of the conference will discuss the economics of climate adaptation, the role of Arab and African universities and research institutions in the field of environment and climate change, pollution and control of carbon emissions, climate change and biodiversity scenarios, climate change and agriculture, sustainable development and its relation to climate change, environmental sustainability mechanisms, effective adaptation, policies and legal actions to combat climate change.
The conference sessions and events will be held over three days (Saturday, Sunday and Monday), from 18 to 20 December 2021, in Al-Manara Hall in the Fifth Settlement, starting from Al-Azhar Al-Sharif's efforts to hold a number of conferences, seminars and workshops in preparation for, and in support of, the United Nations Conference COP27 to be hosted by Egypt in Sharm El-Sheikh in November 2022.
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Certain plants are especially good at trapping airborne toxins, offering healthier environments in residential and commercial buildings.

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Content: The future envisioned by architects during Japan ’ s economic boom
Lifestyle
After World War II, especially as the country shifted from reconstruction to entering a period of accelerated economic growth, Japan saw the construction of many unique buildings based on the revolutionary ideas of young architects.
Among them was Metabolism, an architectural movement in the 1960s and 1970s that sought to imagine a new Japanese civilization.
The most famous example of this movement is the Nakagin Capsule Tower by architect Kurokawa Kisho, built in 1972.
Now, almost half a century later, as we face degradation and population decline, many buildings are on the verge of disappearing.
In this article, French photographer Jeremy Sutterat documents the history of these architectural buildings in the context of their surroundings.
World War II destroyed many forms of life in Japan.
The country embarked on reconstruction during the first decade after the war, changing paths as it entered a period of high economic growth that lasted from the late 1950s until the 1973 oil crisis.
During those years, a new generation of architects emerged who played an important role in urban development by creating many architectural projects that had a bright future ahead.
Under the guidance of renowned architect Tangi Kenzo (1913 – 2005), this group of young architects designed buildings and other gigantic structures, launching a movement (Metabolic Architecture) that included the biological principle of regeneration.
From the heart of these young people came the world leaders in architecture.
Its two former members, Maki Fumihiko (1928 –) and Izuzaki Arata (1931 –), each received the prestigious Pritzker Prize for Architecture in 1993 and 2019 respectively.
This article addresses many of the projects that have emerged from this experimental movement.
One of the buildings embodying metabolic architecture is the Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo's Ginza district.
It is close to popular tourist attractions and in a location that is easy for the media to cover, which has helped it stay for long periods.
But due to its deteriorating condition, the owners were under pressure to rebuild.
A model of the Nakagin Capsule Tower is displayed in a room owned by Seken Takayuki inside the building.
Designed by Kurokawa Kisho and built in 1972, the tower is one of the few remaining buildings of the metabolic architecture movement that still stands in 2021.
Photo taken on July 23, 2016.
Most of these privately owned buildings built during the period of the Metabolic Architecture movement have already been demolished because of the prohibitive costs of maintaining them as a result of their gradual deterioration.
The number of public buildings built has also dwindled as Japan ’ s population has declined.
This prompted me to start working on my Metabolic Architecture Documentation project in 2016, and some of the buildings I photographed have already been demolished.
The rest will almost certainly disappear soon.
Although the metabolic architecture movement is future-oriented, it was based on the concept that the destruction of the old allows the construction of the new in the cycle of renewal, an idea similar to the old Shinto tradition.
Through the accompanying images of the remaining structures of metabolic architecture from all over Japan, I strive to portray their final form in the context of their surroundings.
The images were selected from my recent book:
(L ’ architecture du futur au japon: utopie et metabolisme), published by the French publishing house Le Lizar Noire in November 2020.
What is Metabolic Architecture?
The movement originated when a group of young Japanese architects and designers released a statement entitled “Metabolism: Proposals for New Urbanism ” at the World Design Congress held in Tokyo in 1960.
The group included architects Kurokawa Kisho, Kikutaki Kyunori, Maki Fumihiko, and Otaka Masato with designers Ikona Kenji and Azawa Kiyoshi and art critic Kawazuae Noboru.
The concept of organic growth of cities and buildings was announced in response to social development and population growth, similar to the metabolism of biological cells.
Their creations are known all over the world as distinct, non-Western style architectures.
Nakagin Capsule Tower
Design: Kurokawa Keshio (1934 – 2007)
Location: Ginza District, Zhuo City, Tokyo
Year of construction: 1972
The residential building has 140 “capsules ” of 10 square meters each.
At the time of its creation, it was described as a “haven ” for the entrepreneur, and was marketed through supermarkets.
One capsule room owner, Sekini Takayuki, bought one unit with his wife in 2005 for 4 million yen and was closely involved in efforts to preserve and renovate the building.
In 2007, the capsule owners voted to replace the tower, but the investment company that headed the project later declared bankruptcy.
After that, some owners purchased other capsules and engaged in actions aimed at conservation and regeneration.
However, in the spring of 2021, the building was sold to a real estate company that plans to redevelop the site.
Demolitions are now scheduled to begin in March 2022.
To the left, Nakagin Capsule Tower.
View from below the Tokyo Highway.
Photo taken on October 6, 2016.
On the right, Sekini Takayuki is inside his capsule.
Photo taken on July 23, 2016.
Kyoto International Conference Center
Design: Otani Satchiu (1924 – 2013)
Location: Sakyo District, Kyoto
Year of construction: 1966
This was the first national conference facility built in Japan, and was the site of the signing of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997.
The complex is located on a sprawling land of 156,000 square meters with gardens and Takaragaiki Lake.
The roof integrates traditional gasho style construction (a style of traditional Japanese building styles) with modern architecture.
The main building was completed in 1966.
Subsequent additions include the Ballroom (1985) and the Annex Hall (1998).
They were all designed by Otani Satchio and his colleagues.
Photos taken on June 14, 2016.
Yamanashi Cultural Hall
Design: Tange Kenzo (1913 – 2005)
Location: Kovo City, Yamanashi Prefecture
Year of construction: 1966
The hall houses the offices of local media groups (Yamanashi Niichi Niichi Newspaper, Yamanashi Broadcasting Network and Sunniichi YPS Group).
The roof features a distinctive transmission tower dating back to the age of analog broadcasting.
The structure is supported by columns and beams, where there is no need for interior walls, allowing for flexible use of interior space.
The building was later renovated, increasing its floor area from 18,000 to 21,900 square meters, proving the value of the concept of metabolic architecture.
Photo taken July 7, 2016.
Tokuen!
Design: Kikutaki Kyunori (1928 – 2011)
Location: Yanago City, Tottori Prefecture
Year of construction: 1964
This residential facility is located in the famous hot spring resort (Kaiki Onsen) on the coast of the Sea of Japan.
The Tokoine facility was built as a recent addition to an existing hostel.
The accommodation is located on the top floor above six giant main pillars, evoking the image of the Shintoi Temple (Shintoi Temple) (Hall of God).
Each of the main columns is supported by reinforcing columns and beams, with the reinforced concrete structure forming the appearance of traditional wooden construction.
Designer Kikutaki Kyunori was a founding member of the Metabolic Architecture movement.
Photographs taken on September 9, 2016.
Izumo Temple Administration Building
Design: Kikutaki Kyunori
Location: Izumo City, Shimani Prefecture
Year of construction: 1963
This building houses the administrative offices of the Izumo Temple, replacing the former wooden structure, which burned down in 1953.
The structure included the idea of shelves used by Izumo farmers to dry rice packets after harvest.
The magnificent building had two massive pillars connected by a 40-meter beam.
Although it included modern construction methods using reinforced concrete to ensure fire resistance, it was designed to match the ancient and sacred atmosphere of the temple.
Unfortunately, the building was demolished in November 2016.
Photographs taken on September 9, 2016.
Noa Building
Design: Shirai Seichi (1905 – 1983)
Location: Azabu District, Minato District, Tokyo
Year of construction: 1963
The office building, located at the Ikura junction near the Tokyo Tower, is famous for its distinctive black oval tower.
It is the headquarters of several corporate offices and the Embassy of the State of Fiji.
Architect Shirai Seichi studied Gothic philosophy and architecture in Berlin before World War II.
Design is a philosophical expression of the interaction between light and darkness.
The picture is a view of the ceiling of the entrance hall.
Photo taken on October 13, 2016
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park
Design: Tange Kenzo
Location: Naka District, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture
Year of construction: 1954
The Japanese government decided in 1949 to build this 10-hectare memorial park near the center of the atomic bomb that destroyed Hiroshima.
A design competition was held that year, attracting about 140 participants.
The winning design went to Tange Kenzo and three members of the Tange Lab at the University of Tokyo: Asada Takashi, Otani Satchie and Kimura Norikoni.
In the Tang design, the Peace Hall (now the Peace Memorial Museum), the Memorial and the Nuclear Bomb Dome (Ganbaku Dome) are aligned perpendicular to Hiwa Street, which runs from east to west through the city.
It was one of the first big projects by Tange, “the father of the idea of metabolic architecture, ” which preceded the movement by a few years.
Photo taken on September 10, 2016.
Embassy of Kuwait in Tokyo
Design: Tange Kenzo
Location: Meta District, Minato District, Tokyo
Year of construction: 1970
The Embassy of Kuwait was built 16 years after the completion of the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, demonstrating the international recognition of Tang, which in turn led the architect to be commissioned with projects in various Gulf countries.
Plans to rebuild the embassy were announced in 2017, with the project tentatively scheduled for completion in April 2020.
So far, however, demolitions are still pending, and reconstruction plans appear to have been delayed.
Photo taken July 7, 2017.
Miyakongo Civic Center
Design: Kikutaki Kyunori
Location: Miyakongo City, Miyazaki Prefecture
Year of construction: 1966
Located in the second largest city in Miyazaki Prefecture, this building has hosted civic and cultural events for 40 years, but was closed in 2007 due to the increasing maintenance costs of the aging structure.
Kikutaki's unique design was a symbol of the metabolic architecture movement, leading to calls for its preservation.
However, the building was demolished in 2019.
Photo taken on May 8, 2017.
Sky House
Design: Kikutaki Kyunori
Location: Otsuka District, Bunkyu District, Tokyo
Year of construction: 1985
Kikutaki Kyunori designed this building as his own house (the building in the center of the lower picture with a car parked outside).
It features four reinforced concrete columns that support the walls, creating a square-shaped interior living space.
At the time it was built, there were no high-rise buildings nearby.
As a reflection of the application of the idea of   metabolism to residential spaces, it has undergone renewal and expansion in response to the changing surroundings and family structures residing.
Photo taken on July 6, 2017
K-Howie.
Design: Kurokawa Kisho
Location: Kitakasu District, Nagano Prefecture
Year of construction: 1973
Construction work near Karuizawa Resort was done by designer Kurokawa to be his holiday home.
It features a reinforced concrete base column that houses stairs and extends from the entrance to the living room above.
Four capsules, the same as those used in the Nakagin capsule tower, are connected to the construction center.
Two of them are used as bedrooms, one is for the kitchen, and the fourth is a tea room.
It is scheduled to be leased for holiday accommodation starting in the fall of 2021.
Photo taken on April 4, 2017.
Shizuka Press and Radio Center
Design: Tange Kenzo
Location: Ginza District, Zhuo City, Tokyo
Year of construction: 196
This 57-meter-high 12-storey building, near Shinmbashi Station on the Yama no Teh train line, is located at the intersection of Sutopuri Streets with Nishi Ginza.
It carries the concept of metabolic architecture, and its unique shape consists of a cylindrical heart with prominent box-shaped offices.
In the lower left of the second picture, we see the detour of the Tokyo Highway in front of its corner.
The surface of the rusty red Nakagin capsule tower is slightly visible on the right, heading towards the Shiodomi area.
Both were the tallest buildings in the area when they were built.
Photo taken July 7, 2017.
(The original text was published in Japanese, and the translation is from English.
Photo: Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo's Chuo City.
The building is scheduled to be demolished in early 2022.
Photo taken on July 23, 2016.
All photos: Jeremy Sutterat)
Tokyo Architecture Architecture

**Temperature Regulation**
Living walls moderate indoor temperatures in several ways:
   - They naturally insulate spaces, reducing heat gain in summer and heat loss in winter.

- Through evapotranspiration—the process by which plants release water vapor—they cool the surrounding air, alleviating the urban heat island effect and lessening reliance on HVAC systems.

**Mental Health & Well-being**
Exposure to greenery has proven psychological benefits.

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5 buildings around the world that are environmentally friendly and beautiful
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Indoor green walls can:
   - Lower stress levels.

- Boost productivity and creativity.

- Enhance mood and support recovery from mental fatigue.

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5 buildings around the world that are environmentally friendly and beautiful
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Their presence contributes to biophilic design principles, reconnecting occupants with nature in urban environments.

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Content: Saturday, 27 January 2024 11: 34 GMT
February Witness Al Ula Design Space
Al Ula Design Space, located in Al Jadida Art District, offers exhibition space, workshops and archives designed to foster collaboration between professional designers, students, and design enthusiasts, while promoting the heritage of Al Ula throughout the cultural landscape as a driver of creative inspiration and design. Shen Supplier Exhibition: We Celebrate Inspired Design.
Through a series of exhibitions, workshops and documentation under the supervision of Sarah Ghani, who also curated the inaugural exhibition, Al Ula Space aims to connect with professional and emerging designers from the region and the world to explore the principles and innovative stages of design through the lens of the natural and cultural landscape of Al Ula.
The space will be open to all sources of design from architecture to urban planning, production and graphic design, and will support and engage the design community, while highlighting the important role that design plays in building the identity of the region, the quality of life, and the diversification of the economy.
Contemporary building
Al Ula Design Space is a contemporary building made of corten steel, glass, and polished concrete, designed by Geo Forma Studio, inspired by the old buildings made of patterned bricks and widely used in the surrounding buildings in Al Jadida Art District.
The building is designed around a luminous courtyard, with geometrically patterned bricks on the facade, to take the form of a variety of patterns that allow light and natural ventilation to enter the building as a whole.
The opening exhibition, Mawred: Celebrating Inspired Design, will present the stages of the design ideas of ten modern designs inspired by Al Ula that address design, architecture and urban planning.
The event will be the first in the ongoing exhibition program, and will open from February 15 until June 1, 2024.
The inaugural programme, which will take place from 15 to 17 February 2024, will feature keynote presentations, masterclasses, workshops, panel discussions and design tours, designed to serve as a series of lively discussions and debates, maximising engagement with audiences. The programme also reflects Al Ula Design Space ’ s interest in being a knowledge-sharing hub for creative minds, heritage preservation and integrated urban planning.
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**Practical Aspects: Maintenance & Suitability**

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**Maintenance Needs**
   - **Irrigation:** Most green wall systems use automated watering, but regular checks are needed to avoid over/under watering.

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- **Fertilization:** Nutrients must be supplied periodically; hydroponic systems often integrate this into the irrigation process.

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- **Pruning & Plant Replacement:** Dead or overgrown plants need pruning or replacing to retain health and aesthetics.

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5 buildings around the world that are environmentally friendly and beautiful
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- **Pest & Disease Management:** Routine inspection is essential to prevent infestations and disease outbreaks.

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**Plant Selection by Climate**
   - For **tropical/humid climates**: Ferns, pothos, philodendrons, and peace lilies are robust choices.

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5 buildings around the world that are environmentally friendly and beautiful
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- For **arid or temperate zones**: Succulents, sedums, and drought-resistant species like certain grasses or herbs do best, especially for outdoor installations.

- Indoor walls typically utilize shade-loving, low-maintenance plants such as spider plants, snake plants, or dracaenas.

- Selection should factor light availability, humidity, and maintenance capabilities.

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5 buildings around the world that are environmentally friendly and beautiful
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Their growing popularity—highlighted by their inclusion in notable global projects—signals an important evolution in how we design the built environment for the future.

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Content: New York ODA Invited by Mainland China to Build Taichung ’ s Sustainable Building “Feng Shui ”
The 14th phase of Taichung, which has a hundred flowers, is like an arena for building a commodity brand. The average price of the listed company is about 716,000 yuan, and the highest unit price is 765,000 yuan, which is a new high in the region.
It is understood that among the customers who have been purchased in this case, in addition to about 50% of the local customers in Beitun and Xitun in Taichung City, 15% are planning to transfer to Zhongke Bamboo Science and Technology, and about 20% are in Shuangbei City.
The occupational sector accounts for 50% of the total, and the scientific and technical personnel and doctors groups account for about 20% each.
With a total cost of $4.2 billion, the hotel is located within 10 minutes walking distance of the Intercontinental Baseball Stadium. It will be adjacent to the Hanshin Intercontinental Shopping Center and Prince Edward Land Plaza, which is expected to be completed in 2025.
Designed by the New York ODA team, which is leading the global discourse on green architecture, this modern green courtyard is not only a continuation of the international architectural design of mainland China, but also embodies the unique New York green thinking spirit.
This 20-story green landmark building was designed by the ODA team led by star architect Eran Chen, who turned the New York skyline.
Founded in 2007, ODA has completed more than 50 buildings and won 60 awards in just 17 years, making it the next generation of high-profile architects in New York.
Founder Eran Chen once said that if ODA succeeds in New York, its design will be accepted and appreciated around the world.
The success of this outstanding team in New York, at the top of the world stage, represents the recognition of its excellence, and “Feng Feng ” is the essence of ODA ’ s 17 years of existence.
Eran Chen believes that good architecture is not just about providing good residential services, it also tells the story of people ’ s lives and forms a complete building from the beginning of the story.
He said that the interior of the traditional courtyard in Taichung has endless open courtyards, no matter where you live in the courtyard, you can enjoy the experience of different open courtyards.
The ODA uses this expression and erects it 90 degrees, allowing these courtyards to open up in the structure, allowing the interconnection between the occupants and the building, at different heights, in different directions, in different procedures.
Eran Chen said that architecture is visible thinking, in addition to giving green value to buildings, how to improve the quality of life is a sustainable thinking.
For New York ODA, green represents not only planting, but also the idea of connecting the garden with open space and light.
A series of open green spaces are at the heart of the building, running through the "front yard" of the double hall, the "livable balcony" with a view of the park, the "elevation garden" and the "sky garden" on six different floors.
Outdoor ’ s Healing Breathing Room creates landscape design concepts for different situations, such as grasslands, forests and mountains, through themed plants and flowers at different altitudes.
These sensory gardens, which switch between different terrains and situations, not only change the inner microclimate of the building, but also the inner climate of the body and mind of the occupants.
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See green buildings in the park, see the park in the green building, this dynamic relationship, like a love story between the building and the environment.
ODA will set the organic building in the green landscape, the building and the environment can talk to each other, so that people living here, even if they can not leave the house, can enjoy the feast of nature.
In recent years, China Construction, which specializes in world architecture, has joined hands with Richard Meier of the White School in New York, OMA-Rem Koolhaas of the Netherlands and DCA-David Chipperfield of the United Kingdom to launch representative works in various places.
At the same time, ACPV in Italy, RDAI in France, EMBT in Spain, KPF in the United States, SCDA in Singapore and other top teams in the world have promoted and recorded the evolution of urban architectural aesthetics.
Following the introduction of the Central VII international architectural brand streetscape, mainland China Construction has not only become an indicator of the quality and price of the Taichung construction project, but has also cultivated many brand followers.
“Ginggong ” has set a new high in regional prices at the beginning of the project. The actual price of the registered price has been disclosed at 765,000 yuan per ping, and it is being updated gradually.
In addition to Taichung iron powder, there are also many brand followers from the northern region who have traveled south to seek fame.
New York.
Extended reading
Taichung Beitun Naked “Women ’ s Body Sheng ” Guest House is too out of the headlines for 2 weeks.
Former New York Chinese police officer pleads guilty or gets 27 years in prison
Image / Taichung woman Pei-tun driver suspected of running a red light car body was hit and sent to a doctor
Taichung Beitun Community Huge Sound at Noon on the 13th Floor of the Seventies fell and left 4 characters
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Title:

Content: Learning from nature ’ s ecology to unlock 3.8 billion years of evolutionary wisdom
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Bionics provides a window for inventors, scientists, architects and designers to draw inspiration from nature ’ s ecology and apply the mysteries of the existence of all things in various environments to find answers to climate change.
The wrinkles of elephant skin have nothing to do with beauty or ugliness, and nature does not care about the survival of the fittest.
The wrinkled skin allows elephants to survive for generations in harsh tropical environments.
The texture of the Namib Desert beetle shell is not decorative, but its inherent "water storage" device, so that it can also take water in the desert to survive.
The wisdom of the survival of the fittest evolved over billions of years.
BioSEA, a local consulting firm that consults on ecological and bionic design, asks why humans don ’ t learn from them to help us survive all the wonders of global warming.
BioSEA has received funding from the Singapore Design Council ’ s Good Design Research programme to launch a tool book, Biomimicry for Tropical Building Skins – A Design Toolkit to Manage Thermal Comfort Using Nature ’ s Genius, on how to draw knowledge from biological structures to handle and address thermal comfort in tropical buildings.
Anuj Jain, 38, co-founder of bioSEA and one of the book ’ s editor-in-chief, said: “The cement forest we live in is very easy to heat up, the whole city is warming up, in the next few decades, will increase by two degrees Celsius, we need to use passive cooling to reduce the temperature, carbon and energy saving. ”
Nature can give us inspiration to solve complex problems.
We want this book to be like a seed, planted in the minds of builders, slowly blossom and let them learn to observe nature and draw inspiration from it to solve problems.
It is not new for inventors, scientists, and designers to draw inspiration from nature and biology for new inventions and designs.
The familiar devil sticker (also known as Velcro) was inspired and designed by Swiss engineer George de Mestral when he found burdock burrs attached to his clothes on a hunting trip home in the 1950s.
Medical scientists have also observed that large gecko feet are constructed so that they can stick to the wall to crawl and get inspired to design new ways to stitch wounds without needles.
The engineer observed that the beak of Kingfisher designed a maglev bullet train, which successfully increased the speed of the train while reducing the sonic boom effect.
Advancing Bionics Globally
However, we now classify intelligence drawn and imitated by nature as biomimicry, thanks to American biology author Janine Benyus.
In 1997, she interviewed scientists, engineers, and inventors to turn their observations of functional strategies for biological survival into stories of innovative technology, which became her seminal book, Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature.
Prior to her invention of the term biomimicry, similar biomimetic concepts were known as bionics, bio-engineering, and biomimetics.
In 1998, Jenny started Biomimicry 3.8, a bionics consulting company, to provide consulting services to multinational companies such as Nike, Boeing, IDEO, P & G.
The “3.8 ” in the company ’ s name refers to the 3.8 billion years of evolution that Earth ’ s creatures have undergone. In 2006, she co-founded the Biomimicry Institute, a non-profit organization that encourages people to incorporate biology into design as a natural part of design.
Her organization organizes a global bionics design competition every year, mobilizing tens of thousands of students and practitioners of the global bionics network to use bionics thinking to solve sustainable development problems, and allows participants to use her, the world's most comprehensive bionics database "Ask Nature" (AskNature).
Anuk, who was studying ecology at the National University of Singapore, flew to the United States to study with Jenny and obtained a professional certificate in biomimicry.
He said: “Each year, the Bionics Institute selects 16 students from all over the world to study with Jenny.
There were very few Asians in the class, and I was the only representative of Singapore that year.
Saloni Swaminathan, 24, a design and research ecologist at bioSEA, another editor-in-chief of “The Bionic Wisdom of the Skin of Tropical Architecture, ” pointed out:“ There are a lot of ideas and designs that are linked to biology today, but people don ’ t know the terms, but they have specific meanings and can ’ t be used interchangeably. ” design refers to most of the architectural space design through aerial gardens, indoor gardens, vertical gardens, etc., to increase the ecological connection between the occupants and nature.
The Parkroyal Collection Pickering hotel and Jewel Changi Airport in Singapore are among the best. “biomorphic ” refers to an abstract form that points to or provokes the imagination of a creature, plant or human body.
Biomimetic architecture design draws on biological ecology
This 150-page book lists more than 50 examples of bionic architectural design from around the world, explaining the concept of bionic design in depth, and enumerating how bionic architectural design can be inspired by the survival and growth characteristics of elephants, beetles, fish, owls, algae, termite mounds, cacti, pine nuts, etc., and applied to building materials and building skins.
The electronic tool book is priced at S $18 and can be purchased at https: / / biomimicry.biosea.sg / order /
Three cases — the elephant, the Namib desert beetle, and the termite mound — reveal how architects have used the traits of these creatures to cool buildings.
BioSEA also uses 3D printing to print their characteristics on small bricks and tiles, allowing architects to conceive how to use them on the building ’ s exterior.
She said that the termite mound has a special structure, with a series of exhaust chestnuts higher than the white ant nest, and the small holes on the mound absorb hot gas and then exhaust it through the exhaust chestnuts to create a natural "air conditioning" system.
African Zimbabwean architect Mick Pearce applied the termite mound concept to the design of the local Eastgate Centre shopping mall office building, creating a natural air conditioning system for the entire building through vent holes and exhaust chutes.
It is also the modern building that has so far applied the concept of natural ventilation so thoroughly and wonderfully.
Anuk also took inspiration from termite mounds to design porous wall tiles that are more permeable and increase the cooling effect of the walls by trapping the air.
The Namib desert beetle "mastered" a unique method of taking water during its evolution.
Rows of convex textures on their shells have superhydrophilic functions; grooves have superhydrophobic functions.
In 2006, Michael Rubner, a scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Oxford University, used a layer of nanoparticles to develop a wonderful material that can absorb water from fog or dew for people to drink. And...
BioSEA imitates the shell of the Namib Desert Beetle, 3D printing 24 ceramic tiles with different densities and tilting them at 35 to 45 degrees to test the function of condensing water droplets.
Anuk believes that the Namib desert beetle can give designers tips on how to increase the water collection function of buildings and how to cool tropical indoor spaces.
Shaloni pointed out that the elephant this behemoth walked through the hot sun of the grassland, exposed for a long time, naturally there are many ways to reduce body temperature and keep cool, and the wrinkles on its skin are a good helper born to control the temperature.
She said: "Just as the hair on the primitive human body has the function of keeping the air trapped and cooling down, so do the wrinkles and crevices on the elephant's skin."
Elephants like mud baths and like to splash water on their bodies because their skin is like a sponge, which traps moisture and distributes it evenly throughout the body to achieve a cooling effect. ” BioSEA also prints cracks and wrinkles on the skin of elephants on bricks to test whether such biomimetic design materials can achieve the same cooling effect if used on building surfaces.
Anuk listed two architectural designs that successfully applied the concept of bionics at home and abroad.
The natural ventilation design of the Votu Hotel in Brazil is based on the Prairie Dog (also known as Prairie Dog) and the cactus. The smart Prairie Dog was born knowing the fluid mechanics of Bernoulli ’ s Principle.
When they dig a hole, they will dig a higher cave at one end, and the high and low air pressure caused by two caverns of different heights will promote a continuous flow of air circulation.
The designer of Votu Hotel imitated the prairie dog and mouse, and designed the ceiling of each room of the hotel with different heights of inclination, and the gaps at the two ends of the ceiling can ensure the natural circulation of air in the room.
The arrangement of wooden strips in the appearance of the room mimics the structure of the cactus to achieve a cooling effect.
The concave-convex shape of the cactus allows it to be exposed to sunlight and shadow on one side during different sunshine periods.
Anuk said a team at the Dynamic Assemblies Lab, part of the University of Technology and Design (SUTD) in Singapore, took inspiration from Starfish Larvae in 2020 to assemble the Knit Pattern Flow Pavilion: “Starfish larvae change the direction of their hair to control the swirl of the water flow, enabling them to move around the water. ” The water moves.
The team used the structure of starfish larvae to make a pavilion, and simulated the intermittent wind speed of nature. They found that the wind, which constantly adjusts the flow, is more comfortable and cool than the artificial wind, which blows continuously at a fixed speed.
He also pointed out that pine cones shrink when wet and open when exposed to heat; mimosa shrinks when stressed; flowers open and close due to sunlight, and the interaction of these plants with cold, hot and light can also be applied to the external design of the building, so that the building shell and skin can be switched according to sunlight to achieve a cooling effect.
Anuk said: “What we are most happy to see in the end is that architects and designers can apply these different bionic research and ideas to the same building and put them together. ”
In this way, the world can witness in the same place how the ancient wisdom of nature is applied to the contemporary space through human wisdom to solve the problem of climate change facing mankind.
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Content: Huang Han-ting, president of the Kaohsiung City Building Management Association, points out that the award has experienced several waves of real estate high and low tide, 921 earthquake, financial tsunami, etc., leading to a depression in the construction industry, but the award is still held every year, without interruption, and the future goal is to expand the scope of the evaluation to Taiwan.
As of last year, 17 counties and cities in Taiwan have included public and private sectors in the scope of the award, and this year, they hope to achieve a "Grand Slam" in Taiwan.
This year's Architectural Park Award covers the whole of Taiwan, and the awards are divided into six categories, namely: Building Residential Architectural Landscape, Heavenly Residential Architectural Landscape, Public Architectural Landscape, Park Green Landscape, Regeneration of Old Buildings and Community Landscape Construction.
Huang Kai-lun, director of the construction industry, pointed out that the current global active pursuit of net zero carbon emissions, all industries set ESG sustainable goals, will also face the pressure of net zero transformation, the construction industry in the wave of ESG, how to specifically implement green low-carbon, will be the key to winning competitiveness.
Lin Guozhen, CEO of the Architectural Garden Metallurgical Award, said that climate change is intensifying and natural disasters are frequent around the world, and “sustainability ” has become the key word in the construction industry.
As early as 10 years ago, in 2014, the Architectural Park Metallurgical Award put forward the main theme of “Green Art Sustainability. Towards the International ”, and in recent years, it has been advocating“ People-based Green Building. ”
"Sustainable Environment", "Smart Green Building. Friendly Environment", "Tracing the Origin. The Garden Universe", etc., express the architect's eagerness to the environment, ecological sustainability, and net zero carbon emissions.
# Kaohsiung # Architecture Award # Oscar # Architecture