All images courtesy of Michelle Bond, Thumbellina Gardens
Since starting in the green wall business, we often get the comment – “it looks great when it goes in, but what about a year later?” Thanks to Michelle Bond of Thumbellina Gardens in San Francisco, we can show you a time lapse of a living wall in San Francisco. We featured the installation of this wall last December (here), and then revisited it again 6 months later (here).
We just recieved word from Elmich, our partners in Singapore, that they have received certification for the VGM Modular living wall systems at wind speeds up to 68mph. They contracted with a testing agency in Melbourne, AUS, who created and executed the test. While the video above might not be particularly exciting, the results are excellent.
The short story-
We’ll be featuring a post on the new modules shortly after they debut in December. In addition to the benefits mentioned above, they feature full stainless steel hardware, and a fully removable lid. As a bonus to the installing contractor, the new bracket system will be faster and easier to assemble than the previous generations.
You can find the full results on a pdf located at our website (http://tournesolsiteworks.com/products/vgm_windtest.pdf), and the certificate can be found at http://tournesolsiteworks.com/products/vgm_windcert.pdf.
The walkway at La Plaza, with the living wall behind
Tournesol Siteworks was delighted to have its VGM Modular Living Wall system chosen by noted multi-disciplinary group Rios Clementi Hale Studios for the newest cultural center in downtown Los Angeles, La Plaza de Cultura y Artes.
What you should know about the location, in La Plaza’s own words:
The nation’s premier center of Mexican American culture, and the newest addition to Los Angeles County’s family of cultural institutions.
Our living wall continuing education course has been a great success thus far. According to the people at McGraw-Hill and Construction.com, over 1300 continuing education credit tests have been taken (and, we assume, passed). Click to continue »
The Fixtures Living showroom in Costa Mesa, CA
We recently received several installation shots from our friends at Instant Jungle in Santa Ana. They worked with Kevin Evernham at Fitch, a leading retail architect in Scottsdale, AZ and Burke Construction on the showroom for Fixtures Living in Costa Mesa, CA. The people at Fitch describe the showroom best:
all images courtesy of Dane Spencer Landscape Architecture
At Tournesol Siteworks, our goal is to manufacture products that allow designers to express their creativity. Landscape architect Dane Spencer took advantage of that and came up with a completely out-of-the-box application for our TerraScreen product at his own office in Sarasota, FL. Click to continue »
Photo courtesy Jim Fitzpatrick, Newport Beach Independent
Mario Batali is at it again! One of our most popular blog topics last year was the installation of an edible living wall at Pizzeria Mozza’s first store in Los Angeles (see posts here and here and here). He and partner Joe Bastianich have expanded their Pizzeria Mozza concept, putting in their second store in Newport Beach, CA. The success of the Tournesol VGM edible living wall at the first store convinced them to make it a motif at the second.
Tournesol VGM modular living wall at Pizzeria Mozza, Newport Beach CA
Jim Fitzpatrick, in a column for the local Newport Beach Independent reported on the new store a few days ago:
A drive down PCH may never be the same. Click to continue »
all images courtesy of Blondie's Treehouse
I was fortunate enough to run into Fran Schreibman, Director of Sales for Blondie’s Treehouse at a recent conference. She was the person responsible for the VertiGreen Hybrid trellis project that Blondie’s installed last spring/summer at a Whole Foods store in Lake Grove, NY. We profiled the installation here and here. It was one of the first VertiGreen Hybrid jobs – in fact, they purchased several of our prototype units because that’s what we had in stock at the time! She shared several images of the wall taken this summer, and much info about how it survived the winter. Click to continue »
VertiGreen 3D trellis at the Rivers Casino parking structure
Tournesol Sitework’s VertiGreen modular 3D trellis system was recently installed at this new casino parking structure project in Des Plaines, IL. The Rivers Casino called on the Elgin, IL office of national parking structure consultant Walker Parking Consultants for the design. Katrina Laughlin of Laughlin Assocs. provided the landscape design. Click to continue »
Second Look - Rolling Stone Lounge in Los Angeles
Last year we provided product to the Rolling Stone Lounge, located in the retail area at Hollywood and Highland in Los Angeles. Our product was primarily used to screen a dining area on a walkway that gets very heavy foot traffic. We documented the project at the time in this blog post. One of the most important ways to judge our product is not how it appears immediately after installation, but how it holds up to everyday use over time. Click to continue »
