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Thursday, February 9th, 2012

Wilshire Collection planters at the Kravis Center, Claremont-McKenna College
There are more to some jobs than meets the eye. This is one of those.
When Diane Fazio of Land Images in Los Angeles called us about this project, the clock was already ticking. Because of structural problems, a reflecting pool slated to surround this Rafael Viñoly-designed lounge in the center of the new signature entrance to the university couldn’t be installed. Yet the opening of the building was only two weeks away! This building is a big deal, and the reflecting pool was a very obvious component of this building:
Kravis Center consists of the construction of a five-level, 162,000 square-foot academic and administrative facility and will serve as the western gateway to the Claremont McKenna campus. The overall project includes offices, classrooms, seminar rooms, an underground parking structure, and outdoor courtyards. (from the university’s website)

Diane wanted to know if we had enough material on hand to be able to provide them with planters to ring the area originally intended for the pool. That worked out to be nearly 330 linear feet of planters! Not only that, but could we finish it and deliver prior to the dedication in two weeks?
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Posted in Education, Pots, Planters & Site Furnishings, Products | No Responses »
Tags: California, Custom, FRP, Wilshire Collection
Monday, February 6th, 2012


Join ASLA – NCC on February 16th for the next lecture in its 2012 lecture series: Living Walls – the Intersection of Art, Ecology and Technology!
Living walls ignite the imagination of designers everywhere. And what is not to like, for as encapsulated visions of nature with their seemingly perfect beauty contained on a wall or screen, they tend to idealize nature in the urban realm. The panelists will expand the dialogue on living walls to explore the many facets and perspectives of how living walls create a perfect intersect of design, environmental science and sustainable technology. Dialogue will include both public and private sector projects and a discussion on available technologies and resources. Many of these walls and living design manifestations have been emerging as a response to today’s urban issues such as tight urban spaces, the general trend towards greener cities, fostering habitat in blighted neighborhoods, and emissions reductions. Some of the living wall projects that will be shared include recent Bay Area installations including the Drew School Wall, 12 Gallagher Lane, and the Metreon’s Moving Art Panels. Plus, there will be artful and inspiring examples from cities around the globe that may prove to expand your own definition of living walls. The question: “How sustainable are living walls – are they an urban panacea or just an iconic fad?” will be explored by each presenter.
Panelists leading the evening’s conversation are:
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Posted in Company News, Green Wall | 1 Response »
Tags: ASLA, California, education, living walls
Friday, February 3rd, 2012

The Southwest Washington Medical Center Parking Structure, Vancouver, WA
Back in the Fall of 2005, we were just starting to hang planters off the side of buildings. We had recently acquired Flower Framers of Cincinnati, a manufacturer of window boxes and other hanging planters. That led to the insight that we could probably do the same type of product for larger commercial applications. The planters at the Southwest Washington Medical Center, installed in 2005, were one of our first attempts at the design and fabrication of large, custom hanging boxes. The photograph taken above, and most following, were taken by our sales manager John Denman during a visit to Vancouver, WA in December, 6 years after the product was installed.

Custom hanging planters, taken in the Fall of 2011
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Posted in Company News, Hanging Planters, Health Care, Parking Structures, Products | No Responses »
Tags: Custom, Hanging Planters, lessons learned, Revisit, Washington
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

The new terrace at the entrance to Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, NV
Tournesol Siteworks was part of one of the hottest tickets in Las Vegas last fall when renowned Washington DC chef Michel Richard opened his newest eatery, Central Michel Richard at Caesars Palace. The restaurant was named to several “Top 10″ lists within months of opening. Landscape architect Chris Attanasio designed the outdoor terrace using our Wilshire Collection rectangles to create the terrace space, and Downtown Collection as focal planters.

Downtown Collection DS-6000 planters, in a custom shade of green
More images after the jump…
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Posted in Hospitality, Pots, Planters & Site Furnishings, Products | No Responses »
Tags: CWM Modular, Downtown Collection, fiberglass (FRP), Nevada, Wilshire Collection
Thursday, January 19th, 2012

The new VGM3 module
Tournesol Siteworks has been working closely with our partner Elmich in Singapore to bring you the next generation of VGM modular living wall – the VGM3. For those who have worked with VGM in the past, you’ll find the great features that made VGM a superior living wall solution (availability in 4″ and 8″ soil profiles, ease of removal/installation, open planting space, recycled materials) are all still there.
We’re not content to rest on our laurels – we want the best system to be better, at a lower overall installed cost!
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Posted in Company News, Green Building Products, Green Wall | No Responses »
Tags: Living Wall, product improvements, VGM
Thursday, January 12th, 2012

The cover, showing our new TWIG bench
Welcome to 2012! We took the holidays off (from posting on the blog, anyway), but are excited to be in the new year.
We’ve just published our new 2012 commercial price list. This is typically the price that contractors will pay, and the price that is available through our distributor network.
The pricelist includes several important things for 2012:
Please contact your salesperson for a copy, or simply send us an email here. We can either email a pdf copy or mail you a hard copy – your choice!
Look for more to come soon…
Posted in Company News, Green Wall, Pots, Planters & Site Furnishings | No Responses »
Tags: Boulevard Upcycled Wood, pedestals, pricelist, VGM
Thursday, December 15th, 2011

Cool VGM living wall installation uses the boxes' modularity
When it comes to creativity, the designers we work with have us here at Tournesol Siteworks beat hands down. Architect Ross Andrews and Landscape Architect Jim Ridge came up with this design for a small living wall installed on a retail center in Fountain Valley, CA. Instead of viewing the modularity of the VGM system as a drawback, they leveraged the geometry to create something quite spectacular.
Installed by Matsunaga Landscape Maintenance, and grown in by our friends at Instant Jungle, this wall adds pop to an otherwise bland area. The one column reaches all the way to the ground, which allows irrigation to be run up behind it. As the wall grows in, the variation in plant material’s colors will containue to add to the effect. A great installation, and one that shows what creativity can do on a budget.
Posted in Commercial, Green Building Products, Green Wall, Products, Retail | No Responses »
Tags: California, Instant Jungle, retail, VGM
Monday, December 12th, 2011

all images courtesy Joe Zazzera, Plant Solutions, Scottsdale, AZ
Jeff Basset of Unisource Global Solutions, in Chandler, AZ, recently worked with our regional sales representative Jon Willingham to design an interior living wall for their offices. They enlisted the help of Joe Zazzera and his team from Plant Solutions in Scottsdale to install and maintain the wall.
We frequently have people ask us whether it is complicated to install a TerraScreen system. This series of pictures answers that question better than anything…
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Posted in Commercial, Green Building Products, Green Wall, Products | No Responses »
Tags: Arizona, Interior, Irrigation, Plant Solutions, TerraScreen
Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

34th St. Planters, at Penn Station, NYC. Design by Ignacio Ciocchini
After the “Cities Alive” Green Roof and Wall conference in Philadelphia last week, Brian Mitalo and I went to NYC to visit several architects working on projects. At the end of the day, I found myself at Penn Station, waiting for the train out to JFK. It was a perfect chance to revisit product that we delivered nearly 10 years ago, and see how it’s holding up.
In 2002, we rotationally molded custom LLD polyethylene planters for the 34th St. partnership, a business improvement district in midtown Manhattan. We began working with their designer, Ignacio Ciocchini, as he was looking at various materials for the pots. He started the discussion assuming the pots would be made in FRP fiberglass. We convinced him that plastic could be done attractively, and be far more durable than the fiberglass.
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Posted in Pots, Planters & Site Furnishings, Products, Public Projects | No Responses »
Tags: Custom, LLDPE, New York, traffic
Friday, November 18th, 2011

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).
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Posted in Green Building Products, Green Wall, High-End Residential | No Responses »
Tags: California, residential, Thumbellina, VertiGreen, VGM