All images courtesy Belli Fiori Landscape
While we don’t get involved in many residential projects, it’s nice to see one that comes together as nicely as this. We certainly can’t take much credit. Our pots are lovely on this project, but the real star of the project is Belli Fiori landscaping of Redwood City, CA.
A spectacular residential landscape, with pots as accents
Mi Dia restaurant patio, Dallas, TX
In 2008 we fabricated a custom Urban planter for a retail mall project in Florida. The planter was designed to hide bollards, so was designed specifically to be the same size as our 24″ square, but 48″ tall. Once that project was complete, we adapted the tool for our own use – and the Urban Tall planter was born.
The pot is something of a “red-headed stepchild”. It is has different proportions than the rest of the Urban Collection, and so only garners one line in our marketing materials. Nevertheless, it has become one of our more popular planters. Although it doesn’t get much attention, we felt it deserves it’s own post.
The planters in the image above and below were specified & installed by GHA Architecture/Development of Dallas, TX. The Mi Dia From Scratch restaurant, and the neighboring Winewood Restaurant (both located in Grapevine) used the URT-2400 with our CWC-R1850 container irrigation self-watering insert. All the containers were delivered in the T-0 texture in black.
Urban lightweight concrete planters at Park Place Retail in Irvine, CA
We recently provided lightweight GFRC concrete containers for Shops at Park Place in Irvine, CA. This retail project is part of the 3 million square foot Park Place mixed-use project, containing class-A office, residential and retail areas. The design, by LPA, Inc. (also of Irvine), was purchased dircectly by the owner (Madison Marquette) and installed by general contractor JM Stitt.
Note the custom tall planters behind the Urban Collection in front
New Gateway to the Center for Early Education in West Hollywood, CA
Rios Clementi Hale is at it again. They’ve designed a number of great-looking living walls in the Los Angeles area using our VGM Modular living wall system, including the Sunset House and La Plaza. Jennifer Schab at their office was responsible for the upgrade to the CEE, a private elementary school in West Hollywood where they used the VGM to create a new gateway for the school.
The CEE sign is mounted on a rail, extending from the horizontal gap between modules
The plants were grown in by our friends at Instant Jungle (veterans of several projects at this point), and installed in the field by Toddco Landscape Co.
The gateway is the public face of the school grounds
The planting used a mix of succulents, grasses, and sedums in 34 of the VGM-06 modules. Upon close inspection the coverage is good, and with a season of growth it will erase most of the module lines.
A combination of succulents, grasses and sedums were used
According to an article in the school’s magazine, the gateway installation was just one part of the greening of the elementary school campus. While they didn’t have a lot of space to green, they made the most of it. In addition to the gateway, they used Wooly Pocket felt hanging planters along many of the outdoor staircases along the building. The gateway and planters were outfitted with drip irrigation systems. The school is quickly incorporating the new “green” into the curriculum of the school.
Some areas are still growing in, but will be full after the growing season
It’s a strong statement for a school in an urban setting. We’ll look forward to seeing how it continues to grow in. Below, a short video by our regional sales representative, Jon Willingham.
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?
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:
Tournesol Siteworks is pleased to welcome our newest employee, Hernan Espinal. He’s joined us as a manufacturing technician in our engineering group. His job is to make life easier for our production personnel by configuring our manufacturing space more efficiently, building fixtures and arranging equipment around the shop. He’ll be contributing to our quality efforts by documenting our standard operating procedures, as well as acting as a pair of eyes on the shop floor to look out for problems. Finally, Hernan will be helping to make Tournesol a safer place to work by participating in our safety committee, conducting training, and reworking processes to ensure that they don’t pose a threat to our production crews. He’s the first person to have this position at the company – we’d looked for over 4 months to find someone with his set of skills.
Hernan is fluent in both Spanish and English, growing up in Honduras then moving to Northern California. He recieved his high school equivalency at Sequoia High School in Redwood City, CA, then went on to study industrial engineering in Honduras. After returning to the US, he worked as a process operator and senior manufacturing technician at several local pharmaceutical companies. He lives in Union City, CA, and has 3 children.
Welcome, Hernan – we’re delighted to have you as part of the team!
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.
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).
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.
