Flowers are blooming on the residential living wall
It’s been a little over 6 months since Michelle Bond of Thumbellina Gardens in San Francisco installed this living wall in her client’s back yard. You can see details of the installation here. She recently forwarded us updated images of the wall, and gave us more details about what kinds of maintenance she’s doing. It seemed like a good time to revisit the project in a new post.
The living wall is looking great
Residential VGM modular living wall, all photos courtesy Michelle Bond of Thumbellina Gardens
Many of our customers looking at the Tournesol VGM modular living wall system intend on using it for commercial installations. This is a wonderful example of what it can do in a residential setting. The design, by Michelle Bond of Thumbellina Gardens in San Francisco, covers the back wall of a back yard at the bottom of a large hill. This installation was one of the best-documented that we’ve seen, and we’re fortunate that Michelle shared her images with us. Click to continue »
Solaris Science Center, Courtesy of www.e-architect.co.uk
Today Andy Chew, General Manager of Elmich in Singapore, stopped by our offices on his way towards Greenbuild next week. We’ll be sharing booth number 189 with them at the show. Elmich is our partner in all things VGM, our modular living wall system. We had a chance to discuss some of the installations that they have been working on, our advances using the hybrid trellis concept, and the future of development of the VGM system.
They have recently signed the contract for the Solaris project in Singapore, which will feature a VGM system climbing the full height of a 24-story skyscraper! It promises to be truly spectacular. They’ve gained the confidence of the design community by having project after project go in successfully (and sustainably!). They’ve developed some unique irrigation elements that we may be bringing to the U.S. soon. Andy estimated that they’ve installed nearly 5000 sq. meters of VGM in SE Asia thus far.
We also discussed options for the upcoming third-generation of VGM modules. Most of you will be pleased to hear that the sides and the back will be fully plantable! The top will be easily removable, and the full frame set will be replaced with corner braces that attach to the rails. We also believe that the system will be able to be sold at a price close to 15-20% below the current price for the VGM modular living wall system. There is still a fair amount of development left, along with extensive testing. We’re anticipating release sometime midway through next year.
VGM Living Wall accenting a terrace over a reflecting pool
One of the first VGM Living Wall projects we sold went to this beautiful residential project in Beverly Hills. Designed by the firm of Rios Clementi Hale, it was a solution to creating a green wall behind a reflecting pool underneath a lovely terrace. Installed by James Cowan & Assocs., the wall looks as good (if not better) today than the day it went in. More images and description after the jump…
Grow-in for the VGM wall going into the Bevery Hills Hotel
We were excited to be chosen as the manufacturer for the living wall going into the Beverly Hills Hotel, the prestigious private hotel in the heart of Beverly Hills. SWA Group of Los Angeles specified the wall, made up predominantly of sedum plantings. More after the jump…
The Beverly Hills Hotel is considered one of the finest in the world!
next three photos courtesy of Instant Jungle
We wanted to take the chance to feature work by several of our partners in Southern California that have put up demonstration projects in Santa Ana and Rancho Cucamonga. More pictures and details after the break…
Expanded VGM Living Wall at Mario Batali's Pizzeria Mozza
We’ve received far more press and kudos for the living wall installed by Greenscaped Buildings at Pizzeria Mozza than any other project we’ve done. Even though the Atlanta Botanical Garden’s living wall is substantially larger, it lacks the cache of a celebrity like owner Mario Batali. The folks at Pizzeria Mozza like their wall so much that they asked to expand the wall higher. More pictures after the break…
VGM modular living wall at the Summer Terrace exhibit
We were fortunate to be able to work with the US Botanic Garden, located on the Capitol Mall in Washington, D.C., this year on their Summer Terrace exhibit. One of the elements that they had planned for the project was to build the facade of a home, demonstrating the look of a living wall in a residential application.
More images after the break…
image courtesy of Erica George Dines/Atlanta Botanical Garden, via Garden Design magazine
Erica George Dines/Atlanta Botanical Garden, via Garden Design magazine
I just returned from a relatively lackluster AIA conference in Miami. It was as hot and humid as you would expect June to be in South Florida, and it gave a lot of architects an excuse for not going to the conference. When I was leafing through the mail that had arrived while I was down there, I picked up Garden Design magazine, which in turn picked up my spirits.
There, in the first section of the magazine (they call it “fresh”), there was a complete article about the new Edible Garden section of the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, featuring a full-size image of the living wall.
The article featured Bravo Top Chef star Kevin Gillespie (left), a local Atlanta chef preparing food at the outdoor kitchen, and related why the ABG went for an edible wall in the first place. I wasn’t aware until I read the article that the entire edible garden was built in the place of a former parking lot.
The walls appear to be growing in nicely, and are even being harvested for the cooking demonstrations held there. While not the only star of the show (check out the pictures to see all the different edible garden features), it makes for a spectacular backdrop to the edible garden section.
photo: Earnie Grafton, San Diego Union-Tribune
This great article in the San Diego Union-Tribune highlights the use of the VGM system for an edible wall application at the Urban Corps non-profit in San Diego. The Urban Corps “trains at-risk youths for the workplace with an emphasis on green jobs such as recycling”, and has installed a full edible garden on the roof of their building. Of course the work was done by our friends at Greenscaped Buildings in San Diego – just one of the many living walls they’ve put in recently. Check out the article to find out more…
photo: Earnie Grafton, San Diego Union-Tribune
