Wednesday, November 19, 2008

London's Newest Green Building

World Architecture News.com posted an editorial about a high-density, multi-use building. This building, called Vauxhall Sky Gardens, will house residential, retail, as well as business units.

From the article:

It is unique for its 2,500 sq m of communal ‘sky-gardens’, each being triple height and on a full floor plate. Shared by their surrounding apartments they expand opportunities and choice for social interaction allowing for the creation of micro-communities within such large and otherwise inherently anonymous blocks.

Another nifty innovation of this design is: "... 9 months of the year enough area to grow a weekly salad box for every household."

While the building doesn't have a green roof per se, it does work to bring the some of the value of green roofs indoors.

The gardens will provide air filtering, additional humidity, as well as increased oxygen in the spaces. Additionally, the green spaces themselves add peace and tranquility to an otherwise ordinary apartment complex.

The two designers were London based Amin Taha Architects with careyjones architects. The client for the building is Fraser Properties.