# What is with this new trend of putting trees on skyscrapers?



## RandomDude01 (Jan 27, 2016)

So whenever I see a new skyscraper or a building render they always seem to have trees or planets put on them. When did this whole trend start about? How do you feel about all of these new buildings or skyscrapers with trees/plants growing on them?


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## Cloudship (Jun 8, 2005)

RandomDude01 said:


> So whenever I see a new skyscraper or a building render they always seem to have trees or planets put on them. When did this whole trend start about? How do you feel about all of these new buildings or skyscrapers with trees/plants growing on them?



It actually started way back in the 70s, but only really got going in the past 15 years or so - with the whole LEEDs thing. They are called green roofs. As in nature, not color (believe it or not, In a firm I was working for at one time, a few of the incoming architects were confused over why they wanted to paint the roof green).

At its most noble, it is a great idea to retain nature on the city, mitigating of the negative aspects of the built environment, a green initiative, and a boost to city life. At its worst, it is really privatization of open space and parks, and further spreading the haves and have-nots in the city.


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## mazarick (Oct 5, 2016)

It's a 70's idea as mentioned above, in the 70's most of the world cities were suffering from severe pollution problems as most of the eco-laws of today didn't really exist, and before that, the concept of city was cement, cement, cement and more cement with little to no green!!!

In the 80's pollution became a serious world issue, which is when aerosols were banned worldwide as they were literally eating away the ozone layer.... But still back then the idea of green roof terraces were not really a thing as the idea of eco-cities was not really the norm.

After the 2000's, cities worldwide had become very eco-friendly, even massive suburban mega-sprawl American cities got the memo. That is the reason why so many suburbias in America seem to be shrinking in pro of a more eco-friendly urban experience, where green and urban live side by side, and the cities are centered around the community, rather than around the car and the individualistic suburban living.

Many cities around the world have moved their industries outside the city and now huge parks and nature reserves thrive in areas that not long ago were considered industrial. 

The green roof terrace phenomenon is probably going to become massive in the next decades!


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## the spliff fairy (Oct 21, 2002)

It's an attempt to make skyscrapers look or announce themselves as eco-friendly, plus the whole wow factor about trees in the sky etc.

In reality it's much harder to do in temperate countries (four seasons, more fragile if outdoors), or in places where the associated fees for upkeep
is deemed too expensive (or not but just cut entirely by stingy bosses). In many cases it was never really considered but managed to get them past
the council approval stages.

In my own city, the gherkin was originally meant to have a spiral of 'green lungs' making use of the eco-friendly natural air conditioning, that would
cascade gardens throughout the building in breathing spaces.



















But then they found it much more in keeping with the corporate tradition and profits to just extend the office space, carpet the remainder and leave it bare.











One Churchill Place was sold as having a series of interior gardens, even after losing its exterior fins











But the same thing happened











16-19 Canada Square was originally intended to be entirely cloaked in greenery, supported by a web of exterior fins for the plants to cling to. In the event, they decided against:

















The Broadgate centre during the late 1980s and early 1990s was once a riot of cascading greenery and trees-on-buildings, with plans for it all to cover them like a lost city within a decade (complete with giant greenhouse garden lobbies)










In the later 90s though growth was severely clipped in keeping with 'corporate sensitivities':










By the teenies they were all but gone










The buildings replaced










The walkie talkie was meant to have a free, public access Sky Garden, which won it approval despite its unpopular shape (wide and squat) on the skyline (it's proved so unpopular that they've reopened the ban on any tall building in the vicinity to break up its disfiguring profile).

Initial renderings:










































The reality was somewhat different (ticketed event to be booked in advance, limited spaces), and given over almost entirely to an overpriced restaurant,
"more like a hotel lobby than Kew Gardens":


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## the spliff fairy (Oct 21, 2002)

In tropical countries where plant growth is riotous and upkeep, although expensive, is justified it's much more common to grow into a reality. 
Malaysian architect Kenneth Yeang, the first advocate for green growth on buildings in the 1980s took 20 years to see it flower.

Singapore:

































Its become almost a norm for all new projects, not just the expensive ones but also govt housing, large buildings and small

































































































































Milan shows it can be done too in temperate countries (this is not a rendering)










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## DowntownKidz (Feb 26, 2015)

RandomDude01 said:


> So whenever I see a new skyscraper or a building render they always seem to have trees or planets put on them. When did this whole trend start about? How do you feel about all of these new buildings or skyscrapers with trees/plants growing on them?


 I am all for it. I think it is a nice gesture to soften the cityscape. Plants also help regulate carbon dioxide levels in a city by recycling it for oxygen. Skyrise greenery, in the form of provision of sky gardens, green roofs etc, has been around for quite a while in Singapore now, but recently has been gaining much more publicity and greater awareness.

 *Skyrise Greenery*


This recently-opened skyscraper (Oasia Downtown Hotel) in Singapore will eventually be covered by creepers.


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## RandomDude01 (Jan 27, 2016)

^ That looks really pretty. I wonder if this trend will continue into the future.


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## Cloudship (Jun 8, 2005)

As I mentioned in an earlier post, it is significant to Leeds certification, so yes it will very likely become more and more popular.

Having worked for a firm that designed a few Leeds buildings - those green roofs look great in renderings, but whenever costs have to come into consideration, they quickly go away. Most people do not think about what kind of structure is needed to support those, the effect of all that water getting trapped, and more practical issues such as how are you going to get all that stuff up on the roof and who is going to keep it trimmed. Where it has happened there are issues such as damaged limbs falling to the streets below, weeds, and drought. In the end it probably takes more resources to maintain than they usually save. But, the simple fact is they look nice, and for that alone I think they should be done sometimes.


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## Eric Offereins (Jan 1, 2004)

the spliff fairy said:


> It's an attempt to make skyscrapers look or announce themselves as eco-friendly, plus the whole wow factor about trees in the sky etc.
> 
> ..


Good post with nice examples where the 'green' has worked out quite well.
But that is not always the case:
http://www.archdaily.com/346374/can-we-please-stop-drawing-trees-on-top-of-skyscrapers


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## t2dg (Jul 23, 2015)

*Not a recent idea*










I would say the idea has been with us roughly for 2,500 years, just take a look at the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.


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## skyridgeline (Dec 7, 2008)

Eric Offereins said:


> Good post with nice examples where the 'green' has worked out quite well.
> But that is not always the case:
> http://www.archdaily.com/346374/can-we-please-stop-drawing-trees-on-top-of-skyscrapers



The plants can be genetically engineered/designed for their resiliencies, functions and aesthetics.


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