Monday, January 17, 2011

More on the David Rubenstein Atrium

I think the best visual effect of the green wall is the painterly grouping of different species of plants - the broad strokes of alternating color and texture can be striking.  This shot below is of the east side's wall.  This wall seems to be doing a bit more successfully than the one on the west side - the plantings are thicker - and I'm not sure if that's because there's less traffic in and out of the atrium on this side (and thus fewer drafts of winter wind), the lighting is stronger, or the species selection is better. 


Below is a shot of the west side wall and you can see the points of juncture between the plant and wall.  The system seems quite similar to Patrick Blanc's famous walls (more about him and his walls later this week), though it's hard to know what's going on underneath the matting (without getting kicked out of the space, that is).


Above, from bottom center clockwise to the right: one lone croton (Codiaeum variegatum), song of India (Pleomele reflexa), Boston ferns (Nephrolepis exaltata), and philodendron (Philodendron selloum).  I'm curious to see how the wall fares; I would have thought plants like Philodendron, which is native to shady tropical jungles, would have different light and moisture requirements than Pleomele which is native to India.  Surely though, this has all been worked out.


Above, peace lily (Spathiphyllum), boston fern, song of India and croton.  The other observation is the difference in plant habit.  Upright plants like song of India reveal more of the matting than a fuller plant with pendulous leaves, like the ferns.

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