Above: A living wall in Paris by Patrick Blanc (left), and “Vertical Garden (Weeds)” by Naomi Reis

Date & Time: Opening Saturday, March 28th, 6-8PM (Closing May 23rd, 2009)
Venue: Exit Art (Go here for map & hours)
Location: 475 Tenth Ave. at 36th St / New York, NY 10018
Price: $5 suggested donation

A “living wall,” a part of a building made entirely of vegetation, is not a fantasy. Just look at these pictures and see for yourself. In cities where arable land is scarce, it makes perfect sense to build vertically oriented “sky farms” for cultivating both food and oxygen, two things all humans need to live. So what’s stopping us? This ingenious method of farming is not only practical; it provides us with a dream-like vision of the future, where cities of glass and metal could possibly be infused with green patches of living, organic architecture.

One of the original plans for a World Trade Center memorial included a glass building with certain floors dedicated to tree nurseries. As the trees matured, the idea was to distribute the trees throughout Manhattan in memory of those who died. Unfortunately, some people were not thrilled with the idea of Manhattan regressing to the forest it once was…but hey, if they’re doing it in Paris, why not New York? Read on:

NEW YORK – A project of SEA (Social Environmental Aesthetics), Vertical Gardens is an exhibition of architectural models, renderings, drawings, photographs and ephemera that depict or imagine a vertical farm, urban garden or green roof. It features over 20 projects, both imaginary and real, by artists and architects that envision solutions for building greener urban environments. The highlight of this exhibition is an eight-foot high living green wall by Edmundo Ortega and Dianne Rohrer.
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