French architect Eduard Francois has already built a 10 storey so called Flower Tower in Paris which has 380 permanent pots of bamboo creating a green curtain around the building.
The aim was to create a calming atmosphere for the residents with the gentle rustling of bamboo and a defused light filtering through the foliage. It also has a glass elevator on the outside allowing light into the common areas.
The idea will be presented by Italian company Teracrea, an outdoor plant container specialists, at the Outdoor Design Build and Supply Show at the Dubai World Trade Centre later this month.
Greenery is a growing concept in property development in the United Arab Emirates in a bid to add colour to the country’s desert landscape. Dubai already has man made water ways and millions of imported trees have been planted so experts say that the concept would fit in well.
Authorities in Dubai are aiming to cover a quarter of the emirate, some 38,000 hectares, in green space by 2025. In 2010, the government said it wanted to increase the amount of green space per person from 13 square metres to 25 square meters.
Countries in the region also are considering legislation that would require developers to include a minimum 25% of green space and outdoor landscaping in all residential and commercial projects.
Francois said that the idea for the tower was inspired by the desire to bring nature into the city. In Paris the bamboo pots cannot be moved and are fixed to an automatic watering system using recycled rain water to ensure that the plants are not killed by careless residents.
Bamboo was chosen because it is a hardy and fast growing plant, but also because it makes a noise in the wind. ‘It gives the impression to those inside that they are sleeping in a tree,’ said the architect.
