LIVING
THE FUTURE is green Imagine Hell’s Kitchen covered in plant life … it’s easy if you try
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icture, if you can, a New York in which towering glass and steel could be replaced by living walls teeming with plant life. The result would not only look better; it would counteract the choking effects of car fumes, bring down the searing temperature in summer, reduce rainwater runoff going into the sewer system, and provide a place for birds, butterflies, and other insects to thrive. It’s less of a mad, eco-warrior fantasy than you might think. Javits Center has had a green roof since 2010 – the
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largest in the city, spanning 89,001 square metres. In 2013, the Empire State Building followed suit, commissioning 826 square metres of green panels for its 21st, 25th, and 30th floors. And last year, the Whitehall Co-op in the Bronx replaced an old concrete roof with 30,000 square feet of plants, designed by the same landscape architects who created the High Line. Gennaro Brooks-Church has taken the vision one step further, by covering the entire facade of his Brooklyn brownstone with a living wall … and demonstrating
DIGITAL EDITION
Above: What Hell’s Kitchen’s walk-ups might look like with living walls. Opposite: The real thing – Gennaro’s Brooklyn townhouse, complete with turtle sanctuary in the front yard.
what Hell’s Kitchen might look like using the same technology. It is, he believes, the first in the country. But he sincerely hopes it won’t be the last. “Until now, we haven’t been able to build a living wall in this climate that survives year-round,” he says. “The technique I use has coconut fiber foam that keeps roots insulated during the winter and during the hot summer days, so they don’t dry out and overheat. We also use evergreen plants for the winter, so you don’t need to replace plants
