If you’ve visited the Avery cafe in the last month, you might have noticed an assembly of decorative pots nestled among the intellectuals nibbling wraps and sipping Orangina.
The pots seem to be holding plants for the explicit purpose of adding color to the stark white walls of the cafe.
But the building is actually a gathering place for the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (GSAPP), and the plants are much more than a pretty sight.
The futuristic-looking pots and plants are all part of an exhibition titled “Amphorae,” part of the Ecogram conference. The Ecogram conference focuses on sustainability, one of the most pressing issues of the modern world. The program seeks to bring green initiatives to what it calls “catalysts of climate change,” also known as schools of architecture. The purpose of the conference is to bring together all types of people—ranging from historians to scientists to students—in order to discuss sustainability in general and ecological design in particular.
The project Amphorae is an example of the type of work that the conference seeks to promote. It focuses on a resource that is near and dear to everyone in the world: water. Inspired by their studio’s trip to Brazil, the students in charge—Mark Bearak, Dora Kelle, and Adam Mercier—came together to create, as they explain on the project’s Web site, “a system of ecologically sensitive concrete elements that will be used for the collection, filtration, and redistribution of water.”
The entire system is made up of units, each of which contains a cistern and a planter. Eight of these, stacked on top of each other, create a vertical garden through which water flows from top to bottom. The units are made in such a way that, as the Web site explains, “possibilities for final configurations are infinite.” The concrete used to build the water gardens is made up of sand and fly ash, which the creators say will reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent when compared to regular concrete.
The project’s title, “Amphorae,” references the name for ancient Greek wine jugs and funeral urns. Like their Greek counterparts, the garden units range in size and level of detailing based on their function. The objects range from small bricks to large pieces of furniture.
The installation looks like a futuristic version of the multilevel water fountains typically found in suburban homes attempting unique landscaping. Unlike the decorative fountains, though, these gardens are meant to promote a lifestyle that is, in the words of the project founders, “based on the beauty and elegance of sustainable and ecologically sensitive design work.” The purpose is noble, and we can only hope it sticks.
Comments
We're looking for comments that are interesting and substantial. If your comments are excessively self-promotional or obnoxious you will be banned from commenting. Consult the comment FAQ and legal terms.