TOKYO
TOKYO / 2009 2018
"The Plant Prismatic Columns" are an alliance between Japanese moss gardens andFrench gardens designed. Extensive sculptural green wall colonized by mosses and fernsnative. The frame of this retaining structure is in line with the rhythm of the glass facade of thebuilding . Alternative stormwater management.
Distinctions: AIA Prize 2012 (American Institute of Architects PRIZE), Victoires du Paysage 2014, BCS Award 2011. AGENCE SEMPERVIRENS Landscaping-urban planners
The project of the Gardens of the French Embassy in Tokyo is in direct line with an approach, which is obviously intended to be environmental and sustainable. This vertical garden combines Japanese moss gardens and formal French gardens.
The project was born from the need to manage a significant difference in level between the facade of the new building and the existing land with a minimum footprint to preserve very large existing trees. The topographical constraint generated a work on verticality which then seemed logical to us without however wanting to make "a wall". It was then the in situ observation of Tokyo's natural shadow environments on the banks of the river that came up with the idea of making the wall a real ecosystem that would find its balance independently by bringing together all the conditions necessary to colonization by pioneer plants, in particular mosses (bryophytes).
Through the project, we have worked to respect and strengthen the natural biodiversity of Tokyo in order to preserve an original ecosystem. Thus the minimum of trees was felled.
The particular conditions in Japan, its humid subtropical climate as well as the strong seismic constraints gave us the opportunity to design a unique wall in its constitution and its construction process.
The operation of this wall remains very simple in order to ensure its durability. This surface facing is also the result of in-depth work on the conditions of colonization by plants which led us to establish a grain size, a pH implemented during the production of test prototypes. The objective is therefore to bring together the conditions to initiate natural colonization. We let nature work.
The architecture of the work fits into the rhythm of the building's facade to create a transition between the embassy and nature. Climatic conditions allow moderate and punctual watering. The water consumed comes from the building's rainwater storage in tanks located under the access ramp.
The embassy is signed by ADP Ingénierie (Architects: Dominique Chavanne PM Delpeuch, Nicolas Moulin, Mabel Miranda) SEMPERVIRENS Frédéric-Charles AILLET (Direction: Competition, studies, site), Raphaël Favory and Pierre Sarrien (Co-authors); President of the Jury of the Tadao ANDO competition (Pritzker Architecture Prize).