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Matt Hickman

Wall-to-wall green

Your Friday dose of eco eye candy: A stunning addition to a home in Venice, Calif., that's almost completely enshrouded with vegetation.

Fri, Aug 21 2009 at 8:09 AM EST

 
 
Not to sound like sour grapes, but usually when I see photos of homes that have been given the total green wall treatment (aka living walls or vertical gardens), I tend to think they look a bit gimmicky. One or two small walls, fine, but blanketing nearly an entire home with lush vegetation seems a bit much. I guess maybe I’m still getting used to the idea of non-horizontal gardens.
 
The Brooks Ave. House in Venice, California, however, has won me over. I think it’s a stunner. The 2,000 square foot home has been given a beautiful green addition, a 1,700 square-foot structure clad on four sides — three walls plus the solar-paneled roof — with native shrubs and grasses and a thriving veggie garden. There’s also a knockout, grassy courtyard. That’s a lot of vegetation to feed, I know, but the plants are low-maintenance and the water used is a combo of recycled household grey water and harvested rainwater. 
 
Vancouver-based architect Marc Bricault and his team carried the green theme into the home’s interior, too, a space that’s seamlessly connected to the exterior space with oversized glass doors. It boasts LED lighting, low-flush toilets, low-VOC paints, radiant infloor heating, cork-rubber flooring, and a spiral staircase that links the ground floor to the roof and doubles as a cooling chimney. Check it out. 
Via [Inhabitat] via [Dezeen]
 
Photos: Bricault Design
 
Blogger's note: Although I chose to feature this green building project because it's well, amazing, I had ulterior motives. As I mentioned, the architect, Bricault Design, is Vancouver-based and Vancouver is a gorgeous city that I often associate with an old friend of mine that passed away this week at the age of 30. Jacob, this one's for you. 
 
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Related Topics: Gardening , Green Architecture, Green Building

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anonymous
Pamela Drake 08/21/2009 12:03 PM

....this is one of the few of these houses that I would actually move into.

well, if I had a million dollars. :)

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