Student Designs Rainwater Harvesting Vertical Garden
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto
on 05.12.08

OCAD student Michael Tampilic presented Vert Rain Terrace at the Rocket 2008 industrial design show. It is an interesting combination of rainwater harvesting and green wall.

"Vert is a rain terrace: a rainwater harvester and vertical garden. This project establishes sustainable water practices through the harvesting of rain, and brings the advantages of a living wall to the backyard through vertical gardening. Vert alleviates a homes reliance on public utility systems while beautifying unused vertical space."


see the larger original here

It was a beautifully put-together model.

All pictures used with permission of Michael Tampilic. ::Vert Rain Terrace
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- Rainwater Channeling with Steve Thomas (Video)
- How to Cure Green Apathy in Friends and Family
- Surf Green with Eco-Friendly Surf Gear
- How to Get Your Garden Through a Drought
- The Green Message Behind Michael Jackson's Death
- Renovation Nation Episode: Portland, OR—Rock, Paper, Scissors, Concrete



































When I was in Italy I say lot of courtyard and atrium gardens vertically climbing walls in urban neighborhoods. Tomatoes, beans, herbs, etc. The rainwater feature adds a new twist on this concept. One of these near my south-facing solar window in New England would let me grow tomatoes and herbs all winter long!
this thing is great..i would love to have one outside my house. wonder if they will be purchasable in the near future.
great design :)
Wow, that's wonderful! And beautiful.
this is a wonderful design - and something I think just about anyone could recreate using readily available parts. the trellis looks very much like a wooden slat support used in beds. Ikea sells several variety of them which could be used as a base to build this yourself.
It's beautiful, practical, and an awesome way to use our free water. What a brilliant design!
this is a great design that is easily applied in a residential situation, im not a big fan of the wood and i dont really understand how the cotton wicks would work effectively but i love the idea of capilliary action doing the work.
the precedent is in place and it could be further adapted as a shell for existing water tanks (which are pretty ugly..).
some people are so smart!
this is a great design that is easily applied in a residential situation, im not a big fan of the wood and i dont really understand how the cotton wicks would work effectively but i love the idea of capilliary action doing the work.
the precedent is in place and it could be further adapted as a shell for existing water tanks (which are pretty ugly..).
some people are so smart!
this is a great design that is easily applied in a residential situation, im not a big fan of the wood and i dont really understand how the cotton wicks would work effectively but i love the idea of capilliary action doing the work.
the precedent is in place and it could be further adapted as a shell for existing water tanks (which are pretty ugly..).
some people are so smart!