Vauxhall Sky Garden by Amin Taha Architects
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 11.12.08
Amin Taha Architects are building gardens in the sky in their new Vauxhall tower, with 25,000 square feet of communal gardens, each three stories in height.
the idea behind the gardens is to create a space for social interaction foster micro communities. while the building is as dense as planning authorities allow, it maintains a high level of social sustainability.
But beyond social sustainability you could get quite a bit of food out of that much area. Maybe like parking garages and now bike storage areas, buildings should have a minimum of green space, either on the ground or in the sky, for every unit.
The project was designed to explore dense living concepts that maintain a high standard of living for residents. The Vauxhall sky garden is the result of this investigation. The tower will stand 130m tall and feature 178 residential units, as well as office space.
via Designboom
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Wow, that looks awesome. When are they going to finish the project?
I am all for introducing gardens into our high rises! I live in the country, and I can guarantee you that if I moved into the city, I'd move to the place that offered gardens such as in this concept.
Nice! A real Arcology. They're finally not just fiction.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcology
I'm sure the Vauxhall tower will meet its goals of being eco friendly etc. but as a 'micro community,' really?
A little social utopia in the heart of London? I don't think so.. I'm not sure if the idea of community can simply be forced upon people-
putting a collective group of individuals in a man made garden? nup.
I would not underestimate the power of a garden. It in itself will not revolutionize how people interact, but it can provide the setting for shifts in community interaction. In essence it can create possibility.
And if putting gardens into high rise buildings becomes a practice it will say a lot about our culture, food production and the need for green space.
Just as an option, people in cities having access to a commonly shared, but still semi private green space seems like a good idea. Green space is good for psychological health even if food prduction and meeting of neighbors does not occur.
Henry: Who's saying "social utopia"? I live in a leafy London neighbourhood--it's a very nice and green and in fact, one of the most sought-after areas in the city. But it's no utopia. Just a nice place to live.
I don't think the goal is utopia, just something a bit, or a lot, nicer than your average high-rise. Why not?