STUDENT EXAMPLE: The Natural and the Urban can Coexist

The first image is of Saint Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo. The building features a rooftop luscious green garden with a paved walkway and benches. Just as the modern hospital can bring about physical healing, nature can bring about mental healing. The garden creates an escape from drab interiors and allows for a breath of relaxation. The mental therapy of reconnecting with the environment can be just as important as the physical therapy of the hospital treatments. Hospitals can be stressful, and many studies conclude that walking through nature can lower blood pressure and cortisone (the stress hormone) levels. By integrating a natural aspect into the modern, urban setting of the hospital, patients and visitors can reap the benefits of both in one trip. The second image is of an urban garden situated on the Bow Back River in London. It was set up by students of the University of Innsbruck. The hanging portion of the garden is against a graffitied brick wall. Facing opposite the wall is the river, and past it, urban London. In the middle of the riverside path lies a community garden with plants such as raspberries. Any person can pluck and snack as they go. The secondary idea behind the installation was to “activate local people to participate in the urban farming.” There are other urban gardens full of food crops, which provide bountiful aid as well as aesthetic appeal for the communities that upkeep them. The third image captures the unusual top of the California Academy of Science in San Francisco. The roof is not only a natural landscape, but unlike the majority of rooftop-gardened buildings, this one includes rolling hills. When viewed from a distance the building resembles the natural hills that run through the area. Rather than create an outlying structure, the academy was designed to be integrated into the surroundings. The green top is just as functional as it is beautiful; its insulating properties cool the building down an additional 10 degrees*. The Academy epitomizes the seamless integration of modern, urban architecture with the natural environment.