Catherine gardens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Catherine gardens is an architectural concept where large ecosystems are enclosed in huge shells around buildings to protect them from pollution. This is also referred to as "floating ecosystems" that can be retrofitted on high rise buildings or "hollow ecosystems" [1] because of the empty spaces predicted in the design.
The Catherine garden gets its name from circular growth pattern of the ivy plants as a projection of the architect's thought, similar to the Catherine wheel.
Aim
The concept is aimed at providing an isolated and protective environment for the bird species amidst the disturbing activities of densely built cities. Concept adopts vulcanized rubber tubes with growing plants running spirally downwards to facilitate the water flow which gets collected at the bottom. The experiment was done as an attempt to blend high tech architecture and nature together but turned out only to be an utopian concept as the concern of materials were not paid importance to. More over, economic constrictions were not considered assuming humankind must come together to produce something that benefits all using all what it can offer.