After the Bricault family remodeled their prewar cottage in Venice, CA and wrapped the house in a living wall of plants five years ago, the neighbors had all kinds of questions about their second-floor vertical garden, including, "Do you get roots coming through the inside walls?"
Which undoubtedly would be a cool look. But the answer is no. Vancouver-based designer Marc Bricault's design for his brother Paul's eco-friendly Southern California house included a modular green wall system by Ontario-based ELT Easy Green. The plants are securely rooted in wall panels with a moisture-proof skin; rainwater is captured and re-used to irrigate the vertical garden.
Photographs via Contemporist.
Above: Rainwater collected in gutters and catch basins is routed into gravel trenches in the yard, where it irrigates large, established plants.
Above: A meadow of native grasses and sedums and succulents is planted on the roof alongside the family's vegetable garden. The staircase tower funnels cool air to the second floor of the house.
Above: A small 475-square-foot courtyard next to the house is planted with mown grass.
Above: A family room opens onto the small courtyard. Five doors made of fir and glass pivot open, creating a space that the Bricault family calls "the breezeway." For more details, see LA Times.
Above: The goal of the design was to blur the differences between indoor and outdoor spaces in the balmy southern California climate.
Above: Second floor windows fold back and full-height exterior panels slide into walls; for more design details see Contemporist.
Wondering what the rest of Venice looks like? For more of our favorite gardens, see "Inside the Secret Gardens of Venice, CA."
