Vertical Living Gallery by Sansiri and Shma in Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok is known as the place where nature is defeated by buildings and the same thing can be said about many other big cities in the world. However, the Vertical Living Gallery – the gallery and office space for apartment sale – by architects from Sansiri and landscape architects from Shma, definitely breathes new life into this busy capital.

The base construction is made of economical stainless steel that holds the vertical gardens covered in Tokyo Dwarf plants. This plant was not chosen accidentally. It is here due to the fact that the summer temperatures in the city are hell-like and Tokyo Dwarf is one tough plant – very adaptable to these temperatures and requiring very modest maintenance. Apart from housing the plants, the structure also provides the space for the drip irrigation infrastructure.

The rest of the façade is made of glass, and the two materials create a beautiful look that is sure to stand out in Bangkok’s grimy atmosphere. In order to break the straight rising lines of the building, architects used angled shapes that also break the uniformity and highlight the lively character of the building and its distinctiveness. The glass windows are lined with vertical louvers. The entire building gets a different quality when warm lights are switched on at night.

Seeing how this project worked out, there is no reason why this kind of vertical greenery should not become a common feature of many other buildings in large cities. It would easily change the face of the entire city.

Photo credit: Wison Tungthunya