Rooftop garden in Fukuoka


Perhaps Japan's most amazing green building is in Fukuoka, southern Japan. It is called ACROS Fukuoka with two very distinct sides: one side looks like a conventional office building with glass walls, but on the other side there is a huge terraced roof that merges with a park. The garden terraces, which reach up to about 60 meters above the ground, contain some 35,000 plants representing 76 species. There is a semicircular atrium and a triangular lobby that provides contrast to the greenery. ACROS has enough space for a symphony hall, offices and shops.

The green roof enables the building’s energy consumption to be much lower than other buildings because the plants keep the inside temperature at a comfortable level.

The design for ACROS Fukuoka proposes a novel solution for a common urban problem: reconciling the developer’s desire for profitable use of a site with the public’s need for open green space, and the planet’s need for greenery.

Comments

OzBurger said…
Wow, that's fantastic.

Now I have to go to Fukuoka to see it!
Pandabonium said…
Very cool. (Pun intended). Now that we're greening the cities, when will we stop turning Japan's farmland into vacation and retirement residential developments?
Martin J Frid said…
Thanks for the comments. Fukuoka does seem worth a visit!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukuoka,_Fukuoka

P, so am I right to assume that you are pretty "cold" when it comes to a round of golf...?
Pandabonium said…
As ice.

A look at google's satellite imagery of Ibaraki reveals a plethora of golf courses - especially where I live, north of Kashima City proper. Not so obvious at ground level, the view from above is quite shocking.

I learned on Maui how golf courses polluted the ground water with pesticides and herbicides and the nitrogen rich run off of chemical fertilizers creates algae blooms that kill reefs.

I know you are aware of all this, Martin, I'm just putting it down for others who may happen upon this post.

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