BCAA

Fall 2013

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profile: Mark Hiltz The small-space gardening pro aims to turn Vancouver greener, one balcony at a time " The It I want to do as much as I can to give more people a green space and sanctuary where they live." p n a R l a a t J c w W hen Mark Hiltz imagines the future, he sees green. Minigardens on Juliet balconies. Terraces covered in shrubs. Lush planters dripping with herbs. Even trees growing 20 storeys off the ground. The owner of Coal Harbour Green Design, a small-space gardening business, Hiltz envisions a future for Vancouver that looks a lot like Italy's Bosco Verticale. The name of the new residential tower project in Milan translates as "vertical forest." Artist's renditions of the two towers (the second is still under construction) resemble a cross between a Coal Harbour condo complex and a chia pet. A forest of plants sprouts from the roof, while balconies support fullsized trees, obscuring concrete with a coat of green. Once complete, Bosco Verticale will feature a garden on every patio and use a total of 730 trees, 5,000 shrubs and 11,000 perennials – the equivalent of one hectare of forest. Not only does the living building look cool, but it's also designed to mitigate smog, generate oxygen, reduce city noise and keep the building cooler in summer and warmer in winter, thus cutting energy consumption. "In my dream world, all of downtown Vancouver would look like Bosco Verticale," Hiltz says. "Every patio would be full of flowers and plants." Given the city's current concrete jungle, that vision is a long way off. But Hiltz is 24 W e s t w o r l d p24-27_Profile.indd 24 >> FA L L 2 0 1 3 p g r h h V m l p d w o t Mark Hiltz brought his horticultural expertise to public gardens across the U.S., including New England, Florida and Washington State, before moving to Vancouver in 2004. Today, he is the owner of Coal Harbour Green Design, a small local business that specializes in designing and maintaining gardens for tight urban spaces. coalharbourgreendesign.com Jeff Topham 13-08-19 1:13 PM l f f b w b d s h s a b

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