Urban tiered gardens
Introduction
A high-rise garden is the garden on attic and rooftop terraces, either on the ground or in an appropriate growing medium.
Advantages
High gardens can be used for:
• - Grow fruits, vegetables and flowers.
• - Improve the air conditioning of the building.
• - Filter pollutants and CO "Carbon (IV) oxide") from the air; see also Crop walls.
• - Act as an acoustic barrier; The soil blocks low-frequency sounds and the plants block high-frequency sounds.
• - Filter contaminants and heavy metals from rainwater.
• - Protect the biodiversity of urban areas.
Historical context
The origin of penthouses, as they are currently known, is linked to the evolution of building roofs, understood as living spaces and garden areas. The intention of inhabiting the roof is very ancient, and the Egyptians already had gardens on some roofs, as well as the Romans "Romans (people)"). At that time the uses were mostly decorative, but they also fulfilled agricultural functions. In the Middle Ages, terraces with vegetation were built on many buildings. Starting in 1800, with the development of high-rise buildings, promoted by the development of structural materials and the invention of the elevator, apartments with garden terraces arrived.
The use of the first elevators, new structural techniques and the evolution of waterproofing sheets did not extend until the century, and before that, the most important floor of the buildings was the main floor, which was located above or above street level, and a mezzanine, where the spaces were larger, and housed the most sought-after floors. The floors of least interest were the attics, smaller in size, with compartmentalized spaces, and little lighting.
Reinforced concrete, the electric elevator and tarred cardboard sheets are technical advances that emerged after 1860, such as the Apartments at 20 Franklin Street. The elevator will make it possible to reach those heights in a short time. The reinforced concrete will provide the building with an independent structure that will allow it to gain more height.
In Barcelona, Francesc Cambó had his house built on one of the large avenues in the old part of the city. The house was built in two phases, following the canons of the garden terrace. The first to be executed was the façade part, while the second affected its front on Mercaders Street. The attic garden has more than a thousand square meters.