LASN is a photographically oriented, professional journal featuring topics of concern and state-of-the-art projects designed or influenced by registered Landscape Architects.
Issue link: https://landscapearchitect.epubxp.com/i/457513
February 2015 37 Indigenous Planting for Sustainability, Water Conversation and Cultural Reference The inspiration for the Burj Khalifa groundscape was the intricate and beautiful patterning found in the region's art, architecture and gardens. Indigenous plant materials and local stone paving are woven across the ground plane in complex geometric patterns reminiscent of the region's spider lilies, as well as the formal gardens that spread throughout the Persian Gulf. By using native plantings and sustainable water features for cooling and comfort, the project aims to improve the microclimates surrounding the building and provide respite from an exceedingly hot desert climate. Water in the Emirates is scarce and becoming scarcer; in addition to using low-water, drought-tolerant native plant species, the design of a state-of-the-art irrigation system that uses recycled water from the tower's cooling equipment helped to ensure efficient usage of this precious resource, while still reducing the heat island effects on the ground, cooling the air with extensive softscape, and providing shade and mitigating glare with an extensive tree canopy comprised of more than 15 different species, including date palms, silver buttonwoods, banyans, olives and laurels. Apart from the environmental benefits, the use of indigenous plantings and locally sourced materials arrayed in patterns that reference Middle Eastern designs further the theme of locality by providing a culturally and historically aligned echo of the tower's aesthetic references. The project required in-depth design and technical expertise in the areas of hydrological engineering, horticulture, international building codes and construction standards and materials sourcing. In addition, members of the design team spent several Above & Top Left The bed plantings include shrubs and groundcovers of Ficus microcarpa 'Green Island', Iresine herbstii 'Bloodleaf', Jasminum sambac 'Arabian jasmine', Pennisetum alopecuroides 'hameln' (dwarf fountain grass) and Quisqualis indica 'rangoon Creeper.' The gardens are partly irrigated with the tower's air conditioning condensate water, which is stored in the basement car park, providing about 15 million gallons of supplemental water a year.