Climbing vegetation has been a favorite with folks looking for a little foliage on their homes for a long time now. But Act_Romegialli took the concept a little further than that when they began renovating this tiny unused garage in the middle of a gorgeous property in the Italian Alps. Dubbed the “Green Box”, the project was to be developed as a welcoming studio and a private escape for its owners.
Even though the surroundings of the locale were hardly deprived of greenery but the owners of the property wanted to go the extra mile and envelope themselves completely in living plants which is why the studio gave the rustic shed a gigantic window box treatment. The shed sat at the back of the customer’s weekend home and needed to be structurally sound to be used.
Hence, the designers at Act_Romegialli installed a lightweight yet sturdy steel frame around the entire structure to allow vines and plants to easily grow on it without compromising the sturdiness of the building itself. This allowed the architects to provide clients with a lasting structure that wouldn’t need much maintenance over the years. The exoskeleton also provided the shed with an added layer of protection from the elements as the living plants over the building’s exterior effectively prevent the weather from affecting and wearing the building’s structure down.
Across its façade, colorful blooms, flowering plants and leafy vines grow all the way from the ground to the roof. Once the plants and the frame were in place, the designer let nature take its due course which gave the exterior a nice and natural look. The fact that the exterior of the shed has turned into a giant flowering box in its own right also gives the client a fantastic opportunity to watch nature in its full bloom over the seasons. This elegant exterior treatment also keeps changing its color and texture with the passage of seasons which makes it an excellent backyard ornament and works at enhancing the visual value of the owner’s weekend home that is located at the front of the recently renovated shed.
On the inside, the light-filtering vines on the outside now serve as living privacy shade over the large windows. For cooking garden-fresh meals, a small kitchen was created using simple, rustic materials while space for the housing and gardening tools was provided inside the garage. Connecting the inside to the exterior, galvanized steel frames were used to encase large windows while the floor was lined with reclaimed wooden planks to retain the rustic natural look. The pre-weathered refinished wood also adds to the rustic-au natural theme of the living covering for the shed itself.
