crack garden

"Inspired by the tenacious plants that pioneer the tiny cracks of urban landscapes, a backyard is transformed through hostile takeover of an existing concrete slab by imposing a series of "cracks". The rows of this garden contain a lushly planted mix of herbs, vegetables, flowers, and rogue weeds retained for their aesthetic value."

The Crack Garden is an intervention to convert a small piece of concrete hardscape into a garden. The modus operandi is straightforward, plug in jack hammer, use jackhammer to hack cracks into the concrete, fill with soil, plant desired shrubs and flowers. Exposing the unseen potential of the concrete through its subtraction, the project is reminiscent of the subtractive (de)installations of Gordon Matta-Clark. Although the project narrative is rather overwrought, the idea itself is undeniably simple but brilliant, one of those I-wish-I-thought-of-that ideas; its power also lie in how it is so elementary that it can be applied to almost any unnecessary hardscape and be achieved on a very low budget (this particular one cost $500).

On a similar note, there is also a Portland based group called Depave which aims to promote the removal of unnecessary concrete and asphalt from urban areas to create greener and more livable cities.




cmg landscape architecture

via pruned