The team at Jasper recently got a chance to interview the Principal and Lead Designer of Habitat Horticulture, David Brenner. David is a pioneer in the field of vertical gardens and is responsible for our show-stopping living wall masterpiece that adorns the building exterior. Working at the intersection of botany, architecture, interior design and urbanism, he has partnered with numerous architecture firms including Gensler, HKS, SOM, Studios, Snøhetta, IA, and EHDD to build a wide variety of modern, human-centric spaces with abundant plant life at their heart. Clients include the SFMOMA, Westfield, Facebook, Tesla, Google and Crescent Heights for Jasper, of course.

David was kind enough to sit down with us to describe Jasper’s living wall and the thought/inspiration behind it:

Describe the unique features of Jasper’s living wall: 

The living walls at Jasper are comprised of 12 different species and a total of about 10,200 plants. Many of these species are flowering and will attract hummingbirds, bees and other pollinators. The dimensions are 90′ high x 10′-6″ wide and 64′ high x 13′-3″ wide. From our research, we cannot find a taller living wall in North America. The living walls are fed by fertilizer injector which doses water soluble nutrients into the irrigation system.

What was the architectural (and or emotional) inspiration behind the wall?

Wind was a huge consideration when designing the wall, at 90ft up in the air the conditions are much different than on the ground. My initial inspiration for these walls came from witnessing artist Ned Kahn’s “Firefly” installation at the SFPUC building. I loved how he uses the wind to create stunning visualizations.

I wanted to take advantage of the height of the wall and the wind factor to create a composition that looked at is if it was soaring in and out of the canvas and moving with the wind. This was achieved through species repetition, bold contrasting colors, and grass like textures that actually move with the wind to provide a sense of movement.

As the wall is in mostly shaded during the afternoon, I chose to use brighter and bolder leaf colors such as the yellow Carex oshimensis ‘everillo’, the blue Senecio serpens and red Heuchera ‘peach flambe’ so that the wall appears vibrant even during the most foggy San Francisco days.

Image credit: Garry Belinsky

What resources and plants do you enjoy working with most?

I love working with plants that move with and are shaped by the wind. There’s something exciting to me in the way the wind animates each plant form and texture in a unique way; each species has its own dancing style.

If you could design anything for San Francisco, what would it be?

Something that is outside, open to the public, right in the heart of the downtown bustle where city dwellers can be fully immersed in greenery on all sides. Foundry Square III meets Yerba Buena Gardens.  Something like a destination garden to relax and enjoy the day, take in a breath of fresh air and feel like you are in an oasis despite the concrete jungle around you.

Trend Watch: What are some ways residents can bring living walls, art and furnishings into their homes?

It doesn’t take much!  Even just a few plants on the wall can be gratifying. There are a lot of “off the shelf” products you can by now that are essentially a planter on the wall. Habitat Horticulture is actually in the process of developing a small scale, low maintenance living wall product just for that purpose, but it won’t be available until next spring.

Lightning Round: 

3 spots we may visit your work:  Foundry Square III (public open space), The California Academy of Sciences, and the third floor terrace of the new SFMOMA
Largest wall you’ve ever created: SFMOMA, 4,462 sqft (largest in the country)
I admire the work of: Azuma Makoto, Sol LeWitt, Alexander Calder, Andy Goldsworthy, Ned Kahn
If I could name Jasper’s wall, I’d name it:  Yogi and Boo Boo (I’m sure you can guess which is which!).

Sincerely Yours
Jasper is a convergence. Of structure and imagination. Of the classic and the eclectic. Of art and life. This 400-foot high-rise apartment building crowns San Francisco’s fabled Rincon Hill and stands as an iconic addition to the city skyline. It is a statement about elegance in a place where elegance actually means something. Be sure to follow Jasper on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+ and Instagram as we share news and updates about our exciting new community.  #rentjasper It’s a heck of a place to call home.

Photography by Garry Belinsky