Seeds of change

Chapter 1

London’s Garden Bridge

Thomas Heatherwick’s Garden Bridge development – a €220m tree-lined crossing over the Thames, mooted for completion by 2018 – has grabbed headlines for reasons good and bad. Sam Jacob, principal of an eponymous architecture practice and professor of architecture at the University of Illinois, tells us how the bridge fits into the bigger story of London’s urban greenery, from its Georgian beginnings to the present day.

Chapter 2

Diana Balmori

Landscape architect and urbanist extraordinaire Diana Balmori has spent decades expounding the virtues of including nature within the built environment, as well as urban farming and the potential productivity of our under-utilized rooftops. She joins us from New York to discuss her work.

Chapter 3

Living workplaces

Architect David Marquardt, principle of Zürich-based architecture and interior design office Mach, tells us how the growing use of plants in the workplace may signal a changing relationship with work itself.

Chapter 4

Tools of the trade

We turn our attention to a few garden-inspired design objects. From Floridian planters to an Austrian watering can and a set of winsome reclaimed copper forks and trowels, we unearth a few essential purchases for green-fingered listeners. Special thanks to The Garden Edit for the samples.