Patrick Blanc: The vertical garden, from nature to cities

In any city, anywhere, says Patrick Blanc, a naked wall can be turned into a Vertical Garden and be a valuable shelter for biodiversity. Drawing on travels to Taiwan, India and Malaysia, Blanc began developing his living walls inside using mainly tropical plants. Today his green tapestries are being planted externally in an increasing number of cities including New York, London, Madrid, Paris, Tokyo... The inaugural If Conference, from debate forum Intelligence Squared, took place on