Patrick Blanc’s Greenwall at Musée du quai Branly

A very good and special friend came for lunch today. She is a Francophile, so of course I asked for her all-time favourite spots to visit in Paris.  In her top five was Patrick Blanc‘s vertical garden at the Musée du quai Branly, nicknamed MQB and located close to the Eiffel Tower.

The building was designed by architect Jean Nouvel,
and the façade measures approximately 1,200 m. Yet its most
noticeable feature is the stunning 200 m long by 12 m tall living wall covering
the entire northwest façade.

Designed and planted by Patrick Blanc, the Musée du quai Branly greenwall is one of Blanc’s most famous vertical gardens, and one of the most highly photographed in the world. Facing the River Seine with a park and small streets in between, the micro-climate creates a good environment for a large variety of plants.

Patrick Blanc’s hydroponic Vertical Garden System, known as Le Mur Vegetal in French, allows both plants and buildings to live in harmony with one another, and can be implemented both inside and out.

Now, I make no claims to having a green thumb. Quite the opposite in fact, but this I am definitely checking out when we visit Paris… Wow!

The Musée du quai Branly is located at 37, quai Branly 75007, Paris. You can check out their website here.

Oh, and I’m still in New Zealand so this is a shorter post today. My communication and response times will also still be a little more intermittent than usual. Back to normal transmission tomorrow.