Photo: In the quiet center of Riga with a helicopter ‘planting’ trees

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With the construction cranes “Heavy Cranes”, 36 trees were placed on the special constructions of the HOFT project facade. The difficult task was completed with the help of a helicopter (specialists from GM Helicopters) – two trees were transferred to the upper floor platforms of the project.

Cities and especially the historic center have lost their wildlife and it is often not possible to solve this problem due to the limited space on the streets. Modern architects and landscape designers design parks, squares, gardens to green the urban environment, but in dense building situations, alternatives are used – greenery of various constructions on roofs, balconies, terraces, special supports and suspended structures.

In order to place 38 trees in a horizontal plane, the project area was not enough, so the project architects Zane Tetere-Šulce (“Open Ad”) and Dita Lapiņa (“Kroks”) offered a non-standard solution – to place the trees vertically along the building facades.

In the project, conifers – cedar, mountain pine, various bonsai trees – have been installed on different levels on the central facade, in the yard of the building, on the terraces and additional structures, using a special fastening system. The installation gives the impression that the trees are growing in their natural environment – on mountain tops and slopes.

Alexei Zagrebelenny, the chairman of the board of the project developer company “R.Evolution”, says that the implementation of the HOFT concept is nearing completion, all trees are placed in their places on the facade, and in two months the building will be put into operation.

Trees with low growth potential that are accustomed to growing in low soil, moisture and low temperatures were selected for the HOFT project. These are varieties such as mountain pine and black dwarf pine. Trees for 10–15 years are prepared for transplanting 1 m³ volume pots, so they are transplanted 6-7 times, pruning and forming the root system and branch crown according to the principle of bonsai trees. The nursery where the trees were purchased is located in the north of Germany, where the weather conditions are very similar to those in Latvia. The trees were previously brought to Latvia and acclimatized last winter.

Kaspars Rokens, Chairman of the Board of Velve, points out that the integration of trees into the architecture of the building is a new experience. It required both the lifting of the trees to the required height and the installation of an automatic watering system.

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