Project Overview
The client: North Loop Green, a mixed-use development with two towers totaling 48 floors in Minneapolis’s fastest-growing neighborhood
Job description: Provide interior and exterior plant design and installation for two mixed-use towers in a highly anticipated development
Goals: Create a lush, vibrant space for people to live and work
Timeline: One year
Key plant design components:
- Green Walls
- Planters
- Exterior Plants and Planters
Summary
North Loop Green would be the most complex Plants By Design had undertaken to-date. Not only were there two skyscrapers and 48 floors of space to outfit with plants, there were many different types of installations across the mixed-use spaces.
Plants By Design joined the project while the North Loop Green towers were still under construction and went on site visits with hard hats and high-visibility vests. The architects provided renderings with concepts such as a plant chandelier and a wooden lobby wall with plants integrated into the wall. Plants By Design came up with designs to make their renderings reality.
When the buildings were ready, Plants By Design installed plants and design elements in lobbies, lounges, roof decks, pool decks, and terraces across the two buildings.
The buildings’ aesthetic echoes the urban location in a historically industrial area. In accordance with the client’s vision, the plants we installed provided soft, lush, green contrasts to the polished concrete and steel building materials. Not only did this make an appealing visual impact, it also helped soften the acoustics in common spaces.
North Loop Green’s towers are now part of the city skyline — including the abundant, lush plants inside and out.
Considerations
- Design outdoor planters that could withstand high winds on high-floor amenity spaces, without sacrificing aesthetics.
- Soften concrete, steel, and glass materials throughout the buildings.
- Make residential spaces with high ceilings feel cozy.
- Provide visual differentiation between plants on lower and higher floors of the buildings.
Results
Green Wall – North Loop Green 350 (Office) Lobby
Preserved moss and hundreds of faux plants — Boston Fern, Variegated Dracaena, and Philodendron — provide pops of green from floor to ceiling without risk of water damage to the walls. The highly textured wall also provides a noise-dampening effect in a space with frequent foot traffic.
Green Wall — North Loop Green 360 (Residential) Lobby
A mix of faux and live plants warm up the concrete walls behind the residential tower’s concierge desk. The development’s architecture firm provided renderings, and we came up with the concept of how to actualize it. The lower tiers are live plants while the upper tiers—which would be more difficult to water—are faux.
Floor Plants - North Loop Green 350 (Office Lobby)
The client wanted a variety of soft and lush plants throughout the office lobby. The space is vast, with high ceilings and industrial finishes. Gentle, natural textures provide a welcome contrast.
Moss Chandelier, North Loop Green 360 (Residential) Club Room
The moss chandelier connects the large, industrial club room on the 18th floor to the green of Target Field, visible from the lobby windows. We designed the kokedama-style moss spheres and foliage—a mix of trailing Scindapsus and Philodendron vines to create the dramatic chandelier effect— and figured out how to attach them to the metal frame.
The chandelier adds a cozy feeling by adding a layer of warmth and connection between building residents and the lobby’s high ceiling.
Floor Plants, North Loop Green 360 (Residential) Sky Lounge
The 34th-floor Sky Lounge was designed to feel like a lush oasis. Our plant design followed suit, including airy palms, fiddle leaf figs, birds of paradise, and Aglaonema.
Planters — North Loop Green 360 (Residential) Sky Deck
The vision for the Sky Deck was to evoke the colors of the sky, including blues and sunset pinks and purples throughout. Soft pops of purple from Tradescantia zebrina (Spiderwort) in the planters around the Sky Deck perimeter, along with bright purple hues from Angelonia Big Indigo and Liriope, delivered.
Planters — North Loop Green 350 (Office) and 360 (Residential) Amenity Terraces
Large planters provide separation between seating areas in outdoor common spaces. The plants will change with the seasons, but all will be selected to withstand the high winds on the 14th floor amenity terraces. The planters, as pictured here in August, include long planters with purple fountain grass that serve as spatial dividers, as well as round planters with plants with an array of colors, heights, and leaf shapes.
Millwork Planters — North Loop Green 350 (Office) Cafe
Built-in planters bring bursts of foliage, Spring Snow Aglaonema and Mood Moss, to eye-level. The planters also partition off cafe seating areas and provide visual softness in the office cafe.
To work with Plant By Design’s talented team of designers and plant installation and maintenance experts, send us a message or give us a call.
