05/31/2025
Still feeling a stir of inspiration after observing the apartments and condos after a visit to the Phoenix area last week. Located in the North Scottsdale area, Optima Kierland looks like a giant green hedge on a mostly brown desert horizon. This effect is in large part due to an innovative design which features a “vertical landscape system, with self-containing irrigation and drainage that enables a palette of vibrantly colored plants at the edge of each floor to grow both up and over the building,” according to the Optima Kierland website. Not only does the vertical landscape have the effect of soothing the senses, it also “creates a microclimate that lowers the ambient temperature from
five to nine degrees,” Optima Kierland claims.
Cheers to this well-conceived and refreshing project, the construction of which was completed almost five years ago. Experiencing it reminded me of a long-ago visit to Rome and riding the train from the airport to the historic city center. Along the way, old apartment building balconies overflowed with all sorts of non-uniform plantings by their residents - many featuring flowering shrubs and small trees.