Friday, May 15, 2026 | AboutContact
Vol. XVII No. 143
May 15 · 2026
AllWorldPoliticsBusinessCultureScienceDesignLifestyleSportOpinionTravelFoodFashionTech
● Breaking Top Stories Exclusive In-Depth Analysis Video Podcast Newsletter ★ GET THIS THEME
The Architects Quietly Reimagining Urban Living Through Suspended Gardens

Photograph: Alexandra Reid / The Herald

Design

The Architects Quietly Reimagining Urban Living Through Suspended Gardens

A new generation of designers is fusing the natural world with dense metropolitan form.

⏱ 1 min read

In the shadow of Milan’s glass towers, gardens hang in mid-air — cascading from balconies, threading through structural steel, softening the hard geometries of twenty-first century construction. This is not coincidence. It is architecture with a new ambition: to make the city breathe.

Marco Neri, whose studio has completed fourteen such projects across northern Italy and Spain, pushes back against the idea that this is purely aesthetic. “We are not decorating buildings. We are fundamentally rethinking what the surface of a city can do.”

Advances in lightweight growing media, modular irrigation systems and drought-tolerant species have reduced installation costs by roughly forty percent over five years. Buildings have become landmarks. Residents report measurably improved wellbeing.

Alexandra Reid
Written by

Senior Design Correspondent. Covers architecture and urban design from London.

Related Stories

How a Colourful 1930s Semi in London Surprises Every Guest

From the street, it looks like every other house on the road. Inside, it is something else entirely.

By Alexandra Reid  ·  May 9, 2026  ·  1 min read

Basic Design Principles That Transform Even the Smallest Home Office

The difference between a home office that supports good work and one that undermines it is not a question of…

By Alexandra Reid  ·  May 3, 2026  ·  1 min read

Inside the Firm Redesigning Britain’s High Streets From the Ground Up

A small practice is winning commissions through radical reuse and community co-design.

By Alexandra Reid  ·  May 11, 2026  ·  1 min read

Modern Monochrome Homes With Calm Cosy Terraces Win Global Design Awards

This year's Home of the Year finalists share a commitment to quiet restraint and natural materials.

By Alexandra Reid  ·  May 7, 2026  ·  1 min read

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Get unlimited access to Herald Premium — all stories, all archives
GET THIS THEME