Thirty-five stories above New York Harbor, Fred Rich can stroll through his groves of Japanese maple, spruce and pine trees or sit under a pergola hung with grape vines, where wild strawberries and thyme grow between the paving stones. There is a hidden alpine garden, an orchard of plum, peach and heirloom apple trees, and espaliered pear trees growing on copper screens.
在纽约港35层以上的高空，弗雷德・里奇(Fred Rich)可在自己的日本枫树、云杉和松树林中漫步，亦或坐在挂着葡萄藤的棚架下，棚架的铺地石间生长着野草莓和百里香。这儿有个隐秘的高空花园，一个种着李子、桃子及品种古老的苹果树的果园，园内的梨树则攀伏生长于铜网上。'There is always something in bloom,' said Mr. Rich, who will be dining on fresh arugula, spinach and radishes from his vegetable beds this week. 'I do my yoga in the morning and the birds sit there and watch.'
里奇说：“每时每刻总有些东西在盛开。早晨我会在这儿做瑜伽，小鸟就呆在那儿看着。”这一周他将从自家菜圃采摘新鲜芝麻菜、菠菜和小萝卜作为食材。
With landscape architect Mark Morrison and a team of engineers, fabricators and organic farmers, Mr. Rich has created a 2,000-square-foot garden irrigated with recycled building water on the rooftop of his $4.8 million penthouse. Mr. Rich, a 57-year-old partner at the Sullivan & Cromwell law firm, declined to say what he spent on his rooftop retreat, which has views of the Statue of Liberty and Governors Island.
里奇与景观设计师马克・莫里森(Mark Morrison)、一群工程师、建造工和有机耕种农夫展开合作，在其价值480万美元的顶层公寓的屋顶打造了一个面积为2,000平方英尺（约合185平米）、采用大楼的再生水进行灌溉的花园。今年57岁的里奇为Sullivan & Cromwell律师事务所的一名合伙人，他拒绝透露他在这处楼顶避世之所上花费了多少资金。从这个花园可欣赏到自由女神像与总督岛的景致。
At its most basic, a green roof consists of a carpet of hard-to-kill plants in a thin layer of soil. Luxury homeowners, however, are opting for bespoke greenscapes as carefully curated-and sometimes as costly-as art collections. With the right design, these eco-chic gardens also add insulation, absorb storm water runoff and deflect heat from the sun.
最基础的绿色屋顶由种植在薄薄一层土壤中的生命力顽强的植物构成。不过，豪宅业主却喜欢选择定制绿色景观，它们被当作艺术品一般细致布置，而且它们的造价有时也与后者相当。设计得当的话，这些时尚的生态花园还可隔热、吸收暴风雨造成的水流并折射太阳的热度。Creating the natural look hundreds of feet above the sidewalk demands intricate engineering, sophisticated waterproofing and irrigation systems, custom-designed soil, and occasionally, a crane.
在距人行道数百英尺的高空打造自然景观需要精细的工程操作、精密的防水与灌溉系统、专门调配的土壤，而且偶尔还需动用起重机。A block in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood is scheduled to be closed to pedestrian traffic later in June while a 150-foot crane lifts 13 species of mature trees onto the roof of Jean-Laurent Casanova's duplex apartment. The big lift is part of a two-year, $200,000 project to create an 1,100-square-foot arboretum reminiscent of the Southern Alps, Normandy and Corsica.
曼哈顿切尔西街区的一条街预定将在6月底禁止行人通行，因为届时将有一台150英尺（约合45米）高的起重机要将13个品种的成年大树送上让-洛朗・卡萨诺瓦(Jean-Laurent Casanova)复式公寓的屋顶。这项为期两年、耗资20万美元的工程旨在打造一个面积为1,100平方英尺（约合102平米），令人想起南阿尔卑斯山、诺曼底和科西嘉岛风光的树木园，这辆庞大的起重机是工程的一部分。'I love trees. I really want to have shade-almost to have a little forest on both sides of the roof,' said Dr. Casanova, a 50-year-old pediatrician and research scientist from Paris who is also a professor at Rockefeller University. Designed by Jacob Lange of Christian Duvernois Landscape, his forest will be set in an undulating landscape of meadow grasses, perennials and creeping thyme, crisscrossed with walking paths.
现年50岁的卡萨诺瓦医生说：“我喜爱树木，我非常想要拥有树荫――几乎想要屋顶的两侧有一个小树林。”他是一名来自巴黎的儿科医生和科研人员，同时也在洛克菲勒大学(Rockefeller University)担任教授。他的这个树林由景观设计公司Christian Duvernois Landscape的雅各布・兰格(Jacob Lange)设计，它将被连绵起伏的草坪、多年生植物和蔓生的百里香所环绕，林中还会辟有纵横交错的步行小径。Michael Gerstner created a dense meadow-scape on the roof of his Tribeca penthouse, inspired by New York City's High Line elevated park. 'I like nature and the presence of nature-I don't like a sterile wood deck,' said Mr. Gerstner, 39, who works in investments. He bought the duplex in a converted 19th-century industrial building in 2011 for $3.1 million, according to city records, and spent two years remodeling it to 'bring the outside in,' at a cost he declined to disclose.
受到纽约市High Line空中花园的启发，迈克尔・格斯特纳(Michael Gerstner)在其位于翠贝卡街区的顶层公寓的屋顶打造了一处茂密的草坪景观。他说：“我喜欢自然，喜欢自然现于眼前――不喜欢了无生气的木制露台。”今年39岁的格斯特纳为一名投资业人士。据市政纪录显示，他在2011年以310万美元购得这套复式公寓，公寓位于一栋由19世纪的工业厂房改建而成的公寓楼中。他还花了两年时间改造公寓以“将户外景观引入室内”，但他拒绝透露改造费用。Once a caviar warehouse cooled by giant blocks of ice, the structure was strong enough to support 15,000 pounds of plant and soil. Architect Andrew Franz cut out part of the sloping roof to install a large retractable skylight-the roof garden's access point. Because of the roof's severe pitch, a scaffold structure was built to support the plants and trees, which include birch, ginkgo and a black pine Mr. Gerstner prizes for its 'sculptural' qualities. Juniper bushes, lavender, bright yellow yarrow and Scotch broom frame an ipe-wood deck. Although the plants have been selected for their hardiness in excessive sun and wind, they still require tending. A gardener makes regular visits to the 1,000-square-foot space, and a drip-irrigation system delivers measured amounts of water to different plant zones.
这栋楼房原为一个采用巨型冰块制冷的鱼子酱库房，它足够坚固，可支撑重达15,000磅（约合6,800公斤）的植物与土壤。建筑师安德鲁・弗朗兹(Andrew Franz)将斜屋顶截去一部分，安了一扇可伸缩的大天窗――屋顶花园的入口处。由于屋顶极其倾斜，建筑师搭建了一个支架来支撑园中的植物和树木，树木包括白桦、银杏和一棵因其“雕塑”质感而备受格斯特纳珍视的黑松。杜松丛、薰衣草、亮黄色的蓍草以及金雀花环绕着一个重蚁木露天平台。尽管这些植物因耐强烈日照和抗狂风而被挑选出来，但它们仍需照料。一名园艺工会定期照管这个1,000平方英尺的花园，滴灌系统会向不同的植物区滴灌经过计量的水分。Among its practical benefits, the meadow cools the duplex in the summer and insulates it during the winter, enabling Mr. Gerstner to leave the building's original wood beams exposed. It has also saved him the cost of a summer rental in the Hamptons.
草坪具有一些实际的好处，比如在夏季它能降低复式公寓的温度，在冬季则能保暖，使格斯特纳能够让楼房原有的木梁裸露在外。此外，它还让他省下了夏季在汉普顿斯租房的费用。Residential demand for planted rooftops has grown between 15% to 20% each year over the past decade, according to Ed Jarger, general sales and marketing manager for American Hydrotech, a manufacturer of green-roofing systems whose clients include New York's Lincoln Center and the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. The cost of installing one of his company's garden-roof assemblies-a watertight rubberized asphalt membrane overlaid with a root barrier, insulation, a drainage and water-retention layer, and an engineered growing medium ('We don't like to call it dirt.') can range between $30 to $60 a square foot, or more. 'More high-end single-family homes are putting green roofs on sloped structures, where the roof becomes part of the ground,' said Mr. Jarger.
绿色屋顶系统建造商American Hydrotech的销售与营销总经理埃德・加格(Ed Jarger)称，在过去10年间，居民对绿色屋顶的需求每年以15%至20%的速度增长。该公司的客户包括纽约的林肯中心(Lincoln Center)和旧金山的加州科学馆(California Academy of Sciences)。该公司的屋顶花园组合包括一个以橡胶涂层的防水沥青膜，它的表面覆盖了耐根穿刺层、隔热层、排水系统和储水层以及经改造的生长介质（“我们不喜欢把它称作土。”）它的造价在每平方英尺30美元至60美元甚或更高。加格称：“越来越多高端独栋住宅在斜顶建筑上安装绿色屋顶，屋顶成为了地面的一部分。”For Ken Hilgendorf, an architect and builder in Los Angeles, a sloped green roof was the solution to a complicated renovation of his home in the city's Westwood section. Set on a hill 30 feet above street level, 'it was the lowest-cost house in the neighborhood, because the hill was so big,' said Mr. Hilgendorf, who paid about $600,000 for it in 1999.
洛杉矶建筑师和建造商肯・希尔根多夫(Ken Hilgendorf)在该市的西木区(Westwood)有一所住宅，对他而言，倾斜的绿色屋顶就是这所房子复杂的翻新难题的解决方案。希尔根多夫说，这所房子座落在高出街道30英尺（约合九米）的一座山丘上，“它是这个街区成本最低的住宅，因为那座山丘非常之大”。他于1999年花费约60万美元将它买下。During a four-year renovation, he built a 75-foot-long garage at the foot of the property, then spent $54,000 on a green roof and landscaping designed by Stephen Billings of Pamela Burton and Co. A massive earthwork sculpted from 150 cubic feet of 'fluffy' custom-crafted soil, the garage roof is planted with a sycamore tree, ornamental grasses, and a bright green hillock of no-mow grass-a fescue mix that tolerates excessive heat and drought conditions. A thick hedgerow at the lip of the roof prevents anyone from tumbling off the lawn and onto the sidewalk.
在历时四年的翻新过程中，他在房子底部建了一个75英尺（约合23米）长的车库，而后又花费54,000美元打造了一个绿色屋顶及环境景观，它们由景观设计公司Pamela Burton & Co.的斯蒂芬・比林斯(Stephen Billings)设计。车库屋顶这项庞大的土方工程取用了150立方英尺（约合四立方米）经专门调配的“松软的”土壤打造而成，屋顶上种了一株美国梧桐、观赏草以及一个小丘的鲜绿的免割草――这片羊茅草可耐高温和干旱。屋顶的边缘有一堵茂密的灌木篱 ，可防止人从草坪跌落到人行道上去。'It's like you're in a tree fort,' said Mr. Hilgendorf.
希尔根多夫说：“它就像你呆在一个树木堡垒中。”In New York City, the impact of a green roof on an apartment's resale value is a matter of debate. 'Every square foot that you sacrifice for landscaping as opposed to usable space is going to make the terrace less valuable,' said Michael Vargas, CEO of Manhattan-based Vanderbilt Appraisal Co.
在纽约市，绿色屋顶对公寓转手价值的影响到底多大是一个存在争议的问题。曼哈顿房产估值公司Vanderbilt Appraisal的首席执行长迈克尔・瓦尔加斯(Michael Vargas)说：“你用来布置景观而非打造实用空间的每一平方英尺都会让露台贬值。”David and Henrie Whitcomb's vertical garden redeemed a chunk of unusable space on their 2,500-square-foot wraparound terrace in New York's Greenwich Village. Their penthouse, which public records show was purchased for $8.7 million in 2007, had 'a great big 15-foot-high, 15-foot-wide ugly tan brick wall' that ruined the view from the master bedroom, said Mr. Whitcomb, who founded Automated Trading Desk, one of the first high-frequency trading firms.
戴维・惠特科姆(David Whitcomb)与亨丽・惠特科姆(Henrie Whitcomb)位于纽约格林威治村的寓所有一个2,500平方英尺（约合230平米）的全景式露台，他们的绿色幕 恢复了露台大量不可用的空间。公开记录显示他们于2007年以870万美元购得这套顶层公寓。惠特科姆称，公寓有“一面15英尺（约合4.5米）高、15英尺宽的难看的棕色大砖 ”，它破坏了主卧的室外景观。惠特科姆是最早一批高频交易机构之一Automated Trading Desk的创始人。The Whitcombs, who own a second home in Hawaii, couldn't tear down the wall: It is the 1928 building's chimney. So they transformed the eyesore into the centerpiece of their terrace garden, which also features a grove of Japanese maple, gray birch and serviceberry trees, and an evergreen that can be pushed on a built-in track to a prime spot at their living room window at Christmas.
惠特科姆夫妇（他们在夏威夷还有一所度假房）无法拆除这堵砖 ，因为它是这栋1928年的建筑的烟囱。因此，他们把这个眼中钉改造成了露台花园的中心装饰。这个花园也设计有日本枫树、杨叶桦和花楸树林以及一棵常青树，在圣诞节期间，这棵树还可通过内置式轨道被推到起居室窗户的黄金位置。During the 26-month remodeling project, the Whitcombs' architect, John Tinmouth, and landscape architect, Linda Pollak, designed a wall of panels with a water feature and recessed slots for 600 plants to bracket to the chimney. Future Green Studio, a New York-based firm specializing in green roofs and green walls, embedded the panels with ornamental grasses and trailing plants in shades of green, silver and purple. The plants are watered by a drip irrigation system.
在这项为期26个月的改造工程中，惠特科姆夫妇的建筑师约翰・廷茅斯(John Tinmouth)及景观设计师琳达・波拉克(Linda Pollak)设计了一面面板 ，它包括一处人工水景和用于让600棵植物附着在烟囱上的凹槽。纽约专门从事绿色屋顶与绿色幕 设计业务的Future Green Studio公司在面板上栽种了绿色、银色和紫色色调的观赏草和蔓生植物。这些植物由滴灌系统浇水。'I'm guessing that it might have been, by itself, a half-million dollar installation,' said Mr. Whitcomb. 'By high summer, it looked absolutely wonderful. Then began the cold weather, and the wind blowing off the steppes of New Jersey. By April, the wind had taken off almost all the plant material and most of the soil.'
惠特科姆说：“我猜想它本身也许是个价值50万美元的装置。到了盛夏，它看上去美极了。接下来寒冷天气来临，大风从新泽西的大草原刮来。到了4月份，风已经将几乎所有的植物和大部分土壤都刮走了。”Now, the wall must be replanted each spring, 'based on what plants will survive there, and what plants will hold the soil,' said Emma Decaires, the Whitcombs' horticulturalist.
惠特科姆的园艺师埃玛・德凯雷斯(Emma Decaires)说，现在“根据什么植物能在那儿存活，什么植物能保持水土”，每年春季那面面板 都必须重新种上植物。Luxury developers are responding to city dwellers' hunger for free-form green spaces. Completed last summer, DDG Partners' new 37-unit condo building in Manhattan's Meatpacking district gives a nod to the abandoned, overgrown buildings that once stood nearby; its marquee is planted with a lush tangle of trees, shrubs and flowering plants that spill through amoeba-shaped cutouts. A two-bedroom apartment there is listed for $4.5 million.
豪宅开发商开始对城市居民对自由形态的绿色空间的渴求做出反应。DDG Partners位于曼哈顿Meatpacking区的包含37套公寓的新共管公寓楼于去年夏季竣工，它也模仿起了曾经矗立在附近的杂草丛生的废弃楼房。它的遮檐上种植了一片繁茂的树木、灌木丛以及呈不规则曲线形散落各处的开花植物。该公寓楼一套两居室公寓的挂牌价为450万美元。The company's 42-year-old CEO, Joe McMillan, lives in a ground-floor apartment at another DDG building in NoHo, where plants and vines creep across the bluestone facade from irrigated window boxes. Although Mr. McMillan's master and guest bedrooms are at street level, they are shielded from view by the living woodland tableaux planted in the recessed windows: a rock garden overgrown with ferns; witch hazel, yew and cypress trees growing out of thick plantings of grape-holly.
DDG Partners 42岁的首席执行长乔・麦克米伦(Joe McMillan)住在该公司位于NoHo区的另一栋公寓楼的一层公寓中，植物和藤蔓从有水灌溉的窗台花箱中长出来，攀爬在青石外墙上。尽管他的主卧和客卧都与街道齐平，但它们都被栽在内凹窗内的充满活力的林地景观所遮挡。这个岩石园种满了蕨类植物、金缕梅、紫衫以及从茂密的俄勒冈葡萄丛中长出的柏树。