L’Oasis d’Aboukir, one of the most beautiful works from the inventor of vertical gardens, Patrick Blanc, represented an ecologic emblem for Paris – at the time and to this day.
Patrick Blanc’s contribution to Paris Design Week 2013 was the Oasis of Aboukir. It consists of a vertical garden covering a huge blind wall at the Rue d’Aboukir and Rue des Petits Carreaux crossroads, in a neighborhood traditionally dedicated to fashion and textiles. The project was sponsored by local enterprises and shows Patrick Blanc’s work in an ideal setting and context. It is a real piece of art. It is eye-catching, flourishing, it attracts tourists and has improved a whole neighborhood’s shopping and residential areas. But, above all, it is attractive because of its healthiness for the local urban climate and environmental conditions.
Patrick Blanc’s on-paper final design 
The green wall at its very beginning, April 2013
The green wall at its very beginning, April 2013
The green wall after flourishing, June 2013
“I am very happy to contribute to the welfare and environmental consciousness of the inhabitants of a historic district in the heart of Paris”
Patrick Blanc.
7,600 different plants were placed up to a height of 25 meters, covering a forceless blind wall. Patrick Blanc started with indoor jungle plants and developed his approach step by step working toward achieving outdoor solutions. Patrick Blanc now endeavors to use plants that play a role in the biodiversity of the natural context of the region. He calls the Oasis of Aboukir a “hymn to biodiversity”.
