Details
Marvimon Courtyard
Originally built by an Italian race car driver in 1924 as one of Los Angeles’s first automobile showrooms, Marvimon has reinvented itself as a stand alone super-loft for events, weddings, exhibitions, productions and fine living. The living wall in the garden acts as a backdrop for wedding ceremonies and events and can be seen from inside the loft.
Design Challenge
The living wall in the Marvimon courtyard was the genesis for Woolly Pocket and Wally. The owners of Marvimon removed part of the roof of the building, creating a dramatic three story walled garden at the back of the property. They wanted to cover the walls with large, lush plants. Being unable to find a simple product to help them, they sewed up a bunch of large felt pockets and mounted them to the brick wall. They filled the Pockets with soil and a variety of Agaves and other succulent plants.
These prototype Pockets, made out of real wool, were saggy, did not conserve water and eventually started to fall apart. But from a plant perspective the Pockets were very successful, and the plants thrived. In 2011 the installation was replanted using the current Wallys.
Date of Install
January 2008
Owner
Designer
Form LA is an award winning landscape design, construction and maintenance firm that has vast and varied experience working with landscape and regional vegetation in the Los Angeles area.
Access
Marvimon is accessible only for private events.
Climate
Los Angeles is in hardiness zone 10. The installation is outdoors on a southeast facing wall and gets a lot of sun.
Details
Pockets
The installation is composed of an early prototype Pocket that was 36” wide and covered an area 22’-3” wide and 6’-8” tall. The living wall is located on the second story level of the garden wall. Scaffolding was used for the install of the pockets and plants to make installation go more quickly.
Details
Plant List
The initial planting used approximately (150) plants (6”, 8” and 1 gallon):
Agave
Dichondra argentea
Senecio 'Kilimanjaro'
Sempervivum Tectorum – Hens and Chickens
Details
Irrigation
This installation was an early prototype both in terms of the Pocket design and the way the Pockets were irrigated. Originally the wall was watered automatically via a series of soaker hoses, on a timer, that were run along the back of the Pockets. The soaker hose worked, but was unsightly and wasted water. Since the time of this install we have determined that ¼” drip-line is a best way to irrigate Pockets.
Additionally, a line of misters was installed above the Pockets in order to periodically mist the plants. The misters have been found to be unnecessary and are used infrequently.