About four months ago, I wrote an entry describing how some cities in Europe add floral displays to cover their open plain spaces during the summer months. This week, I returned to the city of
Metz in France to further investigate exactly how these displays were constructed. (click
here to read the original post)
This year the city of Metz decorated the space in front of their main train station with a mix of flowers, grass, stones, and sculpture:
This year's design celebrates the arrival of the high-speed
TGV train to this part of Eastern France, cutting the travel time to Paris from 3 hours to 1.5 hours.
This display really hightens the beauty of the surrounding buildings.
During the rest of the year, this space is a completely flat surface. When starting construction, the designers place what looks to be a series of beams which are 3 to 4 inches in depth around the perimeter of the planned area.
This bracketing allows for a series of sprinklers and pipes for watering to be placed, as well as rich planting soil to be contained within the planned space.
The design is even more remarkable from the air. On the observation platform, one can see the swirls and curves of color below.
Buses operate right next to the displays, as they shuttle passengers throughout the city.
People are given enough space to walk between the arrangements.
So can something like this be designed and constructed in the central square along Federal Street next our historical structures? Every year, a new design can be utilized. After a few years, professional photographers would have amassed enough photos of this to create images to be sold on posters and postcards.
Should an idea like this become a reality in our downtown?
