High above the bustling streets of New York City, there's a whole other world--a universe filled with calm and natural beauty. We're talking of course about New York's legendary rooftop gardens. Like their predecessors in Babylon, these urban oases truly are one of the world's great wonders. Set amid the concrete canyons, these horticultural hideaways offer respite from New York's relentless pace. High above the city that never sleeps, these serene spaces offer a chance to laze, potter and nap. The gardens' plants, furnishing, and the landscape engineering that makes them possible are sure to inspire awe. Set against dramatic cityscapes, these are some of the most fascinating green spaces on the planet.
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"Wonderful oases of calm at the top of the city" ~Traveller's World
"A universe of peace and beauty--the realm of New York's rooftop gardens is a true world wonder." ~Recover
"A universe of peace and beauty--the realm of New York's rooftop gardens is a true world wonder." ~Recover
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
New York is one of the most impressive cities in the world. Much of its visual appeal derives from the stunning and breathtaking architecture. Block after block of incredible skyscrapers make New York a really fascinating place to see or visit. However, this urban jungle cans start feeling stifling after a while and one starts to long for the greener vistas. Since the New York real estate is at a premium (to say the least), there aren't that many green areas where one can indulge cravings for nature. Many beautiful parks certainly help, and Central Park is especially wonderful in that regard. The ultimate symbols of luxurious naturalism, however, are the myriad rooftop gardens. By their very nature there can only be one such garden at the top of the each magnificent building, and only the wealthiest can afford the privilege of owning one. These gardens are scarce jewels that resemble oases of tranquility in the midst of the bustling and hectic concrete desert.
This beautiful coffee-table book provides us with rare glimpses of these stunning gardens. The book contains large format photographs of 25 different gardens from all parts of New York downtown. Since most of these gardens are not open to the public, this book is closest that anyone could potentially gain access to these gems. Fortunately, the photographs truly do justice to these gardens. The photographs pay attention to all the elements that make each one of the gardens unique. They also present many of the surrounding landmarks, especially since many of these sights endow the gardens with amazing views.
Each one of the gardens is introduced with a paragraph or two of text that provides the context and a bit of the history for that particular garden. The texts are given in five different languages: English, German, French, Spanish and Italian.
The book is fairly large and it cannot be easily browsed while held. It is indeed a true coffee-table book, and its large and opulent design make you want to showcase it in front of your guests.
This beautiful coffee-table book provides us with rare glimpses of these stunning gardens. The book contains large format photographs of 25 different gardens from all parts of New York downtown. Since most of these gardens are not open to the public, this book is closest that anyone could potentially gain access to these gems. Fortunately, the photographs truly do justice to these gardens. The photographs pay attention to all the elements that make each one of the gardens unique. They also present many of the surrounding landmarks, especially since many of these sights endow the gardens with amazing views.
Each one of the gardens is introduced with a paragraph or two of text that provides the context and a bit of the history for that particular garden. The texts are given in five different languages: English, German, French, Spanish and Italian.
The book is fairly large and it cannot be easily browsed while held. It is indeed a true coffee-table book, and its large and opulent design make you want to showcase it in front of your guests.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This oversized book presents a unique vision of our country's largest city--a vision that resonates in harmony with the wilder, more verdant land that lies west of the Hudson River. But there are still gardens and waving grasslands to be found in New York City--you need only look upward.
French photographer, Charles de Vaivre gives us intimate access to 25 of New York City's beautiful rooftop gardens, most of them belonging to penthouses where we might not otherwise gain access. As this book's introduction puts it:
"Most of these gardens have never been open to the public, and they probably never will!"
Each garden is presented in color, from many different angles, in this 220-page book, and the photographer is always careful to include the city features surrounding the greenery, whether they are the spires of a cathedral, glass and steel skyscrapers, or the golden domes of the O'Neill building.
Some of the gardens will remind you of the formal, geometrical designs of the French. Others will invoke the lost prairies of our Midwestern states. Many contain delicate traceries of birch leaves and curling bark, climbing ivy, and shade plants such as hosta and caladium. There are some flowering plants, e.g. hydrangea; rudbeckia; and begonias, but for the most part the garden designers were working with a green, gold, and white palette (if a fault can be found with this book, it is the omission of the names of the garden designers). One of my favorite gardens--the TriBeCa Penthouse garden--has a wall layered with waving greenery and copper panels etched with branches. Gaze at this wall for any length of time and you might imagine yourself to be under water!
The text accompanying the photographs is printed in five languages: English; German; French; Italian; and Spanish.
The multiplicity of languages might make you think of Babel, but a more appropriate reference would be Babylon, where a king built a rooftop garden--one of the seven wonders of the ancient world--to please his homesick queen. Perhaps these rooftop gardens of New York City were built for a similar purpose.
***review copy supplied by publisher
French photographer, Charles de Vaivre gives us intimate access to 25 of New York City's beautiful rooftop gardens, most of them belonging to penthouses where we might not otherwise gain access. As this book's introduction puts it:
"Most of these gardens have never been open to the public, and they probably never will!"
Each garden is presented in color, from many different angles, in this 220-page book, and the photographer is always careful to include the city features surrounding the greenery, whether they are the spires of a cathedral, glass and steel skyscrapers, or the golden domes of the O'Neill building.
Some of the gardens will remind you of the formal, geometrical designs of the French. Others will invoke the lost prairies of our Midwestern states. Many contain delicate traceries of birch leaves and curling bark, climbing ivy, and shade plants such as hosta and caladium. There are some flowering plants, e.g. hydrangea; rudbeckia; and begonias, but for the most part the garden designers were working with a green, gold, and white palette (if a fault can be found with this book, it is the omission of the names of the garden designers). One of my favorite gardens--the TriBeCa Penthouse garden--has a wall layered with waving greenery and copper panels etched with branches. Gaze at this wall for any length of time and you might imagine yourself to be under water!
The text accompanying the photographs is printed in five languages: English; German; French; Italian; and Spanish.
The multiplicity of languages might make you think of Babel, but a more appropriate reference would be Babylon, where a king built a rooftop garden--one of the seven wonders of the ancient world--to please his homesick queen. Perhaps these rooftop gardens of New York City were built for a similar purpose.
***review copy supplied by publisher
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
New York Rooftop Gardens is a documentarian's view of twenty five gardens around New York City. The color photographs are reproduced beautifully in a large format book on heavy weight paper. Each garden is accompanied by a marketing style description of the particular garden. The text is presented in five languages.
The fine art of printing, binding, and publishing is well represented in this volume. It is rare to find such fine reproduction.
A New Yorker will probably find this book remarkable. According to the text, some of these gardens have only been seen by the incredibly rich. The background of some of these photographs are likely from angles very few people have witnessed. There are some stand out photographs, dynamic composition that really works.
I had very high expectations for this book. I expected to see great composition, perfect exposure, beautiful botanicals, and variety. In some ways, I expected a scripted dramatic movie. Instead the book is a documentary of casual views of these gardens. It just appears that the photographer didn't spend a lot of time considering each garden, its unique view, and translate that to dynamic or unusual images.
The text added to each garden was like a voice over narration that described what I was watching on the screen; it mostly did not illuminate or add to the visuals. Charles de Vaivre is a good photographer - monochromatic work on display at his website is remarkable, memorable, and well executed. For this assignment it appears he is using nothing but ambient light and the dynamic range is just too huge to work - frequently the background skyline is overexposed or the shadows are underexposed. Occasionally he finds perfection; the Carnegie Hall Madison Avenue Penthouse is beautiful. He nails the botanicals and the view of the vertical garden in the West Village Penthouse.
I'm confident that New Yorkers will love this book. Outside of the city, this book is a little less interesting.
The publisher provided a review copy of this book.
The fine art of printing, binding, and publishing is well represented in this volume. It is rare to find such fine reproduction.
A New Yorker will probably find this book remarkable. According to the text, some of these gardens have only been seen by the incredibly rich. The background of some of these photographs are likely from angles very few people have witnessed. There are some stand out photographs, dynamic composition that really works.
I had very high expectations for this book. I expected to see great composition, perfect exposure, beautiful botanicals, and variety. In some ways, I expected a scripted dramatic movie. Instead the book is a documentary of casual views of these gardens. It just appears that the photographer didn't spend a lot of time considering each garden, its unique view, and translate that to dynamic or unusual images.
The text added to each garden was like a voice over narration that described what I was watching on the screen; it mostly did not illuminate or add to the visuals. Charles de Vaivre is a good photographer - monochromatic work on display at his website is remarkable, memorable, and well executed. For this assignment it appears he is using nothing but ambient light and the dynamic range is just too huge to work - frequently the background skyline is overexposed or the shadows are underexposed. Occasionally he finds perfection; the Carnegie Hall Madison Avenue Penthouse is beautiful. He nails the botanicals and the view of the vertical garden in the West Village Penthouse.
I'm confident that New Yorkers will love this book. Outside of the city, this book is a little less interesting.
The publisher provided a review copy of this book.
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