Benjamin Graindorge and Duende Studio have created a natural water filtration system for aquariums. It's an innovative solution to the daily maintenance requirements of freshwater aquariums, a filtering system that is 100% natural using a cushion of sand plus plants in a tray that sits above the aquarium. Its recycling principle is based on hydroponics, it does away with the chore of regular water changes and proposes a new way, the result a cross between a decorative glass vase and a water purifying plant. "The fish tank is a microcosm that reflects human concerns: within the finite space of its architecture the main issue that conditions the well-being of its inhabitants is waste management."

Spotted at Fresh MoCo, David L'HÔTE's Rainpod is an attractive standalone rain collector that uses small local tree trunks to stand up. The tree trunks makes each Rainpod unique and saves transport costs for the unit. Says David, "many people want to switch to rainwater [from tapwater] but won't buy water collectors that look like big garbage cans". Rainpod is a prototype looking for a manufacturer.

+ hotchoz.com

C.QUOI?’s Fleurir collection was on display, Grand ecart above is a modular divider/ garden partition and vase made of zinc. Flowers, herbs, vegetables, fruits, can be planted in the top edge of the 130cm high partition. Integrated water tubes allow for low maintenance. The collection also includes angular earthenware vase ecart (a table version of Grand ecart), and 16 Pousse, a zinc frame/ plant holder that also includes an integrated tube for easy watering.

+ c-quoi.com

Our last garden video in the International Garden Festival series, Coloured Reflections: Wrapping and Framing Savage Nature is Montreal architect Hal Ingberg's simple device for wrapping the forest. It's a semitransparent triangle that provides an intimate, courtyard-like enclosure that both frames and intensifies the experience of being in the forest. It's an extraordinary sight these large panels of glass in the middle of the woods. Green, semi opaque and reflective, the structure invites visitors to circle it and admire the various ways that light, and oneself, interacts with it. The video is narrated by the festival's Artistic Director, Lesley Johnstone. More images after the jump.

+ MP4 Quicktime Stream
+ igf_hal_ingberg.m4v (5.78Mb video iPod file, right click and "Save link as")

"Codes, regulations, and guidelines are what the built environment is all about. Eliminating risk of injury to the human body, and, perhaps more to the point, that of economic and legal consequences have become the ground rules for those engaged in the design, production, and construction of public spaces.". In the International Garden Festival garden Safe Zone, designers Stoss Landscape Urbanism employ an array of commercial products designed for potentially dangerous situations and turn them to whimsical uses. Black rubber surfaced mounds, a blue rubber "wood chip" pond, and bright red safety padded trees are a jarring contrast to the natural environment that surrounds it. This safe zone is at once comforting and playful, somewhat destabilizing, and a little sinister. In the video Stoss principal Chris Reed walks us through the garden but our camera's Memory Stick hit the limit half way through so the video cuts out early, but you get the idea. See more images after the jump.

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+ igf_stoss_landscape_urbanism.m4v (11.15Mb video iPod file, right click and "Save link as")

L'effet de serres, by architects Bosses design, is a play on words, on the french words for greenhouse effect; it's both literal and figurative. The starting point for this International Garden Festival garden is the ubiquitous greenhouse. The visitor is led through three climates, and the experience becomes more ominous as one progresses through each one of the greenhouses, the first is large and sparse, the last small and packed with greenery. All of which evokes the ever increasing negative effects of greenhouse gases on our climate and planet. The video is narrated by the festival's Artistic Director, Lesley Johnstone. More images after the jump.

+ MP4 Quicktime Stream
+ igf_bosses_design.m4v (15.82Mb video iPod file, right click and "Save link as")
+ See it on youtube.com