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Paradise Edition, Birmingham, UK, 2024

The first rooftop commission, Pollinator Pathmaker Paradise Edition was planted in March 2024 as a private commission for a new net-zero office in the UK. Located on the 12th floor, this living artwork covers 80 square metres of the building’s rooftop terrace. Accompanying the living artwork, a double-sided, 14 x 2.5m tapestry, Four Epochs of Paradise, brings the garden inside. The tapestry descends through a four-storey staircase, depicting the planting as it transitions through the seasons in both human and pollinator vision.

Paradise Edition of Pollinator Pathmaker on a 12th-floor roof terrace, in summer 2024. Photo: Gareth Gardner.

Detail of Pollinator Pathmaker Paradise Edition in summer 2024, featuring Helenium ‘Moerheim Beauty’, Agastache ‘Blackadder’, and Cichorium intubus (chicory). Photo: Gareth Gardner.

The Pollinator Pathmaker algorithm chose and arranged 39 plant species from the Plant Palette to support the greatest diversity of pollinators. Agastache rugosa ‘Liquorice White’ supports honey bees, bumblebees, solitary bees, hoverflies, butterflies and moths, Phlomis russeliana, a herbaceous perennial, is a favourite of bumblebees, and the vivid orange Heleniums are visited by honey bees, bumblebees and solitary bees from early summer through to late autumn. The living artwork helps network the landscape of the city centre, providing forage and habitat for pollinators.

Private Edition of Pollinator Pathmaker on a 12th-floor roof terrace, in summer 2024. Photo: Gareth Gardner.

Centaurea nigra featured in Pollinator Pathmaker on the 12-floor roof terrace in summer 2024. Photo: Gareth Gardner.

Acknowledgements

Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg
Designer and Researcher
Iman Datoo
Executive Producer Hannah Andrews
Producer Ruby Dixon
Studio Manager Freire Barnes


Concept Architects vPPR Architects
Project Manager JLL
Delivery Architects Perkins & Will
Furniture Consultant Pi Group
Contractor Overbury
Graphic Designer Twelve


Expert Advisors
Colin Skelly