apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

yepp, unless you have a loooong driveway or other massive amounts of space, this is really a strictly commercial or institutional application. I saw something very similar at DWR annex (in opaque white plastic) and was struck by the sheer enormity, and then immediately filled the con's list on why never to have it!

I'm all for big containers, but I don't think they go with the building at all. The building and the fence are very rectangular--I'd have gone with something similar to echo the geometry.

In New York I hate these things. Every building in Midtown put them in after 9/11 'to protect themselves from terrorist attacks'. With the exception of a few notable monuments where the threat could be real and should be take seriously(citigroup building, NYSE, Grand central etc) it smacked of ego and inconvenienced people by taking over half the sidewalk.

Although at least this one is prettier than the concrete barriers that some buildings used....

jeff koons for the masses?

I like the scale and statement, but they need to be planted properly too-- everything is horribly off-scale and tacky.

In New York, at least, giant planters (and other barriers) are called "hardscaping" and are used to prevent "vehicle incursion." Working in building trade PR after 9/11, I had to write quite a few "Aren't our new planters LOVELY?" articles...blech. But the (design) alternative is worse. I don't know if it's still like this, and hope it's not, but the JCC on the Upper West Side had craaazy giant (waist-high) concrete blocks all around it. A plant or two would've softened the look, to say the least.

I also think that with a planter like that, the flowers have to match the scale. Those pansies (or whatever they are) look positively Lilliputian.

Filled with red Canna's for the summer would be cool.

It would look so much better if the plans were bigger.

not that i'd ever look at this thing twice but...

you'd have to find a way to put a false bottom in it or something - otherwise it would require a truckload of soil and be insanely heavy. my issue with (more manageable and attractive) big pots in the first place.

I like the size of the planters, but think these particular planters look cheap somehow.

I agree. They look like they were just painted home depot planters.

I just purchased some amazing oversized planters at http://www.urbnat.com.

I have a small home that I just rennovated in Venice, CA and the two minimalist bowls that I purchased really made a huge impact.