Jakob Rope Systems

Bentley Bay
South Beach, Florida, USA

Project Details

Location
South Beach, Florida, USA

BENTLEY BAY – Right on the shore of Biscayne Bay on the approach to South Beach, you will find two 25-story condominium towers, Bentley Bay, rise in sail-like elegance.

At one end of the “yacht” is the complex’s three-story covered parking garage, where Arquitectonica designed an intriguing three-wall celebration of Florida tropics by employing Jakob Rope Systems

To provide an initial impact as a counterpoint to the strong horizontal lines of the towers, like stripes on sails, the architects designed a faux-bamboo effect with white-painted steel pipes arranged in random, varied and slightly off-vertical placement. The bamboo segmented joints are mimicked by the pipe braces. These pipes also double in appearance as the trunks of palms, whose fronds of real palm trees wave above the roof of the garage structure. The total effect is pleasing and unique.

Behind the “bamboo”, the green wall rises from the first level of the garage to the roof of the third level in continuous Webnet Wire Mesh

With naturally climbing plants rooted at the base of the structure, the three-wall wire mesh (and a portion of the fourth wall) will provide an easily gripped grid on which the vines will rise to maturity as a literal, natural green wall through which fresh air will still breeze, but will offer an interior of subtle green shade to dampen the sometimes harsh Florida sunlight and temperature.

The mesh is anchored at the first level and at every intervening level to the roof of the third level. Otherwise, the mesh is free to flex with the breeze to emphasize this living green wall.

Webnet wire mesh is available in a range of wire rope diameters, 1.0mm, 1.5mm, 2.0mm and 3.0mm and with wire mesh diamond apertures of 20mm to 180mm. Each corner of the aperture is secured by a stainless steel sleeve, sized to the chosen wire diameter, which prevents the wires from knotting or crossing over one another at intersections. This preserves and enhances the service life of the mesh and is virtually maintenance-free over its life.

By contrast, chain link, which also sustains load stresses, is wrapped and kinked multiple times over the length of every wire, weakening wire integrity until it ultimately fails under the stress.

Webnet wire mesh and wire rope can be delivered in its natural, stainless steel color, or it can be black anodized or galvanized. It will also accept NCS and RAL colors. Any of the above coating and paint configurations can be specified and delivered ready to assemble. It is UV and weather resistant.

Some design benefits can be mentioned, while immature plants are still growing, the exposed mesh above the plant mass is virtually invisible. Assembly is easily accomplished. Wire mesh can be attached to virtually any surface that will, itself, bear the load of the lightweight mesh and the plants growing through it. Since the mesh is so flexible, even at the mesh intersections, it can follow the contour of architectural features with near-exacting precision.

The green wall of Webnet wire mesh at the Bentley Bay condominium project is a design, engineering, assembly, and environmental success story.

Products and Design Files

Project Resource Files

Green Solutions
Bentley Bay