Foret de Poche: Breathing Nature into Urban Green Architecture

In an age of rapid urbanization and dwindling green spaces, Foret de Poche emerges as a vital response to the environmental and emotional disconnect of modern cities. This award-winning urban installation redefines urban green architecture by integrating nature into everyday public experiences through a multi-sensory, sustainable module.

Designed by Sehr Gupta and Anita Stankova, Foret de Poche—or Pocket Forest—was a People's Choice Award entry for Elevate 2019. It offers a hyperlocal intervention that addresses both environmental degradation and human alienation in megacities like London. The project proposes an accessible, self-sufficient green module that not only provides a breath of fresh air in congested urban landscapes but also produces its own electricity, thus setting a precedent in climate-responsive design.

Reviving Micro-Climates in Urban Cores

Set within dense metropolitan frameworks, Foret de Poche acts as an urban oxygen chamber. It facilitates the creation of micro-climates within the public realm—along busy sidewalks, at waterfronts, or in neglected plazas—transforming them into green urban sanctuaries. Through curated plantings and strategic form, the design nurtures biodiversity, filters air, and improves local thermal comfort.

A Multisensory Urban Experience

The project engages all five senses, encouraging deeper emotional and physical interaction with nature. Its dense vegetative surfaces are textured and aromatic, inviting tactile exploration and olfactory memory. By elevating environmental awareness through sensory experience, the module instills mindfulness about pollution and the critical role of natural ecosystems.

A Framework for Sustainable City Planning

Supported by a contextual urban analysis of London’s public spaces, the proposal strategically intervenes in areas marked by social isolation, pollution, and low safety. The design encourages community interaction and socio-spatial comfort by creating visually and physically open spaces. It embodies three key values of urban green architecture:

• Accessibility: Strategically placed in underserved public zones.
• Sociability: Serves as a meeting point, reconnecting individuals.
• Self-Sufficiency: Generates energy and maintains ecological balance independently.

Toward a Greener Urban Future

Foret de Poche is not just a module—it's a movement towards human-centric and eco-conscious urban planning. As cities grow denser and more disconnected from nature, such adaptive and sensory urban green architecture becomes essential in restoring balance. It turns neglected corners into living systems that breathe, respond, and sustain—both ecologically and emotionally.

This project exemplifies how small-scale interventions, when rooted in experience, ecology, and empathy, can become powerful tools for transforming the urban fabric. By combining aesthetics with sustainability, Foret de Poche offers a replicable model for future-forward, green-integrated cities.