I was recently reading about a shopping mall in Toronto that is going to expand also including a sustainable food court and a green roof and I asked to myself: "Are there many shopping malls using green roof as a sustainable (and I think very stylish) way to control their energy consumption?" I made a quick search and I found that in 2008 in Upper Providence, Pennsylvania, a 400,000-square-foot shopping mall installed a 2.3 acre  green roof to prevent storm water runoff. It seemed to me centuries ago, and a very remote location for something that even in 2011 looks like science fiction.

But the most amazing example of a green shopping mall is the Siam Paragon Shopping Mall in Bangkok, Thailand, designed by the world known Patrick Blanc in 2005. The Siam Paragon shopping center in features a lush, rainforest-like cascade of ferns, vines, sedum and moss in various shades of green, yellow, red and purple. The greenery surrounds the building’s 6-story elevator shaft to dazzling effect, enjoying all the shopping mall visitors for a great sustainable shopping experience. (Image via: Pseangsong + pingmag)