Skyscraper Farms and Edible Walls - Living Architecture

I have been looking for greater amounts of information verticle farms, and edible walls, and came across this image. The ideas of habitat take green roofs, and green walls a step further. See the video below:

Singapore A Model to Follow

In class on Tuesday we watched the following video and were asked to write about what inspired us, or repelled us, etc. As I watched the video again and thought about the amazing things they have been able to accomplish in Singapore, it added that much more hope for similar results here.

In the US we have a long way to go, but I can see and feel the momentum building. (Watch the video below)

I mentioned momentum, because these ideas are shared by thousands of individuals across the country, and pin pricks of urban acupuncture are cropping up all over the country. A few weeks ago I didn't know what a green wall was, and actually saw one in real life being utilized in California.

It is awesome to see the changes happening everywhere, and as the evidence builds that these changes are improvements and cost effective they will get routed deeply into our culture, where as now they are only seeds and chutes cropping up here and there. 

Again while in California I saw everything from green roofs to green walls to organic greens, bike paths, walkable communities and so much more. And the hardest part to participate in this movement is the start. So as I often quote, Just Do It. Start biking, start recycling, start eating better by growing your own garden, walk to the store, plan a hike, or have an outdoor party with the neighbor. Reconnect with nature!

At the end of the Signapore Prime Minister's life they looked back on his legacy, a legacy of reconnecting people with nature. What will your legacy be? What things will you leave behind, or make better for those to follow? The changes we make today can affect us, and will affect our posterity. I hear all the time "work today for a better tomorrow," but I say work today for a better today and tomorrow will be brighter as well!

All of the things we see in this video are possible, after all the video and the city of Singapore is proof. Let us catch that spirit and cultivate it here in our communities by adding more pin pricks of urban acupuncture to our neighborhoods, and streets. The road to our future starts with a single step!

Find out more of what you can do here: UrbanStrategies.com

Green Walls

I've heard of (and studied) green roofs, at this point I think everyone has at least heard of them once in their lives. In class on Tuesday I heard a new term that strangely I had never thought of or heard before: green walls.

The term "green walls" includes all vegetated wall surface types. And green façades, living walls, retaining living walls, biowalls, vertical gardens, modular green walls, vegetated mat wall are all types or other names for green walls.

I am not sure why I felt the idea so revolutionary, when it would have been so easy to take the green roof idea and move it down to the walls or even the floor. (Yeah I said it green floors, talk about really being surrounded by nature in it's original state! Wake up in the morning and your feet fall upon warm grass. This isn't me advocating the idea only taking the existing and connecting it to other similar areas.)

As I searched for more information on green walls the first several results, outside of wikipedia's green walls page, were all commercial companies completely ignoring the real benefits of having green walls. They listed things like: "There is no better way to brand your company as being "Green" than with a beautiful Living Green Wall by Ambius." If you want to be superficial that is probably who you should use to build your new green wall.

To their defense they did state a few other benefits to having a green wall, just on other pages:

• Plants look attractive
• Provide a pleasant and tranquil environment
• Plants help reduce stress - "We experience less stress when there are plants around us."
• Buildings are more stimulating and interesting
• "People in offices [with green walls] are more productive, take fewer sick days, make fewer mistakes."
• "Patients in hospitals benefit greatly from being more in touch with nature."
• "There is even evidence showing students perform better in improved learning environments."
• Plants improve air quality

Green walls or interior plants also help with:

• Reducing carbon dioxide levels
• Increasing humidity
• Reducing levels of certain pollutants, such as benzene and nitrogen dioxide
• Reducing airborne dust levels
• Keeping air temperatures down
• Plants help lower background noise

(I am using this information from ambius.com, and a lot of their information can at least in part be supported in the article "The Effect of Indoor Foliage Plants on Health and Discomfort Symptoms among Office Workers")

The best list of benefits I was able to find came from, the Green Roof's website page: (See their page for more information on each benefit)

• Aesthetic Improvements
• Reduction of the Urban Heat Island Effect
• Improved Exterior Air Quality
• Local Job Creation
• Improved Energy Efficiency
• Building Structure Protection
• Improved Indoor Air Quality
• Noise Reduction
• Marketing Potential
• Increased Biodiversity
• Improved Health and Well-Being
• Urban Agriculture
• Onsite Wastewater Treatment

To close my post, I ask you and me to think about what other current ideas we have, and how can we expand them into other areas?