Bird Bus Stop
I forget if I’ve already blogged this, but it’s worth reblogging.
Sunken Alcove Garden, New Zealand
photo via besttravelphotos
These vegetated surfaces don’t just look pretty. They have other benefits as well, including cooling city blocks, reducing loud noises, and improving a building’s energy efficiency.What’s more, a recent modeling study shows that green walls can potentially reduce large amounts of air pollution in what’s called a “street canyon,” or the corridor between tall buildings.
For the study, Thomas Pugh, a biogeochemist at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, and his colleagues created a computer model of a green wall with generic vegetation in a Western European city. Then they recorded chemical reactions based on a variety of factors, such as wind speed and building placement.
The simulation revealed a clear pattern: A green wall in a street canyon trapped or absorbed large amounts of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter—both pollutants harmful to people, said Pugh. Compared with reducing emissions from cars, little attention has been focused on how to trap or take up more of the pollutants, added Pugh, whose study was published last year in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
That’s why the green-wall study is “putting forward an alternative solution that might allow [governments] to improve air quality in these problem hot spots,” he said.Compared with reducing emissions from cars, little attention has been focused on how to trap or take up more of the pollutants, added Pugh, whose study was published last year in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
That’s why the green-wall study is “putting forward an alternative solution that might allow [governments] to improve air quality in these problem hot spots,” he said.
I’ll take 3, please
Mathieu Lehanneur + JCDecaux
Escale Numérique, 2012
Digital service station at the Rond Point des Champs-Elysées providing wifi, complete with green roof, digital touchscreen and concrete swivel chairs.
Woods of Net pavilion is a fun way for kids to develop their sense of balance and appreciation of colors
(Source: pulmonaire)
Roads Cover 4.8 square miles of Manhattan
Howler and Yoon, winners of the Audi Urban Future Award image a NYC where roads become soccer fields and solar panels.
Before and after.
A three-story vertical farm designed as urban infill, Vertical Harvest will prove a model for similar urban agriculture projects throughout the world.
This project combines an innovative hydroponic system with a carousel that moves plants from artificial to natural light, cutting down on energy costs.
