To make the production of its hybrid Prius that much greener, Toyota has engineered two new plant species that absorb harmful gases and help take heat out of the atmosphere. It’s a move straight out of science fiction, but it’s not the first time the automaker has played God to help lower its carbon footprint. The grass around its Tsutsumi plant in Toyota City, Japan was developed to grow shorter — requiring cutting only once per year, compared with three times for the previous species. From Drive.com.au,
The flowers, derivatives of the cherry sage plant and the gardenia, were specially developed for the grounds of Toyota’s Prius plant in Toyota City, Japan. The sage derivative’s leaves have unique characteristics that absorb harmful gases, while the gardenia’s leaves create water vapour in the air, reducing the surface temperature of the factory surrounds and, therefore, reducing the energy needed for cooling, in turn producing less carbon dioxide (CO2).
Other green initiatives at the plant include roof-mounted solar panels, photocatalytic paint on exterior walls, reflective solar tubes that provide interior light, bathroom lights that automatically turn off, and reduced air conditioning.
When you were a kid, did you ever dream up the goal of one day building the largest treehouse ever? For Horrace Burgess in Tennessee, that dream became a reality with this gargantuan structure that features 11 floors and more than 8,000 sq.ft. of real estate. From ZuZuTop,
The greatness of Horrace Burgess treehouse is not subject to the tree on which it is based alone though. As it turns out, while the tree in question does contribute something to the height of the treehouse, the owner’s efforts also go a long way towards this greatness possible. The tree’s contribution to the 97 foot edifice is only 80 feet, so that the other 17 feet on top of the basic 80 foot are from Horrace’s sheer effort. To be sure, we can’t begrudge the base tree of a claim to greatness too: a tree towering at 80 feet in height and with a diameter of over 12 feet is a real wonder.
Incredibly enough, Burgess isn’t done yet. This whole project, which he estimates to have cost north of $12,000, is still a work in progress. Tower of Babylon anyone?
We’ve seen ambitious treehouse projects before — but this is the first one that was the result of a clever marketing campaign. The idea behind this gorgeous design was to find and contact all those involved in the project using only the New Zealand Yellow Pages. The process was then blogged about and updated for all the world to see — resulting in a gorgeous restaurant high above the forest floor. From concept to reality took only 66-days. It opened earlier this year to a flood of bookings — and now the owners are considering renting it out for private events and functions. From the architect,
The concept is driven by the ‘enchanted’ site which is raised above an open meadow and meandering stream on the edge of the woods. The tree-house concept is reminiscent of childhood dreams and playtime, fairy stories of enchantment and imagination . It’s inspired through many forms found in nature -the chrysalis/cocoon protecting the emerging butterfly/moth, perhaps an onion/garlic clove form hung out to dry. It is also seen as a lantern, a beacon at night that simply glows yet during the day it might be a semi camouflaged growth, or a tree fort that provides an outlook and that offers refuge.The plan form also has loose similarities to a sea shell with the open ends spiraling to the center.
To learn more about the treehouse restaurant, jump here.
Looking like something out of a science-fiction movie, the concept for a proposed algae farm and vertical garden on the outside of an old Boston historical building is drawing some big attention.
The pods, which are prefabricated and designed to be interlocking, contain algae-incubators on the inside and plants on the outside. The architects for the project would use the old Filene’s Basement site in Boston’s Downtown Crossing as a temporary home for research and biofuel production. The city planners, meanwhile, would have plenty of time to work through the red tape of zoning, financial, and legal webs for any permanent ideas. From the article,
The pods, which are used as incubators for growing algae for biofuel, can be configured in several ways depending on the needs of a given site. Individual pods can also be rented out by researchers for algae-based projects, according to Howeler Yoon. The spaces that form between the attached pods allow for planting and creating a vertical garden.
What do you think? Would you want something like this in your city? I think it’s a pretty wild project that might give us a glimpse of permanent vertical gardens in buildings years from now. For others, however, such a radical shift in architecture might be less than pleasing. Still, better to take advantage of something just sitting there, right?
Continuing on our post from yesterday about the living root bridges of India, we present to you this beautiful creation now celebrating 10 years.
Started in 1999 by architect Marcel Kalberer and a group of 300 volunteers, the Auerworld Willow Palace is a canopy of strategically-placed trees woven together. The project was based on ancient techniques used in both Mesopotamian and European structures. The Willow Palace has proven so popular, that it is now the focal point of “Full Moon” celebrations that draw thousands.
Since Kalberer began creating natural structures back in 1984, he’s helped design more than 70 additional projects throughout Europe — and inspired thousands more willow designs around the world. For more photos, jump here.
In what’s a beautiful example of using nature without destroying it, a region in India (one of the wettest in the world) has over hundreds of years “grown” bridges. Using the secondary roots of a rubber tree called Ficus elastica, villagers have trained them into crossing rivers and creating a “living” bridge. A blogger explains the process saying,
In order to make a rubber tree’s roots grow in the right direction — say, over a river — the Khasis use betel nut trunks, sliced down the middle and hollowed out, to create root-guidance systems. The thin, tender roots of the rubber tree, prevented from fanning out by the betel nut trunks, grow straight out. When they reach the other side of the river, they’re allowed to take root in the soil. Given enough time, a sturdy, living bridge is produced.
As expected, the bridges take some 10-15 years to become usable. As a testament to their strength over time, however, some in the region are over 500 years old and capable of supporting 50 or more people at once.
When you hear the words “rain collector”, the first thing that probably comes to mind are of barrels next to gutters. A company called Second Rain, however, thought that there might be a more aesthetic way to capture water — and as they say on their site “No offense to rain barrels, but they’re not easy to sit on.”
Hence, their multi-use rainwater collection system was born. Each “box of rain” holds about 40 gallons of water and is made from durable, 98% recycled premium grade HDPE plastic (2% is UV & color additive). They are also modular (so you can easily connect another unit) and include liner, fittings, adapters, valve, and tubing needed to connect to a garden hose.
Obviously, the greatest benefit to using a second rain system is that you can easily hide it within a patio. The demonstration design on their homepage shows that such a setup can store 495 gallons of water.
The major downside is that each of these boxes costs $299 — which for a 40 gallon capacity is quite expensive. You’re obviously paying more for the modular and aesthetic options this system gives you. But for those that want a certain look, perhaps Second Rain might be just the product they’re looking for.
We’ve all seen the terrible destruction caused by tornadoes — the homes, communities, and lives uprooted. In May of 2007, those images were played out on television screens worldwide when an estimate F5 tornado ripped through the town of Greensburg, Kansas leveling 95% of it. In the wake of this act of nature, the community resolved to rebuild green and become the first city in the nation to have all city buildings conform to LEED-Platinum specifications.
Of course, part of their “going green” also included ways to avoid future cataclysmic damage from tornadoes. Yesterday, a company called Armour Homes demonstrated how their Silo-Eco designs can withstand winds in excess of 200mph — the average force of an F5 tornado. To do this, they took a 1980 Honda Civic, strung it up 60ft above one of their new buildings in Greensburg, and dropped it. The 160 thousand pounds of impact force didn’t even put a dent in the building. From their website,
A round house has 15% less outside wall exposed to the elements than a box house per square foot. Wind passes around instead of building up pressure as on a straight wall, allowing for much higher wind ratings. The most important component is the roof. Traditional builders have improved construction methods of exterior walls, but still frame the roofs with lumber, which leads to the most common point of failure in fires and high winds. With our round design, we can achieve a concrete arched roof with no interior supports that completes a truly hardened, low maintenance exterior shell that any turtle would be proud of.
Sounds like a great building choice for anyone cosidering settling down in “Tornado Alley”. You can see more pictures and floor plans of their homes here.
When you think about it, parking lots are useful for only one things: cars. There’s very little in the way that benefits anything else. They’re almost like artificial deserts — nothing grows, it’s barren, and moisture is whisked away through a system of gutters and sewers. Most parking lots I know are somewhat busy from 9am-5pm on weekdays — and empty for the most part in-between. The only exception might be the holiday buying season when cars seem to overflow from every corner.
And we devote an insane amount of land to parking. According to a study, if you took all of the parking spaces in the Los Angeles Central Business District and spread them horizontally in a surface lot, they would cover 81 percent of the CBD’s land area. Now imagine instead if all that land could function for both parking and as a green space.
A couple years ago, a landscape architect named Veenu Jayaram presented a thesis addressing parking lots (particularly in Los Angeles) and how they might better serve the planet and people. Her idea was to create a space that might function as a parking space during the work day — and a green space/sports/farmers market area for the off hours. The simple incorporation of trees (something that’s finally starting to happen more) is especially important for providing shade and improving air quality. Jayaram also suggested laying “permeable and alternate paving” solutions that might reduce water runoff and support some additional greenery. The use of solar overhangs (something that Google currently uses in its lots) would also help create energy for office buildings, lights, or other uses.
I encourage you to visit Land+Living and take a look at her diagrams. What’s fascinating about them is how simple such ideas would be to implement. Imagine a Target parking lot that not only has spaces for customers, but also features small community gardens, benches, trees, and solar arrays. It’s something bizarre to visualize — but damn it would beautiful.
Do you know of a parking lots design that’s similar to the above? Would love to hear if any communities/businesses have tried this very thing.
Check out this website, Awnings Today. I wonder if it’s time awnings get a little attention for their ability to save you some green while you are more green.
Any of you readers have any experience with awnings?
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To make the production of its hybrid Prius that much greener, Toyota has engineered two new plant species that absorb harmful gases and help take heat out of the atmosphere. It’s a move straight out of science fiction, but it’s not the first time the automaker has played God to help lower its carbon footprint. The grass around its Tsutsumi plant in Toyota City, Japan was developed to grow shorter — requiring cutting only once per year, compared with three times for the previous species. From Drive.com.au, 
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