5 Unconventional Ways Architects Are Creating Buildings That Truly Live
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📰 The quick summary: Architects and designers are exploring five unusual techniques to integrate plants into buildings, moving beyond traditional green walls to create structures that grow, compost, or naturally develop vegetation over time.
📈 One key stat: Patrick Blanc’s green wall at the Athenaeum hotel in London creates such a lush environment that butterflies visit the flowers in summer, bringing biodiversity to one of the busiest streets in central London.
💬 One key quote: “It’s worth remembering that we don’t have to design green buildings; given enough time, they will happen anyway.“
1️⃣ The big picture: Innovative architects are pushing beyond conventional green walls to find more integrated ways of merging vegetation with buildings. These approaches include structures built with living trees that continue to grow, platforms constructed within established trees, buildings designed to decompose and nourish their surroundings, and even conceptual designs for entire cities reimagined as plant-building hybrids. These experimental techniques challenge our understanding of architecture as static and explore how buildings might become truly living systems. Rather than simply decorating buildings with plants, these approaches fundamentally reconsider the relationship between construction and nature.
2️⃣ Why is this good news: These innovative green building techniques represent a significant shift toward truly sustainable architecture that works with natural systems instead of against them. By allowing buildings to grow, decompose, or naturally develop vegetation, they create structures that can absorb carbon, increase biodiversity, and potentially reduce the need for environmentally harmful building materials. These approaches draw inspiration from indigenous building techniques that have prioritized natural materials for centuries. Green buildings can create healthier urban environments by improving air quality, providing natural cooling, and creating habitats for insects and other wildlife – all while satisfying our innate desire to connect with nature.
3️⃣ What’s next: Architects must continue refining these experimental approaches to address practical challenges like electrical installation and irrigation in living buildings. More research into the structural capabilities of growing plants will help determine their viability for larger construction projects. Public acceptance of less controlled, more organically developing buildings needs to grow to make these innovative approaches mainstream.
Read the full story here: The Conversation – Five unusual ways to make buildings greener (literally)
