What is Living Architecture?

Someone on Twitter recently asked me about living architecture. So, what is Living Architecture? Well, what is architecture?  Google tells me that it is the ‘art or practice of designing and constructing buildings.’  By extension, then, living architecture could be defined as the practice of integrating vegetation into the design and construction of the built

Living Wall Prezi

I recently experimented with the innovative presentation tool called Prezi.  This is an amazing way to visualize presentations, get the bigger picture, and allow for a less linear look.  This is a presentation I made last week outlining the basics about living walls “Introduction to Living Walls” Let me know what you think.  If the

Getting ‘Sustainably’ Involved in Saint Louis

I like St. Louis, although it’s not my hometown.  I did not grow up here.  I can’t answer ‘the high school question‘ with a name St. Louis natives can readily recognize.  In the name of graduate school at SIUE (studying Environmental Sciences, living walls, green roofs, etc.),  I left my home in southwest Missouri and

Shaw Summer

It’s the first day of summer and I volunteered again at Shaw Nature Reserve.  It got hot quickly, so I spent the morning doing a couple assigned tasks and then stopped for the day.  Anyway, I was near the demonstration rain garden in the Whitmire Wildflower Garden. Forget a cubicle; this should be my office!

Your wall should be alive!

You’re likely reading this from within the walls of your home or business.  If you are reading this outside, you’re likely not far from a building or any other man-made structure.  People spend 90% of their time inside.  And 82% of the people in the U.S. reside in urban or suburban areas.  Urban areas have

A Green Retaining Wall

During my studies at SIUE, I was introduced to innovative technologies that are designed to address urban environmental problems.  Green roofs, blue roofs, green walls, rain gardens, bioswales, etc. can help mitigate stormwater runoff and/or the Urban Heat Island Effect (UHIE).  I conducted  my thesis project on a specific kind of green wall, a green

The Nature of an Urban Jungle

Urban Centers Now There is nothing natural about an urban setting. Seas of pavement. Forests of street lamps, street signs, and leafless telephone poles. Savannas of symmetrical parks, manicured lawns and perfect -unnaturally perfect- ornamental trees. Rivers of highway back-logged with cars and freighters. Mountains of brick, concrete, wood, and glass built to shield us