Design Spotlight: Avian Brick Homes

It seems to be becoming more and more popular to design sustainable architecture and develop more resiliency in urban ecosystems. Hopefully this becomes more of a way of life rather than a fad, as providing living spaces for the creatures that have lost their habitats to human activities is very important. UK-based designer Chooi-leng Tan has taken the approach of integrating avian habitats directly into new construction in the form of special bricks.

These modular pieces can be stacked or arranged together in various and specific ways to create new homes for urban birds and insects. These come in three different shapes and provide access to water and food which can be placed within the brick's basin. Not only can these bricks provide habitats for birds and insects, you can also place plants within them as well.

However, not much information seems to be provided on the plans for upkeep of these. Is there a designated water-er? But nonetheless it's great to see designers thinking about our fine feathered friends!

~ James
Garden Media Group


* February is National Bird Feeding Month! and in honor of that our featured gift for GMG's Lucky 13 giveaway this month is the Squirrel Slammer Wild Bird Feeder from Perky Pet®! Like us on Facebook for more information and a chance to win!

Demolition turned Delight

The environmentally-minded designers at Barcelona firm Capella Garcia Arquitectura take the idea of “green living” to heart. Their latest project is a makeover of an unsightly building demolition.

The progress at Green Side Wall

Completed in March, the “Green Side-Wall,” promoted by the Barcelona City Council, is a foray into what the firm has christened “vegitecture,” or a vertical garden with emphasis on the structure's original architecture.

The main material responsible for bringing a breath of fresh air to the residential area: 
Plants—oxygen-producing, living green that cascades down the once plain wall.

What if all buildings of the future look like this?

Read more via Good Magazine here or on Capella's site here.
-Katie @KatieGMG

Urban farming meets Cyber-Gardening

Image via EcoLogicStudio

A decaying fishing industry in the Baltic sea and two digitally obsessed architects from EcoLogicStudio have created an interactive exhibit, "The Hanging Algae Garden," aimed at educating people about the benefits of algae.

GOOD describes how this interactive exhibit works: 

Image via EcoLogicStudio

"Each bag connects to a blow-tube, where visitors can exhale to feed the system carbon dioxide and help the plants grow. Using smartphones, participants in this strange experiment scan QR codes on each bag to discover information about the nine different types of algae, and can tweet about their actions. The digital engagement is mapped out on a nearby screen in real-time, a 3D visualization referred to by the project's creators as a "cyber-garden" that demonstrates the evolution of the ecosystem and the relationship between plants and humans." 

Claudia Pasquero, who helped create the exhibit says "the project makes you think about farming and gardening, but there is another level where knowledge can be disseminated and exchanged, and it's a virtual cultivation of knowledge."  

Read more about how the physical and virtual worlds collide here. And let's discuss, do you think this is a good teaching tool for how we can help effect the growth of plants?
@KatieGMG Garden Media Group