NonA Weekly: GREEN ON THE INSIDE
Image by @SWR-Kindernetz
Hi there!
Indoor gardens can contribute important benefits to home living, ranging from aesthetic beauty to improved health and productivity. Research has shown that indoor plants help eliminate indoor air pollutants called Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) that emanate from adhesives, furnishings, clothing, and solvents, and are known to cause illnesses. They also increase subjective perceptions of concentration and satisfaction, as well as objective measures of productivity. Indoor gardens may even reduce energy use and costs because of the reduced need for air circulation. These benefits complement the obvious aesthetic advantages of a well-designed garden, making the indoor garden an attractive residential feature on several fronts.
This week we are moving the discussion to themes such as Biodiversity & Interior design and Artificial Ecosystems, House plants & Pets.
1. HOW TO INCORPORATE GARDENS IN HOME DESIGN
Indoor gardens require many conditions to ensure that they grow smoothly. These conditions also vary depending on the type of plant(s) being grown and the methods in which they are displayed. To address these considerations, ARCHDAILY has compiled an introductory list of requirements, common plant types, and display methods.
2. 5 CHARACTERISTICS OF ARTIFICIAL ECOSYSTEM
This short ARTICLE describes some of the major important characteristics of an artificial ecosystem.
3. INTERIOR DESIGN DECLARES CLIMATE AND BIODIVERSITY EMERGENCY
For everyone working in construction and the built environment, meeting the needs of our societies without breaching the earth’s ECOLOGICAL boundaries will demand a paradigm shift in our behaviour. If we are to reduce and eventually reverse the environmental damage we are causing, we will need to re-imagine our buildings, cities and infrastructures as indivisible components of a larger, constantly regenerating and self-sustaining system.
4. CLIMATE DECLARATION FROM INTERIOR DESIGN SECTOR CALLS FOR ‘PARADIGM SHIFT’ IN BEHAVIOUR
A group of influential interior design practices have joined forces to launch ‘Interior Design Declares’, as part of Construction Declares, calling on everyone working in the design and construction industry to adopt a paradigm shift in behaviour over climate CHANGE.
5. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NATURAL & ARTIFICIAL ECOSYSTEMS
An ecosystem can be defined as a large, highly interconnected area of the planet that is composed of several different biotic and abiotic components. A good example of an ecosystem would be an entire forest or mountain range. Watch this VIDEO to understand more about this.
6. CAN ARTIFICIAL ECOSYSTEMS ENHANCE LOCAL BIODIVERSITY?
Constructed wetlands are considered a successful tool to treat wastewater in many countries: their success is mainly assessed by observing the rate of pollution reduction, but constructed wetlands can also contribute to the conservation of ECOSYSTEM services.
7. HOW (AND WHY) TO LET WEATHER INTO YOUR BUILDINGS
Bringing the weather inside is usually the opposite of what you want from a building envelope. However, new research from the University of Oregon aims to show the physical and psychological benefits of letting nature inside. With this in mind, HERE are 6 projects that bring nature inside.
8. HOW CAN WE CO-EXIST WITH ANIMALS?
As architects and planners, we design for people. Human needs have always defined what we imagined, what we drew and what we built. Today climate change casts a shadow of doubt on our civilisation being so self-centred. However, can ‘GREEN’ ideology, as we know it, embrace the whole complexity of that conflict?
Stay creative and see you all next week!
Daniela
