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Workshops and classes specifically on climate change and how the world is having to adapt to it.

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As prices increase and resources become more scarce - simple living will need to become more normalised. Although communities can still thrive whilst managing supplies and costs by pooling and sharing resources - food, tools, technology, furniture, energy, repair services, social services etc.

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Floating Islands to maintain housing whilst flooding and sea levels increase

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Journal of Engineering and Applied Science 68, Article number: 20 (2021) Cite this article

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Abstract

Construction materials contribute to environmental pollution and the impoverishment of natural raw materials. The villages of Upper Egypt were exposed to high thermal loads owing to their geographical location. Moreover, the current building materials do not comply with the principles of sustainability and environmental adaptation of the residents of these buildings. Therefore, attaining admission to one sustainable building material in Upper Egypt and using it as an environmentally compatible, inexpensive, accessible, and easy building material for the users of these blocks is essential. In this study, the author selected various sites in Upper Egypt, analyzed climate and urban data, and after that, suggested prototypes with many variables and measured using the DesignBuilder V5 computer simulation program to select an optimal building type. Reached that can be saved energy about 40:50% and decreased annual discomfort hours more than 50%, finally, discussed with community members by a questionnaire on societal acceptance. The research concluded that building with compressed stabilized earth block is an environmentally sustainable solution applied in residential areas in the villages of Upper Egypt to reduce deficiencies in environmental adaptation.

Introduction

Environmental problems are central in the consciousness of researchers. Buildings and their materials are an essential part of the architectural product and have received much attention for preparing sustainable natural materials.

Soil has been a major component of buildings since antiquity, used in 6000 BC as a building material in Mesopotamian civilizations, the Tibetan and Andean in Peru, in the fertile valleys in China and Thebes in Egypt. Therefore, thousands of years ago, people lived sustainably, in accord with nature, and respected and benefited from it. However, construction using reinforced concrete and burned bricks has extended to negative impacts on the environment.

Therefore, it is critical to produce environmentally friendly building materials and improve the characteristics of building materials, manufacturing, lower energy consumption, and simultaneously cut costs. Therefore, this study highlights the compressed stabilized earth block used in Upper Egypt villages as a solution to the problem of constructing housing units in these degraded areas [ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5].

The applied study was used to define areas as a case study. Thus, the research identified the analytical field area data and properties of the suggested material and deduced a set of variables measured according to their classification using a computer simulation program to find an optimal architectural model. Community members completed a questionnaire to examine the research hypothesis of the feasibility of construction using compressed stabilized earth block (CSEB) in the villages of Upper Egypt. Finally, the results are discussed, and recommendations are proposed.

Research aim and methodology

The research aim

investigates a sustainable building material for the construction of residential areas in Upper Egypt. Therefore how to use them as environmentally compatible, inexpensive, available, and easy to use materials. Furthermore, the study investigates the impact of these materials on the environmental adaptation of users of these areas.

Methodology

A research methodology was implemented to achieve the research objectives. First, qualitative research and analysis of the data were collected about construction using compressed stabilized earth block. Moreover, climate, urban, and building status of Upper Egypt villages. Then, qualitative and quantitative approach to suggested prototypes, its variables, and questionnaire. Analysis was used to identify the system through the data from the literature review, as well as knowing the degree of acceptance and satisfaction with this technology. The research limitations are Upper Egypt villages and CSEB as construction building materials.

Consequently, CSEB was identified as a low-cost and environmentally friendly material found in developing countries with hot climates or in tropical [ 6, 7].

It consists of a mixture (soil + fixing material, often 5% + water); stripped topsoil and only deep soils are used (Fig. 1) [ 8, 9].

The various components and stabilizers, such as Portland cement or lime, are mixed with clay soil and sand, with different percentages of mixing. The mold is compressed in the process (manual or automatic compression) and dried for 28 days; however, it does not burn [ 10, 11, 12] (CSEB = soil + water + stabilization (fixing material) (Table 1).

Table 1 Fixings used to improve soil properties in (CSEB) [13,14,15,16]

Natural building materials, such as soil in general and specially CSEB are an ideal solution in hot areas because of the thermal comfort and insulation of the soil and its low impact on the environment. Table 2 lists the advantages and disadvantages of the CSEB technique [ 17, 18, 19, 20].

Table 2 The advantages and disadvantages of using CSEB in construction [21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31]

Also by CSEB in constructions, it decreases carbon dioxide emission 2 to 7 times less than that of burned bricks (Fig. 2).

CO ₂ emission (KgCO ₂/m ³) comparison (fired brick/ CSEB) [ 32, 33]

Several buildings with different activities and designs in many hot-climate countries (not limited to developing countries) and clarifies the advantages of using the CSEB, Table 3 shows some examples.

Recently, the Egyptian Center for Housing and Building Research interested in CSEB as the best method for sustainable construction, especially in developing areas of state development efforts. The rise of prices for building materials has resulted in higher housing prices in Egypt, such as iron and cement. Therefore, Egypt adopted the Egyptian building code of CSEB [ 38].

Methods/experimental

Six villages were chosen from different governorates in Upper Egypt (Giza, Fayoum, Dahkla, Assuit, Aswan, and the Red Sea) as a case study, shown in Fig. 3.

Reasons to choose villages in Upper Egypt as a case study are as follows:

1. 1-
These villages are deprived, with challenges for economic growth are characterized by low construction standards and comfort for users and a lack of services and infrastructure.

2. 2-
With the increasing population of these villages, the need to provide low-cost construction materials for housing is an alternative to using traditional building materials.

3. 3-
Burned clay blocks remain the main construction material, even though it is a huge source of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) [ 39, 40].

4. 4-
In general, Upper Egypt is in the southern part of Egypt. The warm, arid climate provides a comfort zone for construction and urbanization. Overall, a lack of sustainability exists in the villages in Upper Egypt (socially, economically, and ecologically). Therefore, the Upper Egyptian villages were chosen as a case study [ 41]. Table 4 conclude its main data.

Climatic data for case studies was higher temperatures in summer reach 35-45 °C, whereas lower temperatures in winter can reach 15-20 °C, and rain is scarce [ 42] (Fig. 4).

The figure shows that most of the temperatures are outside the thermal comfort zone (shaded part).

The main building material in these villages is burned brick in most buildings in the village and wood and stones (Fig. 5).

The aim is to build and retrofit buildings in Upper Egypt using local and stronger materials to obtain a better thermal and esthetic shelter.

Method: After the analytical study, a set of variables was observed and evaluated using the alternative proposal design to arrive and an ideal suggested model.

Design variables: The variables chosen were reduced energy loads, thermal comfort, energy consumption, budget, lifecycle, and social acceptance. Table 5 shows the design parameters

Each variable was measured using either computer simulation or a questionnaire, depending on the variable type.

Simulations

The simulation program is DesignBuilder V5 and design proposal type as shown in Fig.11, Table 6.

Questionnaires

A sample is taken from the chosen community, and 20 questionnaires were distributed in each village.

Factors and variables, to research the drivers and barriers of CSEB building technology in Upper Egypt, with analytical, and not statistical, generalization. Questionnaire forms were filled out from the sample of the study population with semi-structured interviews. The issues under question were shown in Table 7.

Result

Simulation

The simulation program is DesignBuilder. All 84-simulation readings in six countries and two classes of readings were obtained from the annual energy consumption and annual thermal comfort indicators. The analysis is as shown in Table 8.

From Table 8, we conclude a better-proposed building model in each governorate, which achieved the least number of hours of thermal discomfort and less energy consumption. Figures 6 and 7 show the energy consumption in the model and the amount of energy saving.

Questionnaire

A sample was taken from the study community and 20 questionnaires were distributed in each village (quantitative method) to obtain the residents' ability to use CSEB construction as an alternative to the traditional building materials used in the region. Fig. 8.

Discussion

CSEB is an environmentally friendly substance with high thermal insulation properties and strength and durability, contributing to the thermal comfort of its users and enhancing the health of the population (indoor houses are cooler in summer and warmer in winter).

The model with code B ₁T ₂R ₂F ₂C ₁ includes CSEB with 5% cement, 24 cm wall thickness, a curved roof type, ground and one floor with a vertical courtyard position is achieves the best results in most governorates, which can be generalized in Upper Egypt and its results analyzed below in Table 9.

The residents' opinions were obtained regarding the proposed model and the results correlated with most of the sample (Fig. 9).

CSEB will have great potential in the future to build low to medium-cost housing and contribute to sustainable development and was accepted by the residents of the villages, as indicated in the results of the questionnaire.

Using this technology in the villages of Upper Egypt will achieve many advantages and benefits (economic, social, and environmental) and enhance urban development in the villages of Upper Egypt.

Conclusions

Compressed Stabilized Earth Block is one of the world strategies and trends towards back to nature to saving the planet, and producing zero-energy buildings, preserving the environment and quality of life.

The study proved that replacing the traditional building material with CSEB while fixing the other proposed variables in the six governorates in Upper Egypt under investigation reduced the thermal discomfort hours, raising the efficiency of the built environment and the Energy consumption decreased from 35 to 50%. Therefore, building with compressed stabilized earth block is an environmentally sustainable solution applied in residential areas in the villages of Upper Egypt to reduce deficiencies in environmental adaptation. Therefore, the research hypothesis is right.

The proposed design considerations, such as the wall thickness, the shape of the roof, and internal court position help to increase energy efficiency and reduce consumption. The best model with the code B ₁T ₂R ₂F ₂C ₁ (Fig. 7) is effective for the thermal comfort of users.

From the questionnaire analysis for residents, there was a great tendency towards adopting these new ideas in construction, the environmental and thermal impact of CSEB would positively affect user satisfaction rate at ~ 65%, due to currently environmental pollution. Some also supported the idea because it is economically, rising in housing prices in Egypt because of higher prices for building materials, such as iron and cement, which reflected resident, so The cheapness of CSEB and the ease of use had the greatest impact on its social acceptance, at a rate of ~ 75%.

Some were worried about maintenance, the rate at ~ 30% of people were concerned about the durability and its final look and needing a multistory building (more than 5 floors).

Land locations like Egypt's sandy desert soil are suitable construction materials and achieve sustainability.

The research concludes that the CSEB house is a promising passive solution for saving energy. The hot desert climate in Egypt has resulted in a decrease in energy demand of between 35% and 50%.

prefer CSEB houses because it has potential in energy saving, reduced maintenance and operating costs, lower environmental impact, construction efficiencies facing expansions and contractions in arid climates, dual land use with minimal visual impact because landscaped areas replacing the building leave better visual images, and lower noise. Furthermore, it has low carbon emissions, does not disturb the ecosystem, and is an adaptable subject and suitable for culture, customs, and traditions.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Change history

28 November 2021

A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1186/s44147-021-00048-2

Abbreviations

CSEB:

Compressed stabilized earth block

WWR:

Window wall ratio

R value:

Resists the flow of heat from the window or a complete wall or ceiling

SHGC :

The fraction of incident solar radiation admitted through a window

References

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Funding

This study had no funding from any resource.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Lecturer, Architectural Engineering Department, Pyramids higher Institute for Engineering and Technology Giza, Giza, Egypt

Walaa Hussein Hussein Hanafi

Contributions

Not applicable

Authors' information

'W.H' is an author: Architecture, environmental Design in Ain Shams University (BSc. MSc., PhD.), a member in Advisory Committee - Egypt Society of Energy Efficiency Engineers and Investors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Walaa Hussein Hussein Hanafi.

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Competing interests

The author declares that they have no competing interests

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Hanafi, W.H.H. Compressed stabilized earth block: environmentally sustainable alternative for villages housing. J. Eng. Appl. Sci. 68, 20 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s44147-021-00017-9
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Keywords

Compressed stabilized earth block

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Compressed stabilized earth block: environmentally sustainable alternative for villages housing - Journal of Engineering and Applied Science

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Construction materials contribute to environmental pollution and the impoverishment of natural raw materials. The villages of Upper Egypt were exposed to high thermal loads owing to their geographical location. Moreover, the current building materials do not comply with the principles of sustainability and environmental adaptation of the residents of these buildings.

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Ever heard of mycelium? No? Neither had we. This innovative product is produced quickly, compostable and being tested in a variety of structural ways.

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I'm standing in a seemingly ordinary construction site of an unremarkable office block in east London. The seven-storey building is about two-thirds complete - the basic structure and staircases are in place, with plastering and wiring just beginning. But as I walk around, something different slowly reveals itself. The construction site is quiet and clean - it even smells good. And there's an awful lot of wood. Building sites typically feature wood as the mould to pour the concrete into. But here, the wood is the concrete.

"Because a timber building weighs 20% of a concrete building, the gravitational load is vastly reduced," enthuses Andrew Waugh, the architect, who shows me around. "That means we need minimal foundations, we don't need massive amounts of concrete in the ground. We have a timber core, timber walls and timber floor slabs - so we reduce the amount of steel down to a bare minimum." Steel is typically used to form the main internal supports or to reinforce concrete in most large modern buildings. In this wooden building, however, there are relatively few steel sections. Those that remain are bolted together like a Meccano set, to be easily taken apart at the end of (or during) the building's life. "If you wanted to put a staircase right here," says Waugh, pointing to the ceiling, "you unscrew that [steel] beam there, get a chainsaw and cut a hole in the timber [floor]."

Our dependency on concrete and steel to build everything from homes to sports stadiums, comes at a severe environmental cost. Concrete is responsible for 4-8% of the world's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Second only to water, it is the most widely used substance on Earth, accounting for around 85% of all mining and linked to an alarming depletion of the world's sand. Globally, enough concrete is poured each year to cover the whole of England.
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Some architects such as Waugh are therefore arguing for - and pressing ahead with - a return to wood as our primary building material. Wood from managed forestry actually stores carbon as opposed to emitting it: as trees grow, they absorb CO2 from the atmosphere. As a rule of thumb, a cubic metre of wood contains around a tonne of CO2 (more or less, depending on the species of tree) - which is similar to 350 litres of gasoline.

Not only does wood remove more CO2 from the atmosphere than it adds through manufacture, but by replacing carbon-intensive materials such as concrete or steel it doubles its contribution to lowering CO2. A recent advisory report to the UK government on the uses of "Biomass in a low-carbon economy" found that, "the greatest levels of [greenhouse gas] abatement from biomass currently occur when wood is used as a construction material... to both store carbon and displace high carbon cement, brick and steel."

Between 15% and 28% of new homes built in the UK annually use timber frame construction, capturing over one million tonnes of CO2 a year as a result. Increasing the use of timber in construction could triple that amount, the report concluded. "Savings of a similar magnitude may also be possible in the commercial and industrial sectors by utilising new engineered wood systems such as cross-laminated timber."

Cross-laminated timber, or CLT, is the primary material on the construction site Andrew Waugh shows me around in east London. Because it's described as an "engineered wood", I expect to see something similar to chipboard or plywood. But CLT just looks like ordinary 3m (10ft) planks of wood, one inch thick, replete with knot-holes and splinters. The ingenuity is that the planks are made stronger by gluing them in layers of three, with each layer perpendicular to the other. This means that the CLT "doesn't bow or bend, it has integral strength in two directions", says Waugh. "[A CLT] wall supports the floor above, with a horizontal strength to carry a load above it, acting like a long beam". That, he says, "changes architecture".

Having built with CLT for a decade now, Waugh believes it can achieve anything a concrete and steel building can, and more besides. It was invented in the 1990s, partly in response to "the death of the furniture and paper industries", says Waugh. "Sixty percent of Austria is forest and they needed to find a new sales outlet. So, they came up with cross-laminated timber."

Other engineered woods such as plywood and MDF are around 10% adhesive (glue), often urea-formaldehyde, which can produce hazardous chemicals during recycling or incineration. CLT, however, is below 1% adhesive, and typically uses a bio-based polyurethane. The planks are bonded together under heat and pressure to fuse that small amount of adhesive using the moisture of the wood. To look at, smell and touch, it's as pure wood as a child's tree house - knots and all.

Many CLT factories in Austria are even powered by renewable biomass using the offcuts, branches and twigs. Some factories produce enough electricity to power the surrounding communities.

Despite the fact that CLT was invented in Austria, Waugh's London-based architecture practice, Waugh Thistleton, was the first to use it to construct a multi-storey building. Murray Grove, an otherwise ordinary nine-floor apartment block with grey cladding, caused "shock and horror in Austria" when it was being built in 2009, says Waugh. CLT had only ever been used for "nice and simple two-storey houses", whereas anything taller reverted to concrete and steel. But for Murray Grove, the entire structure above the first floor slab is comprised of CLT panels, with all walls, floor slabs and lift cores formed from timber, like a honeycomb block.

The project has since inspired hundreds of architects to build tall with CLT, from the 55m Brock Commons Tallwood House, in Vancouver, Canada, to the 84m, 24-storey 'HoHo Tower' currently under construction in Vienna, Austria.

Recently there have been calls for tree planting on a colossal scale to capture CO2 and curb climate change. However, whilst young trees are efficient and effective carbon sinks, the same is not so true for mature trees. The Earth maintains a balanced carbon cycle - trees (along with all other plants and animals) grow using carbon, they fall and die, and release that carbon again. That balance was knocked out of kilter when humans discovered ancient stores of carbon in the form of coal and oil, which had been captured during previous carbon cycles, and began burning them, releasing the resulting CO2 into our atmosphere far faster than the current cycle can deal with.

Many pine trees in managed forests, such as the European spruce, take roughly 80 years to reach maturity, being net absorbers of carbon during those years of growth - but once they reach maturity, they shed roughly as much carbon through the decomposition of needles and fallen branches as they absorb. As was the case in Austria in the 1990s, plummeting demand for paper and wood saw huge swathes of managed forests globally fall into disuse. Rather than return to pristine wilderness, these monocrops cover forest floors in acidic pine needles and dead branches. Canada's great forests for example have actually emitted more carbon than they absorb since 2001, thanks to mature trees no longer being actively felled.

Arguably, the best form of carbon sequestration is to chop down trees: to restore our sustainable, managed forests, and use the resulting wood as a building material. Managed forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) typically plant two to three trees for every tree felled - meaning the more demand there is for wood, the greater the growth in both forest cover and CO2-hungry young trees.

Rewilding and protecting virgin forests is essential. But unmanaged monocrops help no-one, and floors full of dry pine needles are also the primary cause of wildfires - something that North America and many parts of the world experience on a now annual basis. Managed harvesting greatly reduces that risk.

These benefits have not been lost on the US authorities. Melissa Jenkins, of the US Federal Forest Service, explained at a recent meeting of the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), that "we have a situation of overstocked forests: if a wildfire blows through, these fires burn hotter, they burn faster and they take a lot more effort to put out... If we can build markets for these wood products, landowners will be more likely to sustainably manage or sustainably thin their land." She highlights that CLT in particular as having the potential to reduce "wildfire risk [and] support rural economic development and jobs".

The market seems to agree. Less than five years after its arrival on US shores, there are now CLT projects underway in almost every mainland US state. More importantly, unlike the UK - which currently imports all of its CLT - the US is investing in domestic CLT manufacturing, with factories in Montana and Oregon, and more planned in Maine, Utah, Illinois, Texas, Washington State, Alabama and Arkansas. Amazon's new "tech-hub" building in Minneapolis is made from nail laminated timber (like CLT, but using nails rather than glue). The 2018 Timber Innovation Act also included provisions for research and development into mass timber.

Structures using wooden materials also tend to be quicker and easier to build, therefore reducing labour costs, transport fuel and on-site energy use. Alison Wring, director of Aecom, an infrastructure company, cites a CLT residential block of around 200 apartments that "took just 16 weeks [to build]... whereas if it had been done traditionally with a concrete frame it would have taken at least 26 weeks." Similarly, says Waugh, a recent 16,000-square-metre CLT building he worked on, "would have needed around 1,000 cement truck deliveries for the frame alone. To deliver all the CLT, we needed just 92 deliveries."

Other countries are turning to timber, too. Monika Lebeničnik, a sales engineer for Ledinek Engineering, an Austrian-Slovenian firm that makes the presses for CLT factories, sent me her order sheet going back to 2013. It begins with a trickle of orders from Austria and Scandinavia. But from 2017 onwards, there is sudden take-up from Japan, France, Australia, Latvia and Canada. "Annual capacity of such lines range from 25,000 to 50,000 cubic meters [of CLT]," explains Lebeničnik. Data suggests that 1,000 cubic metres of CLT equates to around 500 harvested trees; factories processing 50,000 cubic metres are therefore trapping the sequestered carbon of 25,000 trees per year.

There are even advantages that make the material particularly attractive to countries like Japan, since it has been found to perform well in earthquake tests. A joint Italian-Japanese research team built a seven-storey CLT building and tested it on a "shake table" (a cool but eerie video of this exists on Youtube). They found that it could withstand shaking at the level of the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan, which destroyed more than 50,000 buildings. With serendipitous timing, says Waugh, "the Americans planted lots of trees in Japan as part of the Marshall Plan - that was over 60 years ago, and they are reaching maturity now".

Counterintuitively, CLT also performs well in fires. It is designed to withstand heats of up to 270C before it begins to char - the charring on the outside then acts as a protective layer for the structural density of the wood behind it. By contrast, at similar temperatures concrete can spall and crack, and steel loses its strength.

Not everyone believes that the future is CLT, however. When I ask Chris Cheeseman, professor of materials resources engineering at Imperial College London, whether wood could usurp concrete as our primary building material, his response is blunt. "No. That isn't going to happen. It might happen locally with some small schemes. But you've got to appreciate the massive use of concrete, and the massive importance of concrete to infrastructure and society. It is an exceptionally good material because of its functionality and its robustness."

There is also the "end of life" question. Carbon only remains trapped in the wood for as long as the building remains standing or is reused in another building - if it rots or is burned for energy, then all the stored carbon is released. Doug King, a chartered engineer and building sustainability advisor, tells me, "unless we attend to the disposal of timber materials at their end of life there is no guarantee that the overall cycle is making a positive benefit to society." Previous research work by Arup in 2014 estimated that half of all construction timber ends up in landfill, 36% is recycled and the remaining 14% burnt for biomass energy.

Despite these issues, Waugh remains ambitious. The average lifetime of a building is 50-60 years - that, he believes, is more than enough time for architects and engineers to work out the re-use and recycling issues. Turning it into biochar could be one possibility. Waugh's buildings are made to be easy to take apart for re-use by future generations.

Fundamentally he - along with a growing group of international architects - is convinced that mass adoption of CLT is an important weapon in the fight against climate change. "It's not a fad or a fashion," he tells me as we finish the tour of his east London build, and I take my final, incongruous breath of the forest air. "The largest commercial developer in the UK have just bought this building. For me, that's where you want to be... I want this to be mainstream. Everybody should be building with this."

I return to my original question: could we realistically return to wood as our primary building material? "It's not only realistic, it's imperative," argues Waugh. "It has to happen. In architecture you always go back to the sketch: the sketch is climate change."

--
Tim Smedley is a sustainability writer, based in the UK. His first book is Clearing the Air: The Beginning and the End of Air Pollution. Join more than one million Future fans by liking us on , or follow us on or .
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Backyard aeroponics: self-sustaining farm for Wisconsin cold

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Benjamin Staffeldt grew up on a farm and works in a garden center so when he and his wife Sara moved into a rental home (a duplex), it was only natural he'd want to start farming his (shared) backyard.

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Based on Teikei - original communal farm initiative created in Japan in the 60s

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTbPNwNIoLs&t=0s

E.g - native Oak tree houses hundreds more species of bugs and animals compared to non native trees

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Prof. Doug Tallamy on Sustainable Landscaping

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https://www.youtube.com/c/HarvestingRainwater

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"water harvesting" "rainwater harvesting" "greywater harvesting" "food forestry" "neighborhood forestry" "passive solar design" permaculture sustainability "...

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This channel spotlights many ways we can collaborate with, and help enhance, the living systems that enable life on this planet; resulting in greater health (true wealth) for all of us.

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Commodifying water to communifying water

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How Arizonas Cities are Becoming a Sustainable Green Oasis in the Desert - GREENING THE DESERT

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Reformatting the landscapes in neighborhoods of hot climate towns, to maximise the amount of water that is soaked into the ground, rather than evaporating into the air.

This improves the water table and helps vegetation grow, in turn allowing more water to be absorbeed into the ground

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Animation could visualise the pollution in the air becoming cleaned

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The Optimist Daily: Making Solutions the News |

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Now that we are aware of the great environmental and health benefits of integrating green spaces in our cities, many urban areas are beginning to design new buildings with foliage in mind. What should we do, though, about the concrete buildings that already exist?

Dutch startup Respyre has a solution: wrap them up in moss.

According to Respyre team pioneer Auke Bleij, moss is non-invasive to building facades (because they have rhizoids instead of roots), and since moss requires minimal maintenance and has a dense leaf system, its particularly good for urban environments. It's "even graffiti resistant," adds Bleij.

Moss purifies the air by converting CO2 to oxygen on top of removing other pollutants from water and air. It provides habitats where there would otherwise be inhospitable concrete and has cooling properties by shielding the surface from sunlight and through a process called evapotranspiration.

Though moss can be applied to existing buildings, Respyre is also working on "bioreceptive" concrete that encourages moss to grow even more abundantly. The team has already figured out how to make their process even more environmentally friendly by using recycled concrete to create bioreceptive concrete products. Their next goal is to figure out how to drive down the costs.

Right now, they're mossing up concrete balconies on social housing apartments in Amsterdam's Rivierenbuurt, and are collaborating with Dutch renewable firm Eneco on a project that will green the bases of the many wind turbines across the country.

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Dutch startup purifies air in urban areas by wrapping buildings in moss | The Optimist Daily

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Now that we are aware of the great environmental and health benefits of integrating green spaces in our cities, many urban areas are beginning to design new buildings with foliage in mind. What should we do, though, about the concrete buildings that already exist? Dutch startup Respyre has a solution: wrap them up in moss.

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visualise an area of the surrounding ocean being protected by an enforced guard - an abstract glowing line to show the perimeter of the protected area

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Protection of key coastline and marine habitats

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Protection of key coastline and marine habitats

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- Preventing pollution with sewage and plastic
- Safeguarding the ecology of the area with a coastguard
- Stopping mooring on ecologically precious areas
-

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Showing the potential for the vast amount of lawn space to become rich habitats,

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The suburban section of the film could be centered around a communal hub that spreads its influence out across the town

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Common Unity - e.g

https://www.commonunityproject.org.nz/

- Community led food produce
- Repair and remakery - repurposing materials and old products
- Urban farm network in back yards
- Donating food to schools and charities
- Training for beneficial community ventures - e.g bee keeping training to get residents keeping bees across the neighborhood, therefore improving the local ecology

purely community initiated ventures

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7 principles for building better cities | Peter Calthorpe | TED

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- A great carbon sink
- Better livestock feed
- Easy to grow at large scale
- Biofuels and Bioplastics
- Habitats for sea life
- Deacidifies the water
- Oxygenates the water
- Removes algal blooms

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10. You can also find a wildlife crossing at Keechelus Lake, Washington, USA

Keechelus lake is part of the Columbia River Basin where Interstate 90 runs along most of the shoreline. This location is rich in natural beauty, and protecting nature is at the forefront of the engineers in the area.

11. Check out this cute "Turtle Tunnel" in Japan

In Japan, they have specially designed "Turtle Tunnels" for these venerable reptiles underneath their train tracks. This is, frankly, adorable.

12. New Zealand has special penguin underpasses

In New Zealand, they have specially designed tunnels to allow penguins to traverse human transportation networks. How cool is that?

13. This rope bridge in Victoria, Australia is awesome

This cute little rope bridge over The Hume Freeway in Victoria, Australia is an amazing example of wildlife bridges from around the world. Seen here in use by cockatoos, they were actually designed to help squirrel gliders.

14. The Trans-Canada Highway in Banff National Park has a great tunnel too

The Trans-Canada Highway in Canada's Banff National Park also has some amazing wildlife crossings. In this case, they have built underpasses for animals, like grizzly bears, to pass under the highway in complete safety.

15. New England has some amazing salamander tunnels

In Amherst, Massachusetts, they have actually built special tunnels under their roads to allow animals like salamanders to safely cross.

16. Kenya has special wildlife underpasses too

Kenya is also getting in on the act. They have, in certain locations, built specialized animal underpasses for animals like elephants to use safe and sound.

17. Powys in Mid Wales, UK has actual toad tunnels

In Powys, Mid Wales, UK, authorities have actually designed and built a series of " toad tunnels" to allow small animals, like amphibians, to cross busy roads safely.

18. Here's a special cattle underpass in Victoria, Australia

Not only do they have rope bridges for little animals in Victoria, Australia, but they also have cattle underpasses.

19. They actually have "Salmon Cannons" in Eastern Washington

Meet the " Salmon Cannon" on the Columbia River, Eastern Washington. This amazing innovation enables fish, like salmon, to cross major river obstacles like dams. Developed by Whooshh Innovations, this fish-passage system is a gambit to help bring the species back to the Upper Columbia River.

20. Check out these amphibian wildlife crossings in California

In certain parts of California, you can actually find specially designed wildlife crossings for our amphibian friends. These minor engineering works keep these tiny critters safe from the hazards of fast-moving traffic.

21. This teeny-tiny suspension bridge is another amazing wildlife crossing

Over one of Longview, Washington's main roads you can find the Bruce Kamp Memorial Bridge. This tiny suspension bridge helps animals small enough to use it to cross this road in safety.

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29 of the Most Heartwarming Wildlife Crossings Around the World

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Keechelus lake is part of the Columbia River Basin where Interstate 90 runs along most of the shoreline. This location is rich in natural beauty, and protecting nature is at the forefront of the engineers in the area. In Japan, they have specially designed "Turtle Tunnels" for these venerable reptiles underneath their train tracks.

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A more generic, cliche part of making cities more sustainable, but still important nevertheless for creating habitats, cooling the city, sucking in carbon and improving wellbeing for residents

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Abandoned or dead areas of the city can become key areas for guerilla gardening or rewilding projects. Seed bombing and communtiy food production.

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For more wonder, rewild the world | George Monbiot

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Trophic cascades from reintroduction of predators to ecosystems, benefitting the whole ecosystem.

- Could be shown by animating an apex predator like a wolf, and then showing the surrounding landscape rewilding from the many benefits it brings

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V605mb9Fr-M

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Berlin
Helsinki

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Architecture that is energy efficient and powered by renewables

Bike orientated City design

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What Is the Most Sustainable City in the World?

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8GUJFaFWp0

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Rewilding Singapore With Wilder, More Diverse Habitats | Wild Urban Designs | CNA Documentary

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https://asknature.org/

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How does nature ...
produce color?

Humanity faces many challenges. Nature holds
solutions. To discover them, all we have to do is
ask. Begin your search here, or explore featured
content below to learn from other species'
successful strategies and adaptations.

Youth Design Challenge Gallery

Working with groups made me feel like I made an impact on the world. Youth Design Challenge Participant

The 2023-2024 Youth Design Challenge is here! Once again, students around the world will learn to use biomimicry to address some of the biggest environmental challenges we face. Learn more and view winners' projects from 2018 to the present.

Whether it is tool use among chimpanzees or song practice among zebra finches, the process of perfecting the craft lies in diligent practice. Karuna Skariah Educator

Education isn't just about memorization, but practicing into mastery. Looking to other species, we see that long-term success is all about incorporating new knowledge into your very being.

When materials that comprise living systems are subjected to repeated loads, they can weaken over time. This is called fatigue and it can lead to cracks and eventually failure. However, fatigue doesn't occur just anywhere on a material; the cracks usually start in areas subjected to elevated local stresses. Therefore, living systems often employ shapes, materials, and/or smooth transitions to decrease the potential for fatigue. An example of using shape is found in brown algae, an intertidal seaweed. Rather than being bent by the constant flow forces of waves and currents, its shape causes it to be pulled. This reduces stress by roughly 800 times compared to another species that bends with the flow, ultimately reducing structural fatigue.

Featured Pages for October 2023

Enjoy a hand-picked selection of pages, including seasonally themed, recently updated, or newly added Biological Strategies, Innovations, and more.

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Innovation Inspired by Nature - AskNature

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All designs and aesthetics are driven by nature based designs.

For every solution and function imagined, use nature's equivalent to drive the design

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Traditional Landscape Design vs Permaculture Landscape Design

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Find out about vital wildlife habitats you could create in your street, home and garden.

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Expand out to show these micro changes transforming the whole neighborhood when everyone gets involved

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Filling all areas of gardens / balconies / rooftops / streets with more habitats for wildlife

- Wildflower meadows
- Bird boxes
- Hedgehog fence holes and wildlife gaps
- Window boxes
- Logpiles for reptiles
- Ponds
- Bee Hotels
- Denser areas of hedgerows and trees
- Optimising space for wildlife and humans together

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Rewilding Your Streets: transforming towns and cities for wildlife

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guardian dogs and deterrents, rather than bounties and persecution against predators

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animating wildlife being reintroduced into previously barren agricultural land that was defended by farmers

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Preventing Poaching / persecution of wildlife

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Preventing Poaching / persecution of wildlife

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Criss crossing the city with channels for wildlife to more easily traverse through urban areas without being killed by traffic

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Kyra Hanson Guerrilla Gardening In London: A Battle Against Concrete Paving And Private Development

Guerrilla gardening is essentially gardening without asking - usually on publicly accessible land. Fifteen years ago the illegal practice attracted attention for its late night escapades, which resulted in neglected patches of the city made over with fragrant flowers and mini allotments. However, in recent years Transport for London's preference for concrete paving is hindering the guerrilla gardener's work.

Back in 2000, Richard Reynolds - the green-fingered force behind the movement - published On Guerrilla Gardening, a handbook for gardening without boundaries. A lot has changed since then says Reynolds. "London is more intensively developed than ever, so those large scraps of marginal land - like the Elephant and Castle roundabout, like the area where we planted the lavender field - are rarer, certainly round zones one and two."

Reynolds's efforts can be seen across the city. You might have spotted the bearded gent pushing a shopping trolley full of office water dispensers through the streets of London, watering tree pits or else spreading the gospel on guerrilla gardening to horticulturalists and amateur gardeners alike.

Speaking recently at a tour organised by the Southbank Centre, he told an enthusiastic crowd about his failed attempts to persuade TfL to leave some open soil alongside all the new cycle superhighways being built.

He says despite numerous benefits from increasing drainage and biodiversity to improving mental health, TfL favours stone and concrete "not because of cost but because of aesthetics".

"It's this aspiration for everything to be an Italian-style piazza. Our mayor decided that he wanted to create lots of new public squares across London and the spaces he can most easily do it are on Transport for London land, so that's what they're shoehorning in."

Although there is still opportunity to plant in smaller spaces, such as around tree pits or in pavements, Reynolds says "it is sad if you want to do something big or create a community garden because these days the bigger opportunities are really only temporary".

Temporary sites can be negotiated after a bit of schmoozing with developers. The Elephant and Castle Urban Forest project within the Heygate Estate came about due to aggressive protest from Reynolds and Guy Mannes-Abbott, a writer who lives in London.

Although many trees have been felled, they successfully campaigned for some to be integrated into the developer's plans and secured a temporary community garden, known as Grow Elephant .

But, says Reynolds, this is still a compromise. "You can get these community gardens if you can cajole the developer into letting you have a space, but they are a lot of work for just a few seasons and [the developers] can change their mind at any point."

Reynolds grew up watching Gardeners' World but, like thousands of Londoners, was living in an apartment with no access to a garden. So he began planting up previously neglected public spaces.

"I'm passionate about seeing the potential in a space, even if it's just about getting from A to B pleasantly and safely. It's been tragic to see the redevelopment of Elephant and Castle roundabout - dominated by traffic, not safe for cyclists, with an actual net loss in public space." Since its drastic redesign (to improve road safety) there have been two deaths which recently provoked an urgent safety review of the area.

Elsewhere Reynolds has documented what he calls TfL's shameful record of unsustainable tree planting around E&C, where trees are felled for aesthetic reasons, or die because of the lack of aftercare.

According to Nick Aldworth, Head of Highways at TfL, 1,000 trees are planted every year with an average survival rate of 87%. The London Tree Officers Association (LTOA) says it's doing its best to protect trees from the increased pressures of development, as well as pests and diseases.

Becky Porter, executive officer at LTOA, says "these threats have always been present but [trees] are even more of a risk now". However she remains optimistic saying "trees have risen up the public agenda as never before and the general public now seem to appreciate urban trees more than in previous years".

The irony is that in most cases the green credentials of a development are what makes it saleable - think of the Walkie Talkie Sky Garden and the controversial Garden Bridge - "an environmental blot on the landscape," according to Reynolds. "But when it comes to execution, those features - the water fountains, green spaces, lawns - are often the first to go because of maintenance costs."

So where does this leave the future of guerrilla gardening? Reynolds says the future lies with lots of people digging away in smaller spaces, and no longer under the cover of darkness.

The route to longevity is a passion for gardening. "In the early days it did attract a particular type of person, but I see less of them now and I'm glad of that because they're not such good gardeners.

"It's still very much a niche activity," he says, "but it's becoming much more mainstream and acceptable. I've always been on a mission to normalise it, rather than to try to keep it exclusive and mysterious."

London isn't averse to injecting some greenery into unusual spaces, from King's Cross Pond Club and Skip Gardens to Growing Underground, Clapham's underground farm.

In 2011 the aforementioned lavender field (below) - now 10 years old - received royal approval from the Duchess of Cornwall. And local authorities are warming up to the idea. Camden Council has published guidelines for those who are interested in looking after unused land. The council is also part of the mayor's Capital Growth programme which allows people to grow food in unused spaces.

The charity Groundwork, which creates opportunities for people to live in a greener, more sustainable way, has helped set up community-run gardens across the city. There are now 100 pocket gardens in London which take the form of play parks, urban gyms and mini-gardens.

But is it enough? While local councils struggle to allocate funds to maintaining larger green spaces and allotment waiting lists stretch into the years, we think the more people willing to pick up a fork and get their hands dirty - to counter the sterile, concrete vision of London favoured by developers and TfL - the better. Ultimately guerrilla gardening is not just about prettifying the city, it's about reclaiming public space for everyone.

Get involved

On International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day (1 May) people all over the world venture out to sow seeds in neglected public spaces - sunflowers or plants appropriate to the season.

When considering what to plant Reynolds looks for hardiness, a long impact if possible and takes into account light and shade. His advice: "be inventive, creative and resourceful and if you see a private garden and you are persuasive enough they might even let you share it".

Find your nearest pocket park using this

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Guerrilla Gardening In London: A Battle Against Concrete Paving And Private Development

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Kyra Hanson Guerrilla Gardening In London: A Battle Against Concrete Paving And Private Development Guerrilla gardening is essentially gardening without asking - usually on publicly accessible land. Fifteen years ago the illegal practice attracted attention for its late night escapades, which resulted in neglected patches of the city made over with fragrant flowers and mini allotments.

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Despite its planetary scope and ambitions, Sitopia has a decidedly marginal focus, treating us to predominantly Western thought and development on the topic of food and with a clear Anglo-Saxon (or only British) audience in mind. Steel has read a lot on a large variety of topics, including philosophy, economic history, anthropology, sociology, architecture and biology, and overwhelms her reader with a vast array of knowledge and insights. As interesting as her personal library may be, a signific...more

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Despite its planetary scope and ambitions, Sitopia has a decidedly marginal focus, treating us to predominantly Western thought and development on the topic of food and with a clear Anglo-Saxon (or only British) audience in mind.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCMEuco1SZ0

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Save Your Food Save Your Life | Ron Finley, Urban Gardener

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzZzZ_qpZ4w

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A guerilla gardener in South Central LA | Ron Finley

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g2CaF12xxw

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How radical gardeners took back New York City

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Brooklyn Farmer: A Portrait of Urban Farming Across the Rooftops

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Exploring the unique challenges facing Brooklyn Grange, a group of urban farmers who endeavor to run a commercially viable farm across the rooftops of New York City.

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The story of Luke Ellis' underground bioponic farm under the streets of Sheffield's industrial quarter.