Cities rely on systems that pollute our world. In the first expert viewpoint in the Building Tomorrow series, sustainability expert Rachel Armstrong looks at how nature is providing the inspiration for greener, more responsive designs.
It is morning, in a city of the future. Wafer-thin artificial leaves separate with the rising sun as buildings wake up. They continue to follow the sunlight over the course of the day, sucking dew and carbon dioxide out of the air. These substances are filtered into the fleshy fabric within the walls of our homes, not dead spaces but active processors, like stomachs packed with thriving microbial colonies. They generate heat, recycle grey water and filter effluents to produce rich, native soil that has a commercial value and is used to grow plants in green plots, or window boxes. We are now producers, not consumers.
There are no more infertile stretches of asphalt sprawled over our urban rooftops but an expanse of vegetation which processes the city’s rich chemical landscapes – and it is no longer possible to tell which of these vibrant structures are artificial, or natural.
See full Article: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130520-greening-the-cities-of-tomorrow
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