Living Technologies are quite simple systems which use naturally occurring processes to meet our needs.
The ecological services provided by living systems and which keep the entire biosphere functioning can in many instances be brought back into the design of our buildings and communities.
Water and air filtration, temperature moderation, energy conservation and waste recycling are just some of the functions which can be filled by living technologies.
While the processes themselves are timeless, more recent research has refined their application to fit into contemporary requirements for sustainable design.
Here are some of the examples:
Living Roofs are human-made vegetated areas on the top of buildings that
entail a number of social a environmental benefits.
Living Roof systems, also called Green Roofs or Sky Gardens, date back to the pre-mediaeval days in Europe when sod roofs in Scandinavia were commonly used to keep country homes warm and dry. In fact it could be claimed that the oldest surviving green roof is on New Grange, county Meath in Ireland.
A Natural Swimming Pool uses the technology of the reed bed filtration system to cleanse the swimming water. Regular swimming pools use chemicals such as chlorine to kill bacteria (which can damage swimmers’ health and our ozone system), whereas a natural swimming pool uses the natural purifying properties of plants, as well as a small filter to extract surface debris such as leaves, and a small pump to keep the water circulating sufficiently through the planting area.
Essentially a living wall is a vertically grown plant community which mimics the growth mode of plants
on a natural rock wall. In such situations, a continuous seep of moisture flowing over the surface
supports a varied population of mosses, ferns, and other companion plants.
Living Walls, or Biowalls, have been conceived and refined independently in several different places, but are based upon similar principles.
There is a range of sustainable technologies which, while not specifically Living Technologies themselves, fit very well with systems such as Living Roofs, Living Walls, Living Machines, etc.
