sustainability - Living Technologies

Living Roofs

eduardo — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 22:31:51 +0000

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.

Natural Swimming Pools

eduardo — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 09:40:20 +0000

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.

Living Walls

eduardo — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 09:38:51 +0000

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.

Supporting and Compatible Technologies

eduardo — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 10:03:05 +0000

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.