Thursday

Gorgeous Green Architecture

When you think about sustainable design you must consider two major things:

• What am I building?
• How will what I am building fit in with everything else around it?

The first question generally falls within the realm of architecture while the second is generally addressed by urban planning.

Green Architecture Videos

The following video has a lot of interesting and easy-to-implement ideas on how to design neighborhoods for both people and wildlife. ​ (~7 min)

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Here are some examples of green architecture in action in Seattle, Washington.

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This is a short interview with June Grant--a green architect from Oakland, California--during which she shares some of her ideas on new inventions that could help the environment. 

You can find the original video on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LOvAKw-m5U
You can read a longer article about June here in the Sierra Club magazine.

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Additional Green Architecture Resources

Here are some of of our favorite online resources

Green Architecture

• ​http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/index.htm This website has a lot of good information on green architecture strategies and styles. It isn’t flashy but presents the information in a succinct fashion. 
• https://realestate.usnews.com/real-estate/slideshows/9-alternative-building-materials-to-consider-for-your-home?slide=6 Slide show of different building materials. It has good pictures.
• https://www.buffalorising.com/2018/07/five-points-bakery-buffalos-first-grass-parking-lot/ This bakery in Buffalo, NY installed a green parking lot in the summer of 2018. 

Videos

• https://www.ted.com/talks/bjarke_ingels_floating_cities_the_lego_house_and_other_architectural_forms_of_the_future?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare#t-507289 A great TED talk about LEGO, floating homes, and unique green urban planning. (15 min)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESIHwiV8l6k (~5 min) Video from the US Green Building Council. It focuses on public buildings versus homes but has a lot of good information. 

Native Plants

• https://www.thespruce.com/native-plants-1403565 Easy-to-read blog post on why it is important to grow native plants
• https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/Native_Plant_Materials/Native_Gardening/index.shtml A short, well-organized post on the advantages of using native plants. This webpage also has some great additional resources.

 
Figuring out which plants are native to your area.

• https://www.nwf.org/nativeplantfinder/about This is a cool native plant finder from the National Wildlife Foundation that specifically suggests plants that will attract various bird and insect pollinators.

Meet Some Young Entrepreneurs

Deepika Kurup

Over in Nashua, New Hampshire, 14-year-old Deepika Kurup was inspired by seeing a group of children from India drinking from a pool of stagnant water and invented a purification system powered by solar energy. She tells her story in her TEDtalk - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkUcaludrcI (~ 8 min, best watched with a study buddy).

Bishop Curry V

Bishop Curry V, a 10-year-old from McKinney, Texas, is working on an invention to help prevent the hot car deaths of babies. His invention, called Oasis, is placed on a car seat. When the car is parked, the Oasis device senses temperature and movement. If it detects something is wrong, it will blow air on the baby and call for help. There is a short video about him and his invention at   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLUFS0aiaok.

Xóchitl Cruz

​Eight-year-old Xóchitl Cruz of Mexico invented a new low-cost water heating device. This device uses only recycled materials and solar energy. She was inspired to design this water heater when she noticed some families could not afford to buy heaters and had to cut down trees for firewood.