nelsonic commented 5 years ago

From day 1 of us viewing the Braga House as a potential Home for Creative Technology, I've been "dreaming and scheming" of how to wrap the entire building in plants and make the first "reclaimed by nature" building in Portugal.

Instead of a characterless concrete block, I believe all buildings should look like this:

Cities should become carbon-neutral forests and looking out of a window should feel like nature no matter where you are. People will feel better, healthier and happier. This is why we are investing in researching all the plants #8 to "grow fresh air indoors".

Image credit: http://www.plantdesigns.co.uk/single-post/2017/04/05/Lush-Living-Walls

‘The health benefits of the great outdoors: A systematic review and meta-analysis of greenspace exposure and health outcomes’ is published in the journal Environmental Research on 6 July. see: https://www.uea.ac.uk/about/-/it-s-official-spending-time-outside-is-good-for-you

The architect(s) we hired to help us with securing our planning permission for renovating the house were unenthusiastic about the idea of a "Living Wall" ... they didn't understand the "vision" of a carbon-neutral house that feels like you are entering a "secret garden". And instead they wanted us to paint the outside in "tones of grey" and make it look like every other bland modern box ... 😕 Sadly, we didn't have much of a choice for Architects, otherwise I would have considered an alternative who "gets it". I firmly believe that the future is buildings covered in plants! And any architect who is not designing their projects this way will be on "losing side" of history.

"The future is already here — it's just not very evenly distributed." ~ William Gibson

Some architects are using Living Walls as a "feature" or "selling point" of their high-end buildings, e.g:

see: https://www.ansgroupglobal.com/living-wall/case-studies/douro-street

But it's more of a "token" than a genuine commitment to the idea. I get the feeling that the Architects are afraid that if they cover the building in green, the people won't be able to see their signature slabs of concrete and glass and they won't get any recognition for their hard work ... this is a narcissistic fail akin to software developers who keep their code "closed source" out of fear when opening your code creates orders of magnitude more value for you and the world!

We will be doing the "Living Wall Project" after we complete the interior of the house. The outside of the house does not need to look incredible before we can open the house to friends/family/guests; this is very much a "Post MVP" enhancement which is why it's not even mentioned in the main README.md!

Todo

[x] Visit the Athenaeum Hotel in London to observe it in-person. https://www.athenaeumhotel.com/athenaeum-life/off-the-wall
[x] Visit Rubens Hotel https://www.rubenshotel.com/about/the-living-wall 39 Buckingham Palace Road | Victoria, London SW1W 0PS https://www.google.com/maps?q=39+Buckingham+Palace+Road+%7C+Victoria,+London+SW1W+0PS
[x] Visit 20 Fenchurch Street: http://www.biotecture.uk.com/portfolio/20-fenchurch-street/

If you live in London and want to join us on our little field trip next week, please leave a comment below and we will be in touch to organise logistics. 💬