News
- Camera Trap Tuesday: Islands in Los Angeles:: “What Griffith Park, one of the largest urban parks in America, is surrounded by, however, is freeways. And homes, and businesses. Urban sprawl.”
- What Is the Point of Zoos?:: “I am also a great advocate of zoos that focus on native species and their ecosystems, and I hope to one day see, or hear about, an urban exhibit that truly links zoos with the cities that surround them.”
- Biodiversity can flourish on an urban planet:: “Research shows that cities can in fact support biodiversity and this can have…
Today I’m pleased to have the opportunity to share Architect Kaveh Samiei’s design for The Center for Ecological Learnings in Tehran. Following is a description of Kaveh’s design and drawings which he graciously provided. Thank you to Kaveh for sharing this wonderful project. Follow his writings on The Nature of Cities blog where he recently wrote the wonderful and detailed post, Architecture and Urban Ecosystems: From Segregation to Integration.
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News
- Bringing natural life into buildings:: Eco-architect Dr Ken Yeang’s attempts to introduce more nature into architecture are highlighted in this article. “Many buildings have been ‘de-natured’. Human beings have simplified and fragmented nature.”
- Loft ambitions: why green roofs are the future of urban gardening:: This article from The Ecologist discusses the many benefits of green roofs.
- Do Wildlife Corridors Really Work?:: From the Smithsonian blog is a discussion about whether corridors actually work and a new crowd-sourcing project to find the answer.
- Citizen scientists vital for wildlife data collection:: A great article about how scientists rely…
News
- Bloomin’ lovely gardens brighten up London’s East End:: A competition for residents of London’s East End, the winners were chosen for showing ” what they can do with plants, wildlife and the environment.”
- Can biodiversity be accommodated in today’s urban environment?:: Posing the question, this piece from The Ecologist looks at recent efforts including the International Year of Biodiversity 2010 and the more recent Animal Estates project in London by Fritz Haeg.
- Yesterday’s pool is today’s pond:: An interesting idea of turning unused swimming pools into ponds for wildlife, making them require less maintenance and more environmentally friendly.
News
- Vancouver Convention Centre roof a hive of insect and plant activity:: Three years on and the green roof of the Vancouver Convention Center has been greatly successful for wildlife housing ants, spiders, dragonflies, grasshoppers, bees and sparrows and finches.
- California Academy of Sciences’ roof is thriving:: Another green roof at three years old, the California Academy of Sciences’ roof has also become successful wildlife habitat including 173 species of arthropods including spiders, bees and butterflies as well as 30 species of birds such as Red-winged and Brewer’s Blackbirds.
- ‘Natural landscapes’ gone wild:: Yet another article…
As the 2011 Integrated Habitats Design Competition is getting launched, I’m looking at the winning entries from the 2010 competition in a series of posts.
Edge Hill Halls was the overall winner of the 2010 Integrated Habitats Design Competition. Designed by Maria-Cristina Banceanu, the site is a brownfield which previously accommodated a rail depot, the Edge Hill railway station, located in Liverpool. The design transforms this former rail depot into student housing for over 500 students complete with a greenhouse, underground parking, tennis courts, recreation area and a medical clinic. The former depot building is turned into the green…
