CLASS SIX John Seitz, RA, LEED AP Adjunct Assistant Professor Professor Paul C. King, RA, AIA, ARA Assistant Professor S Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms Ernst Haeckel, Tree of Life, 1866 1
S Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment Ecosystem - the complex of living organisms, their physical environment, and all their interrelationships in a particular unit of space Plants = S food nutrition medicine health well-being thermal comfort paper clothing lumber clean water clean air bio-fuels 2
Biodiversity S Biodiversity is the degree in variation of life forms across ecosystems, biomes and the planet. Maintains reservoirs of genetic diversity essential to agricultural practice. The Irish potato blight of 1846 caused the death of over 1 million people because only two varieties of potato were grown across the country and they were both vulnerable to the blight. Provides a resource for medicine and the development of new drugs. 80%of the world s population depends upon medicine from nature 50% of US pharmaceuticals are derived from plant compounds Under assault from climate change, development and food production. 30% of world s plant and animal species face a medium to high certainty of extinction this century. Biophilia S Translates as love of life and is increasingly used by sustainable designers to describe our inherent preferences for natural environments. There are a number of bio-philic design elements that are central to sustainability and which support our well-being. Change Delight Nurture Captivate 3
S Vegetative Structure The living structure of the unbuilt environment has been shaped by access to resources and adaptation over millions of years, largely self-sustaining. Characterized by biodiversity, ecological productivity is 100% solar driven Canopy, understory, ground plants Forest, North Carolina (image 2009 John Seitz ) 4
Types of Plant Communities SELECTION & BOUNDARIES ANALYSIS and MAPPING PROGRAMMING and INTEGRATED DESIGN CLIMATE PRODUCTIVITY & BIODIVERSITY MAINTENANCE INTRO TO TERM PROJECT NEXT CLASS Rain Forest Savannah Temperate Forest Understanding how natural plant communities have evolved helps us shape the design of not only our site plantings, but also our site and buildings. Vegetative Structure Living structure of the built environment is being shaped by structures and human preference, largely dependent upon significant human intervention, not sustaining. Characterized by lack of diversity, energy intensive and includes numerous stressors. 5
Savannah, GA, plans from Bacon s, Design of Cities 6
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greensward studies began with the 3rd Regional Plan in 1996 8
Challenges Urban heat island, pollution, competition, invasive plants, habitat fragmentation Urban Heat Islands 9
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Birds and Buildings After habitat loss, collisions with buildings are the 2 nd largest cause of bird mortality. It is estimated that glass and reflective facades and illuminated interiors kill billions of birds annually. Some strategies that have been successful in making glass more visible include patterning, more mullions, reduced reflectivity, reduced night lighting and UV strips in glass, visible to birds, not people. Energy intensive, biologically poor, ecologically unproductive Solar driven, biologically rich, ecologically productive 11
Strategies Green corridors, green belts, mosaics, native plants, habitat creation, reduced use of pesticides and herbicides, reduce use of glass (or create glass visible to birds) along flyways in particular (NYC) Green corridors in NYC PlaNYC has established two Parks and Public Open Space initiatives that prioritize green corridors and ecological connectivity. Initiative 10 - Create a network of green corridors Streets and other dedicated paths perform multiple functions, including promoting recreation, capturing stormwater, and cleaning our air. We will seek opportunities to create a network of green corridors. Initiative 13 - Support ecological connectivity We will also seek to promote ecological connectivity, closely linked green spaces that increase opportunities for people, flora, and wildlife to transition more easily between fragmented natural spaces. Building sites represent nearly half the land area in the city and have a great potential to mitigate the urban heat island effect, increase biodiversity, retain stormwater, and perform other critical ecological functions 12
SELECTION & BOUNDARIES ANALYSIS and MAPPING PROGRAMMING and INTEGRATED DESIGN MICROCLIMATE PRODUCTIVITY & BIODIVERSITY CONSTRUCTION & MAINTENANCE INTRO TO TERM PROJECT NEXT CLASS SELECTION & BOUNDARIES ANALYSIS and MAPPING PROGRAMMING and INTEGRATED DESIGN MICROCLIMATE PRODUCTIVITY & BIODIVERSITY CONSTRUCTION & MAINTENANCE INTRO TO TERM PROJECT NEXT CLASS 13
NYC, Highline Park NYC, Highline Park LOCATION and LINKAGE PATTERNS and FORM ACCESS HEALTH HEALTH and IAQ HEALTH and CONNECTION TO NATURE INSPIRATION EDUCATION NEXT CLASS 14
Local Food Production LOCATION and LINKAGE PATTERNS and FORM ACCESS HEALTH HEALTH and IAQ HEALTH and CONNECTION TO NATURE INSPIRATION EDUCATION NEXT CLASS Eagle Street Rooftop Farm (middle image), New Vision Garden, East New York (right, left) 2010 John Seitz ) Local Food Markets LOCATION and LINKAGE PATTERNS and FORM ACCESS HEALTH HEALTH and IAQ HEALTH and CONNECTION TO NATURE INSPIRATION EDUCATION NEXT CLASS 15
Native Meadow Rooftop Garden, Linda Tool and Die, Red Hook (image 2010 John Seitz ) Eagle Street Rooftop Farm, Greenpoint (image 2010 John Seitz ) Extensive green roof SELECTION & BOUNDARIES ANALYSIS and MAPPING PROGRAMMING and INTEGRATED DESIGN CLIMATE PRODUCTIVITY & BIODIVERSITY MAINTENANCE INTRO TO TERM PROJECT NEXT CLASS Intensive green roof 16
SELECTION & BOUNDARIES ANALYSIS and MAPPING PROGRAMMING and INTEGRATED DESIGN CLIMATE PRODUCTIVITY & BIODIVERSITY MAINTENANCE INTRO TO TERM PROJECT NEXT CLASS Renzo Piano's roof for the California Academy of Sciences building in SF Musee du Quai Branly, Paris, 2007 Patrick Blanc 17
Public Open Space LOCATION and LINKAGE PATTERNS and FORM ACCESS HEALTH HEALTH and IAQ HEALTH and CONNECTION TO NATURE INSPIRATION EDUCATION NEXT CLASS Ensure that all New Yorkers live within less a 10 minute walk to a park PlaNYC Goal LOCATION and LINKAGE PATTERNS and FORM ACCESS HEALTH HEALTH and IAQ HEALTH and CONNECTION TO NATURE INSPIRATION EDUCATION NEXT CLASS 18
Native Plants and Lepidoptera species supported These numbers become astonishing when you consider that many of our non native species even after several hundred years in this country support 0 Lepidoptera species. SELECTION & BOUNDARIES Common name Genus Butterfly or ANALYSIS and moth MAPPING species PROGRAMMING and Goldenrod INTEGRATED Solidago 115 DESIGN Asters CLIMATE Sunflower PRODUCTIVITY Joe pye, Boneset & BIODIVERSITY Morning glory MAINTENANCE Sedges INTRO Honeysuckle TO TERM PROJECT Lupine NEXT Violets CLASS Aster Helianthus Eupatorium Ipomoea Carex Lonicera Lupinus Viola 112 73 42 39 36 36 33 29 Geraniums Geranium 23 Black-eyed susan Rudbeckia 17 Iris Iris 17 Evening primrose Oenothera 16 Milkweed Asclepias 12 Verbena Verbena 11 Common name Genus Butterfly or moth species Oak Quercus 534 Black cherry Prunus 456 Willow Salix 455 Birch Betula 413 Poplar Populus 368 Crabapple Malus 311 Blueberry Vaccinium 288 Maple Acer 285 Elm Ulmus 213 Pine Pinus 201 Hickory Carya 200 Hawthorn Crataegus 159 Spruce Picea 156 Alder Alnus 156 Basswood Tilia 150 Results of a study undertaken by Professor Douglas Tallamy and published in Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants, 2009 Waste to plant food Going... Going gone Going... Going gone... 19
Adaptability to change (resilience) is a hallmark of sustainable systems. SELECTION & BOUNDARIES ANALYSIS and MAPPING PROGRAMMING and INTEGRATED DESIGN CLIMATE PRODUCTIVITY & BIODIVERSITY MAINTENANCE INTRO TO TERM PROJECT NEXT CLASS Active Phytoremediation Wall System A modular wall system of pods housing hydroponic plants being developed by the Center for Architecture Science and Ecology (2008). 20
Because the plants roots are exposed, instead of being buried in soil, the plants air-cleaning capacity increases by 200 to 300 percent. Air moves through a perforated air intake duct and directly over the root system. This allows the rhizomes on the roots to essentially digest airborne toxins (VOCs, particulate matter, and other biological and chemical pollutants) without the plant itself becoming toxic (which is what happens when the toxins are taken in solely through the leaves). Formaldehyde removal rates of some common plants. Based on EPA data a typical 100 SF commercial office may contain on average 3916 ug of formaldehyde. This formaldehyde can be completely removed with 2-4 plants. 21
CLASS SIX John Seitz, RA, LEED AP Adjunct Assistant Professor Professor Paul C. King, RA, AIA, ARA Assistant Professor 22