Living Architecture Daily

Green roofs at the Biosphere

2012-01-31T14:03:00.000-08:00

-Way back when (over 10 years ago) I had an internship at Biosphere 2. It was a fantastic experience that influenced my career path and ambitions more than anything to date. So imagine my delight to learn about their current green roof research. In the industry, there is a dearth of information concerning appropriate materials and assemblies in arid green roof environments and Arizona is the perfect place to do research!

-What will be eating in 2050? If I were a betting man, I would double down on "micro-farming". Relatively low tech and inexpensive as well, I hope Western taste buds will be up for the challenge?

-Seton Hall University has started it's own permaculture design certificate program.. The first in New Jersey and the first, as far as I am aware, in the tri-state region. But you don't have to be enrolled at Seton Hall to join the movement. The National Student Food Center
is looking for more students to voice their opinions and assist in developing the national student food movement.

1 Website is down, but 1 remains

2012-01-29T07:14:00.000-08:00

The verticiel.ca site is down. Problems with the ISP and not too happy about it. Thank goodness there is still verticiel.com. Reality check, there are worse things in life. Oh well...

Mushrooms may be the ultimate urban agriculture product

2012-01-27T14:58:00.000-08:00

-Raising mushrooms seems to be one of the hottest urban agriculture/socially responsible businesses. You can take waste, for instance, coffee grounds, grow and sell the mushrooms in a dark, dank basement (of which there are plenty in an urban setting) and when the grounds have been spent completely, you can sell that product as a fertilizer. Well, add this to your list of mushroom media: dirty diapers.

-There is a battle royale taking place in West LA. Residents of residential-agricultural zones say the character of their neighborhoods are threatened by proposed development.

-Oooo...it's that time of year folks, a new Plant Hardiness Map for the USA. Behold the beautiful colors in all their interactive splendor!!!

-Lastly, a community in England hopes to produce all of their own food by 2018. Good luck, Todmorden.

A few things

2012-01-25T14:29:00.000-08:00

-An interesting aquaponics/food security project is developing in India. It includes a buy back guarantee for farmers who participate.

-We tend to think of the food security movement as being mostly small players, but there are large organizations doing their part as well including Feeding America.

-On January 31 San Diego's city council will be discussing various urban agriculture ordinances. On tap are the requirements for farmer markets (both daily and weekly), honey bees (2 hives per lot), community gardens and miniature goats...which have to be dehorned. Do you really have to dehorn a miniature goat???

Of compost cuisine and Qatar conservation

2012-01-22T11:24:00.000-08:00

-While reading an article about compost cuisine the other day, I thought how much dining out has changed.
Ten years ago a vegan restaurant made some people utterly confused. Now, it's not the most "far out" out there; there are gluten free restaurants, raw restaurants, restaurants that serve only cereal (!), and now restaurants which use every last bit of what they buy. Truly sustainable restaurants. What's the next food frontier? Perhaps "feel good" restaurants... a restaurant which donates all of it's proceeds to a partner organization??? Wouldn't that be great?

-Seattle University's school farm produced and donated 7,000 pounds of food last year. With a $100,000 grant, they'll be able to grow a whole lot more.

-A few weeks ago I wrote a bit about Qatar buying farmland abroad and exploration into aquaponics. Connecting the dots a bit, I wonder could this need for viable farmland far from home make a country like Qatar more supportive of global conservation, because degradation could be seen as a national security threat? Could we see a country like Qatar be the first to link currency to natural capital?

A Swarm of Autonomous Microplanters + Word of the week

2012-01-19T12:30:00.000-08:00

-How long before then next horror flic is made starring these microfarming robots?

-If you are planning on being on Mars for a few years, you'll need lots of grub.That's where our word of the week, bioregenerative (plants that produce food and oxygen) comes in.

-Governors across the US made headlines last week too.
Connecticut Governor Dannel gave a big thumbs up to the idea last week. Strong supporters of aquaponics want a little more cash.
Meanwhile in Illinois, Governor Quinn wants to green 3,500 underutilized acres with parks, nurseries and organic farming.

Boston's big urban agriculture month

2012-01-16T08:32:00.000-08:00

-If you're looking for a job in the food security field and live in Ottawa (Ontario, not Kansas) get that resume updated.

-Lots happening in Boston. January 30 you can join Will Allen to brainstorm the future of agriculture in Boston. While you're downtown, you can hop on that Red Line to check out the first winter farmer's market.

-Italian architect Stefano Boeri goes big (and green) or goes home. He has created six bold, transformational "ideas for a bio-diverse metropolis" that could be installed in and around the city of Milan, to establish "transitional states between the city, nature and agriculture" and provide "energy sources for a new model of urban economics." Visionary and Idealistic, they challenge us to think about cities and the possible in new ways. The concepts were first introduced to the public at an exhibition in Rome last year.

Green roofs workshop February 26 in Toronto

2012-01-15T08:50:00.000-08:00

Yours truly will be teaching the Green Roofs for Healthy Cities Plants and Media 401 course on February 26. The bootcamp starts February 23.

And yes, I encourage laptop use in class!

Urban Agriculture Word of the day: Guerilla grafting

2012-01-12T11:16:00.000-08:00

-Big news for aquaponics keeps rolling in. A couple of weeks ago Continental Organics announced that they would open a new aquaponics facility, the biggest in the Northeastern USA. They promise offering up to 140 new jobs when the operation is in full-swing.

-If you want to learn more about aquaponics and don't live near a pioneering company or organization where you can gain experience, there's a new webinar to help with your self-education.

-Organic agriculture has been seen as the solution to all sorts of environmental, social and economic problems. The Indian government
is hoping an embrace of organic ways can lead to a decrease in farmer suicides.

-By spring time urban farmers in Lantzville, British Columbia may be able to sell their wares after city council met on Monday to discuss bylaw amendments. As urban agriculture becomes more popular look for similar developments across the continent as communities grapple with noise, smells and the realities of farming placed right in the middle of existing communities.

-Last but not least, your word of the day:Guerilla grafting.

Catching up

2012-01-09T10:50:00.000-08:00

The first week of January has brought a ton of news and stories.

-On the local education front, in Detroit a high school will offers kids a chance to learn about urban agriculture via their new training center, complete with solar hoop house, photovoltaic labs and more.
In Edmonton high schoolers can now learn about raising fish and veggies and serving them to their classmates in the cafeteria. And a Vancouver university is rolling out a four year degree in small scale, sustainable agriculture!!!

-On the city level, Cleveland announced funding for several green projects, look for more community gardens and other projects designed to mitigate stormwater and flooding.
Ottawa was considering a green roof bylaw and now they are not so sure. Thanks to freedom of information requests, intrepid reporters dug up earlier drafts which reiterated mayor Jim Watson's support of green roofs and then, for some reason, mention of the bylaw didn't make the final speech. We'll see what happens in the spring!

-Let's go bigger, country big. Qatar is developing a food sufficiency plan. Makes sense when 90% of your food is imported. Or does it???
And lastly, check out Lebanon's first green wall.

Living architecture, urban agriculture top 5 phrases of 2011 + A Green Roof song!

2012-01-05T13:04:00.000-08:00

Everyone loves top o' the year lists...here's my top 5 living architecture phrases for last year...

5. Food Czar
4. Vertical Street
3. Horticultural Foodscapes
2. Suburbian Small-Scale Agriculture/Urban Agrarianism
1. Aquaponics

I could only find one decent song for the month:
Eighth of January - Arkansas Barefoot Boys

but I did find something more incredible. A song that is actually entitled "Green Roof". Let the artist know what you think. I think it's pretty good, all in all!

Download a free aquaponics book + Book Review - Aquaponic Gardening

2012-01-02T12:41:00.000-08:00

As someone who has involved in the still developing world of living architecture, it is amazing to see the industry constantly evolving and new offshoots developing. Case in point, aquaponics. Although some would argue that not all aquaponic systems could fall under the umbrella of living architecture, if the system were integrated into the home, I believe it would be. So I am claiming it and verticiel has begun experimenting with systems of our own. But more about that in a few weeks...

The book Aquaponic Gardening by Sylvia Bernstein really is a step-by-step guide, as is claimed, to raising fish and vegetables together. Sylvia is definitely qualified to call herself an expert and could've written the book by herself, but she got other experts in the field to contribute, edit, and proofread, making it truly worth buying.
It starts slowly and building quickly, with chapters covering everything from what aquaponics is, to everything ones needs to know to start and maintain a do it yourself system. And she really does covers everything, from lighting to plumbing in great detail and includes a list of mistakes she's made and what to consider before trying aquaponics commercially. Plus you get color photos! What's not to love?

Oh yes, if you'd like more aquaponics information, here's a free download chock full of info, from one of the industry leaders.

Aquaponics in Bahrain, Rwanda and worldwide in 2012!

2011-12-30T08:05:00.000-08:00

This is the last post of 2011, so I have to make it good.

-Last week I did a Battle of the Book Reviews. One of the books I reviewed was by David Tracey, and earlier in the year he wrote an article detailing the word, Usufruct. It seems, thankfully, this hasn't been necessary in New York, where real estate developers are actively seeking out urban agriculture entrepreneurs to use their land when construction has ground to a halt.

-Two quick articles about deconstruction, an oldie and a new one. They give ample reason for you to be the first in your community (because, the Living Architecture Daily blog has a global audience of go-getters) to inspire or launch a deconstruction business.

-A couple of aquaponics stories to finish up the year, because I believe aquaponics will be on the tip of everyone's tongue in 2012. Others agree.
In Bahrain it looks like a rather large public-private partnership could fall through because of new demands by city councillors. It doesn't say how big the project would be, but if there's a 25 year lease, I would guess pretty big.
And it looks like Rwanda had a $9 million dollar project launched in 2011.

Thanks to everyone who checked out the blog this year! The number of readers has skyrocketed and I can't wait to see what the living architecture and urban agriculture (LAUA! Did I just create a new acronym????) world has in store for us in 2012! verticiel has big things planned, see you on the other side!

Green roof training in Philly, green roof food production in Vancouver

2011-12-27T06:58:00.000-08:00

I've taken a breather between celebrations to catch up on some living architecture news.

-Valcent Products, one of the first to the vertical farming table, has signed on with the City of Vancouver to open a parking garage green house which could churn out over 95 tons of produce per year.

-In Philadelphia a green roofing program over the last year has trained over 30 individuals and installed 11 "green roofs", 2 vegetated and 9 white roofs. The program features a unique combination of government, non-profit and private support.

-Remember when I admitted knowing very, very little about urban agriculture projects in the Southwestern US? Thanks to the Worldwatch Institute I now know a whole lot more!

-The UK's Offshoots Permaculture Project won an International Green Award last week. If their beekeeping tutorials are par for their teaching courses, the award is well-deserved. And speaking of permaculture, it's been a while, but here's a little permaculture informationin Spanish.

Now for more resting!!!

Santa spotted on California green roof + Holiday music

2011-12-24T07:58:00.000-08:00

Let the kids know, the reindeer are on the green roof as well!

And of course, some holiday music for 2011. Enjoy everyone!!!

Blues Travler - Christmas
The Waitresses - Christmas Wrapping
Gilberto Gil - Lamento Sertanejo
Pepe Castillo - Aguinaldo Jibaro
Run-DMC - Christmas in Hollis
They Might be Giants - Feast of Lights
Rudolph's Shiny New Year - Father Time's Song

Battle of the Book Reviews - Urban Agriculture vs The Urban Food Revolution

2011-12-20T13:03:00.000-08:00

If you're looking for a holiday gift concerning Urban Agriculture/Food I have you covered. 2011 saw two notable books come out The Urban Food Revolution - Changing the Way We Feed Cities by Peter Ladner and Urban Agriculture - Ideas and Designs for the New Food Revolution by David Tracey.

Here's the breakdown:

-Urban Food Revolution is for those who are new to the idea of urban food and urban agriculture. If you are a frequent reader of this blog or involved in the movement already, there is little new here and to be honest, a book like this comes out every year.
The author is a politician turned journalist who adequately summarizes the various aspects of the movements.

The highlights of the book are contained in pages 88-93. It's here where entrepreneurs can get valuable information on the costs of running your own balcony farm, the cost to set up Valcent ground breaking vertical farming operation, and the cost to set up an urban agriculture farm in a metropolis like Philadelphia.
Having tried to piece together this information myself, it was quite a treat to find of all of this information in one place.
Although there are solutions sprinkled throughout the book, the final chapter is devoted solely to how to fix North America's current urban agriculture woes. However in my opinion, there just aren't enough solutions here and that's what we need more of than anything.

-As for David Tracey's book, it's for that person in your life who wants to get their hands dirty. Whereas the former book was written more for an academic, the latter book is for the farmer in all of us, whether they are new to the field or old hands. It's a terrific source of ideas, big and small, and designs too, for how we can turn our urban areas into farms. Instructions on how to increase your backyard or container yields or start a community garden are all here.

The Urban Food Revolution - Changing the Way We Feed Cities wins, hands down!

p.s. Both of the writers hail from Vancouver, where there is a lot more about their burgeoning urban ag industry.

32 square foot green roof for $20,000

2011-12-17T11:29:00.000-08:00

A 32 square foot green roof for $20,000??? Yes, you heard right.. No one can argue that this is a good thing, educationally, and that the tiny green roof provides minimal environmental impact (the officials was smart to say that right away)...but in a time where economic austerity is sweeping the continent, that money could certainly have been used for another green roof projects with greater educational and environmental reach.

-PRI Cold Climate is looking for individuals and/or design teams to create a self-sustaining system for growing annual or perennial food crops in cold climates. Deadline for registration is January 6!

-Ahhh...now I understand why Michigan's Right to Farm Act and the City of Detroit seeking an exemption from it to allow urban agriculture, was such a big deal. At least, I think that I understand. Some have fears that "nuisance odors, traffic and similar issues" would be hard to control. However the Michigan Agriculture Commission approved amendments Wednesday to state farm regulations, so we'll see how things turn out.

Hamburg, Germany wants multiple High Lines

2011-12-13T10:13:00.000-08:00

During certain times of the year there are lulls in living architecture news. Traditionally, mid to late December is oh so quiet.

However, there are a few interesting tidbits today and later in the month I will have a couple of top 5 and top 10 lists.

But first...
-Hamburg, Germany, is committing $1 billion to High Linesque parks covering one of their busiest highways.

-I should also add, even though it's the dead of winter, it's not too early to start thinking about permaculture courses and the spring. Alaska will be beautiful in late April!

Urban agriculture best practices across the USA

2011-12-10T07:10:00.000-08:00

A couple of quick urban agriculture hits!

Earlier this week the Turner Environmental Law Clinic released a report detailing best practices across the United States.
A few things jump out at me from the executive summary, I'll have more comments on the whole thing later:

1. If you'd like to detail the best urban agriculture practices "in these parts", it would make sense to include Canada's biggest cities as well (Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal). There's much to be learned and on the grassroots level, I have seen a fair amount of idea cross-pollination.

2. I know precious little about urban agriculture in the southwestern US (and there's nothing about it in this report). Note to self (and everyone out there reading) for future blog post, find out what's happening down in the desert, because we rarely hear about it.

-For those across Canada, you have until January 31 to apply for the Green Grants Program and possible get $10,000 for your urban agriculture, community development or environmental stewardship project.

December tunes + Aquaponics arms race begins

2011-12-08T10:10:00.000-08:00

Consider it "game on" in the aquaponics world.

-Getting a head start on marketing, a group in Berlin, Germany hope to have an urban agriculture factory up and running in 2013. Not a small one, either, about 80,000 square feet. Total cost? $6.7 million dollars. Not to be outdone, earlier this week a group which will be based in England will have the world's largest biomass to energy facility on 300 acres of land and the world's largest aquaponics facility. I guess that we'll see about that.

-Speaking of the UK and firsts, an English school will have the first institutional aquaponic facility.

-On to what soon may be considered "old style" urban agriculture, hearings will be heard in Montreal concerning urban agriculture starting in the spring. In total, volunteers need 15,000 and got almost twice that. Will they be allowed to raise fowl legally? How about beekeeping? Stay tuned.

And no, I didn't forget. It's just a bit late, so here ya go!

Weezer December
Edie Brickell Air Of December
Willie Nelson December Day
Tower of Power Only So Much Oil In The Ground Okay, this has nothing to do with December...but, the peak oilers should appreciate it!

Peak oil deal o' the day: Food Storage Kit - 1 year - 40 people - only $30,000

2011-12-05T06:55:00.000-08:00

This may be a hardcore peak oilers dream and I have soooooo many questions for someone at Sam's Club.

1) Who is the marketing genius behind this? And does he/she have Peter Thiel on speed dial?
2) How many have they sold so far?
3) How did they do their market research? "Excuse me, ma'am, I'm calling from Sam's Club. Let me ask you a question. How much would you pay for 43,800 meals? $30 Grand? Okay, done deal."
4) So if you live in Hawaii, Alaska or a commonwealth like Puerto Rico, it's no soup for you... but, if you live in the Northern Mariana Islands, you are golden?

Buen prubechu!

How to green an economy? Lessons from Germany's road, roofs and railways

2011-12-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

-Earlier this week I reviewed a debate from October's Ontario provincial election. The members had ideas about how to green the economy, but really, who knows what needs to be done to make it actually work? Ah ha! The Solutions Journal, says follow Germany's lead!

-Will large scale urban farming finally take flight in Detroit? And why, after almost 3 years if the law doesn't need to be changed, why can't a big farm start making some bucks? Another question is, once the farm is operational, what kind of urban farming jobs will be available? Meanwhile Toronto will decide in the spring whether to allow backyard fowl.

-In a battle royale between Small Planet Institute's Anna Lappe and Freakonomics Steve Sexton guess who reigns supreme?

-The urban agriculture word of the week is "food swapping." You heard it here, folks. Let's see if this practice picks up steam!

Top 100 permaculture books of all-time

2011-11-30T15:26:00.000-08:00

There's nothing better than stumbling on a treasure trove of goodies, behold, the top 100 permaculture books to date.

If you wanna be an expert, after reading these books you'll have a Ph.D!

Gaia university debuts permaculture diploma in 2012

2011-11-29T07:14:00.000-08:00

-Starting in 2012 Gaia University will begin offering an International Diploma of Permaculture Design. In my opinion the most important parts of this development are:

*that this diploma offers an intermediate step before one attains their master permaculture teachers and:
*it offers a course (online!) which is not region specific, so anyone, anywhere can get their feet wet with permaculture.

-There was great hope in Baltimore that a bill giving tax breaks to urban farmers might make it through city council.It's not to be, unfortunately.

-In Kenya, urban farming can mean the difference between is life and death. There are a TON of startling facts in this comprehensive article, including that 95 percent of those surveyed in Kibera, Kenya reported worrying about running out of food.

Cities Alive - green roofs/green walls conference starts next week

2011-11-24T11:43:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone in the USA had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
For those of us who've celebrated an American Thanksgiving, we know indulgence is par for the course, as is leftovers which may or may not be eaten quickly. America's first package free/zero waste grocery store, has a few good tips for what to do with the leftovers so everything goes fast!

-Next week, the big event for the living architecture community is the Cities Alive conference in Philadelphia. It's the 9th annual conference, this year focusing on restoring urban waters.
And more municipalities are waking up to the importance of living infrastructure. For instance, Durban, South Africa has launched a green roof pilot project.

-We're all aware of New York City's work in this area, last week Mark Bittman welcomed guest bloggers to talk more about initiatives in the City.

-Last up for today, those who live in Toronto and part of the food security scene know Anan Lololi and the Afri-Can FoodBasket program. Now, thanks to Canadian Geographic we all are.