We have started working on our Nature Cots project. The website is now live at NatureCots.fi! Nature Cots is an experimental project by Mieluisa. The aim is to bring intensive nature to the concrete jungle via small scale portable nature devices – Nature Cots.
A big thank you for our supporters Kone Foundation, The Arts Promotion Centre Finland and The Finnish Cultural Institute in New York!
This great biomimetic water harvesting installation is inspired by Namibian fog-basking beetles, Ethiopian basket-weaving traditions Warka trees. It is made of bamboo, bioplastic and fiber ropes and is easy to build with simple tools. For more information, visit the project’s web page warkawater.it
Our balcony apple tree survived the harsh Finnish winter. Apparently the thermo pot really does work. Hooray!
BIG and Heatherwick Studio have joined forces to design new California headquarters for Google. It will be interesting to see how this Frei Otto meets the Eden Project meets Under the Dome will come to life. It will be quite a challenge to turn vast parking lots and mundane business parks into an ecological, inspiring and flexible neighbourhood as described in the video. It is interesting how different headquarters designs of the contemporary giants are: Facebook+Gehry, Apple+Foster and now Google+BIG&HS are headed into totally different directions with their designs. They share very similar ideas about an ecological campus of the future, but the approach and execution are quite different. Ultimately time will tell which vision transforms into reality the best. Different as they are, certainly all of these companies have the resources to make it work. Let’s just wait and see!
The fabulous One Central Park has been selected as the Best Tall Building Worldwide by the Council of Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. Designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel, PTW Architects and Patrick Blanc, this Sydney high-rise hybrid boasts beautiful, large green walls. The building also has an array of motorised mirrors to direct light to the park that would otherwise be overshadowed by the building. Wow!
In this Dezeen interview, the green wall pioneer Patrick Blanc tells us about building green walls. He focuses on his work for the Pérez Art Museum building in Miami. He creates really complex vertical gardens that have dozens of different plant species, beautiful!
Since the 1970’s Jadav Payeng has been planting trees in order to save his island. Today the forest, planted by one man, is already larger than Central Park in New York City. The forest has transformed a wasteland into a large oasis that is home to many endangered species. This documentary, Forest Man, tells the story of the man behind the long project.
An ingenious way to enter your treehouse! Maybe the next version could be that you could clip on your normal bike, pedal down and then ride to work?
