The success of Facebook, MySpace, online dating agencies and similar social technologies have proven that people continue to be interested in connecting and sharing their interests and knowledge... via technology.
While contemporary technologists and philosophers argue the social technologies have succeeded in creating a “new” and “virtual” public space, the truth is much of this activity is occurring in the physical public realm ... while people grab their lunch in a food court, wait for the bus or train, linger on the steps of Town Hall for a friend, or anticipate better surf at the beach.
Access to technology anywhere, anytime need not just be an individual pursuit, but an enabler to bring people together. No longer physically tied to the classroom, boardroom, or office space, people can gather outside the traditional learning and working environments to learn and work! Much like the shift from the traditional office to open planned, activity based workplaces, the opportunity exists for mobile media technologies to provide the foundation for new activities and uses within the public realm and, consequently, the reconsideration of how those places are designed.
Technology magazines dedicate much editorial to virtual space, psychologists have researched how digital technologies have altered accepted behaviours within the physical public realm, public artists have explored digital media interactions ... the question that is posed here is how can current technology breath new life and activation into the urban environment and how does it change the design public domain?
Ms Michelle Cramer
Woods Bagot
Sydney NSW
Green Roofs and Walls - an essential element for the future of sustainable urbanism
Due to the large demands for food, energy and water, the growth in urban populations has and will continue to create a unique set of environmental problems, both within cities and in the surrounding areas. Many of these problems are either directly caused or exacerbated by the removal of vegetation to accommodate urban expansion. It is expected that many of these problems will be further exacerbated by climate change.
By 2005, 50% of the world’s population will live in cities (Bindé, 1998), and in the industrialized world, the figure has already surpassed 80%.
One design solution that provides and a solution to the many issues faced by urbanisation, is the implementation of green walls and roofs, a very real and achievable solution for supporting a sustainable environment.
In Australia, till now, green walls and roofs have been overlooked as a design priority or concern, thus at this stage we have limited knowledge and skill base for their design and implementation. It is an area that offers many diverse applications with outcomes that directly benefit society, the economy and the environment.
The diverse issues shaping the discussion of viable agronomic systems in the urban fabric must continue to be pursued if we are to be successful in our leadership of the sustainable movement. This pursuit will guide the industry toward meeting our environmental responsibilities and project a broader meaning for green walls and roofs into the urban fabric.
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