On-going PROJECTS and INITIATIVES
A home for Rare Species in the city
Can we create living architecture to host rare species?
A major lab initiative is to better understand how to establish rare plants on roofs and walls. We know you can grow native plants on roofs, but how well can the roof systems recover fragments of lost ecosystems, including the lesser common species. Several research and design projects are examining how rare, threatened, and extirpated plants can be used as indicators of the ecological potential in living architecture.
Fortunately, initial results indicate that some rare native plants can establish and live in roof environments. Which species can survive? What impact do these plants have on native wildlife? And how we begin to design future green roofs and walls as local habitats? These are a few of the various questions our team is pursuing.
Recycling Dredge for Reuse
How can we redirect the “waste” stream of river dredge for beneficial use?
A major area of study is in the reuse of river dredge sediments in roof and wall growing media. Each year millions of cubic feet of sediment are dredged from rivers and dumped in Lake Erie which may be contributing to lower water quality. Using the high clay content in the sediment, we have created various forms of light weight aggregates that can used to grow native plants in green roof and walls.
What plants can grow in modified dredge? How can dredge be used as upstream habitat? What new applications exits for dredge in the built environment?
ECO-TYPES for Translation: ecomimetics in living architecture
What local ecosystems can translate to living architecture?
A major initiative involving multiple labs and partners is understanding terrestrial ecosystems as analogs for living architecture. We are studying and defining local terrestrial ecosystems that possess transferable hosting settings for native plant, insect and wildlife communities on buildings.
How can bluff top meadows be used as roof models? Can ledges be used to design green walls? What kinds of wetlands are best suited for a roof top design? These are the questions we are pursuing.