Sustainable Urban Biophilia: The Case of Greenskins for Urban Density

Sustainability 2014, 6(8), 5423-5438; doi:10.3390/su6085423

Author

Grant Revell ^1,†,*  and Martin Anda ^2,†

¹

Landscape Architecture, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway Crawley WA, 6009 Perth, Australia

²

Environmental Engineering, Murdoch University, 90 South Street Murdoch WA, 6150 Perth, Australia

^†

These authors contributed equally to this work.

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. 

Received: 24 May 2014 / Revised: 28 July 2014 / Accepted: 6 August 2014 / Published: 19 August 2014

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Density and Sustainability)

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Abstract 

Green infrastructure ameliorates the urban heat island effect, contributes positively to liveability and enables sustainability in higher density urban environments. Greenskins (living architectures) are a more specific form of green infrastructure, including green walls and green roofs, for dense urban areas. These offer a new approach for sustainable urban biophilia and some forms can be built using the ecological design principles of constructed wetlands. The paper compares findings from two urban centres in warm Mediterranean climates. In general from Adelaide, South Australia and more specifically from university collaborative projects on particular technical and social parameters necessary to sustain Greenskins in dense urban conditions in Fremantle, Western Australia. Results from trials of a prototype greywater Greenskin using vertical constructed wetland cells are reported. Through an experimental investigation of designing living green walls in urban Fremantle, this paper challenges the conventional “triple-bottom-line” approach to sustainable dense urban systems by addressing the greater aesthetic needs of sustainability and its thinking. Here landscape aesthetics looks to the collaborative fields of urban design, environmental engineering and landscape architecture to design new urban biophilic experiences and restorative landscapes for regenerative cultural pleasure, ecological responsibility, environmental stewardship and intellectual gain. View Full-Text

Keywords: green walls;  green roofs;  urban density;  constructed wetlands;  design principles;  urban biophilia

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