A key project is Yeang’s own house (1985) which represents his early bioclimatic work. The dwelling has an umbrella-like upper roof-structure that functions as a solar-filtering device and shades the lower roof. Its side ‘wind wing-walls’ direct wind into the dining area. The swimming pool functions as an evaporative-cooling device and brings a breeze into the living spaces. 

Yeang moved on to apply the bioclimatic principles to high-rise towers. Contending that the high-rise tower will not go away overnight, he sought ecologically benign ways to make this built form green and humane to inhabit. He is now credited as the inventor of the “bioclimatic skyscraper.”

The Solaris building (Singapore, 2008) brought together his ideas on ecological architecture with a continuous landscaped ramp and other experimental devices. The building has an ecologically-linked vegetated pedestrian walkway as a “vertical linear park,” punctuated by sky garden terraces located at each corner and linked to mid-level and uppermost-level gardens. The Solaris’ vertical linear park represents Yeang’s concept of “green eco-infrastructure” that enables an ecological nexus between the built form and its surrounding landscape and bioregion. 

His publications include: The Skyscraper: Bioclimatically Considered, The Green Skyscraper: The Basis for Designing Sustainable, Intensive Buildings, and Ecodesign: A manual for Ecological Design.

His recent work explores the concept of ‘eco-mimicry’ as designing the built environment as constructed ecosystems that emulates the processes, structure and attributes of ecosystems. The term refers to physical, structural and systemic mimicry of ecosystems and is regarded by Yeang as an outgrowth from the ‘bio-mimicry’ and ‘eco-mimetics’. 

We were fortunate to be joined by Dr. Yeang on our podcast, Social Design Insights, where he spoke with host Eric J. Cesal about the arc of green thinking in design and what the future holds. Have a listen at the link above.

The post 123 | Design’s Race & Rescue Mission appeared first on Curry Stone Foundation.

His 2012 book Carbon Zero: Imagining cities that can save the planet is an exploration of the kinds of design, technological and policy innovations that can transform our cities.

He previously served as the Planetary Futurist in Residence at IDEO, curated the 3 part documentary series The Heroic Future, and launched The Snap Forward: New thinking for winning the climate fight, a new book of strategies for combating climate change. Currently, he writes a type of ‘anticipatory journalism’ under the title The Nearly Now – a series of dispatches from the future.

We were fortunate to have Steffen join us on our podcast Social Design Insights for our climate emergency segment, where we discussed his unique work in envisioning better futures. Have a listen at the link above.

The post 122 | Imagining New Futures for the Planet appeared first on Curry Stone Foundation.

Through these two experiences, King decided to establish a central resource for information on green and natural building techniques: The Ecological Building Network, an organization dedicated to information gathering and sharing which also hosts the BuildWell conferences.

As a part of his advocacy, King is well known for spearheading multiple efforts to widen acceptance of natural building techniques into national and international code systems. He is the author of the ASTM international building standard for earthen construction, as well as the books “Buildings of Earth and Straw”, “Making Better Concrete”, and “Design of Straw Bale Buildings”.

King is an advisor to Serious Materials, Foundation Capital and GreenBuildingAdvisor.com. With his wife and partner, Sarah Weller King, he is also the founder of the Green Building Press – a press dedicated to green building. He contributes widely and frequently through papers, articles, conferences, books and journals.

His book “The New Carbon Architecture: Building to Cool the Planet” is a definitive guide to low-carbon and carbon-negative building materials and techniques. We were fortunate enough to have Bruce join us on our podcast, Social Design Insights, have a listen at the link above.

The post 121 | Buildings Made of Sky appeared first on Curry Stone Foundation.

She has also been active with both the American Institute of Architects and the U.S. Green Building Council: at the AIA she led the development of the renowned Guide to the International Green Construction Code and has previously served as their Sustainability Resident Fellow. With the USGBC, Lazarus helped develop “The New Orleans Principles” The assembled ideas spun off into the Resilient Design Institute and the development of three Resilient Design Pilot credits.

She is the author or co-author of multiple books, guidelines and protocols on green and resilient design, including the highly influential The HOK Guidebook to Sustainable Design. She is also an adjunct faculty and sustainability program coordinator at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

We were fortunate enough to catch up with Lazarus on our podcast Social Design Insights, where we discussed the origins of green policy and how designers can get involved. Have a listen at the link above.

The post 120 | Beyond Green Design appeared first on Curry Stone Foundation.

Starhawk is a founder of Earth Activist Trainings (EAT), teaching permaculture design grounded in spirit and with a focus on organizing and activism.  Together with Charles Williams and others, she co-teaches EAT courses in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. She also champions ‘social permaculture’: the application of permaculture principles to social organizations, policy and strategy.

Since its first course in May of 2001, Earth Activist Trainings has graduated over 1000 students who now shepherd projects that range from community power-down strategies in Iowa City to water catchment programs in Bolivia, from inner city gardens in San Francisco to programs in the West Bank of Palestine.

Starhawk is a veteran of progressive movements, from anti-war to anti-nukes, and is deeply committed to bringing the techniques and creative power of spirituality to political activism.

We were fortunate enough to host Starhawk on our podcast Social Design Insights. Have a listen at the link above!

The post 119 | Redesigning Our Relationship with the Earth appeared first on Curry Stone Foundation.

Dr. Goh’s teaching and advocacy encompass these different ways of examining climate change – not as a technological problem, but as a social one. Recent publications include articles on urban flooding and climate change adaptation in the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research and Urban Studies, a book chapter on urban design and social justice in the edited book The New Companion to Urban Design, and articles on “architecture and global ethnographies” in e-flux journal, designing urban adaptation in Perspecta: The Yale Architectural Journal, and queer space and activism in the Annals of the American Association of Geographers. 

Dr. Goh’s current research investigates the urban spatial politics of climate change adaptation. This research traces the flows of ideas and influence between sites and adaptation strategies in Southeast Asia, North America, and Europe. More broadly, her research interests include urban theory, urban design, environmental planning, and urban political ecology. She is currently completing a book project titled A Political Ecology of Design: Contested Visions of Urban Climate Resilience.

We were lucky enough to be joined by Professor Goh on our podcast Social Design Insights, where we discussed how politics, design, and climate change come together. Have a listen at the link above!

The post 118 | Design Politics in the Climate Emergency appeared first on Curry Stone Foundation.

Freed is the author of 12 books, including “Green Building & Remodeling for Dummies”, a bestseller with over 200,000 copies in print, and “Sustainable School Architecture.” His how-to book, “Green$ense for your Home” won the 2011 Outstanding Book Award from the American Society of Journalists and Authors.

Freed is also the recipient of many awards; named by San Francisco Magazine “Best Green Architect” in 2005; “Best Visionary” in 2007; and “Green Visionary” by 7×7 Magazine in 2008. In 2012, he was named one of the 25 “Best Green Architecture Firms” in the US, and one of the “Top 10 Most Influential Green Architects.” Currently, he serves as the Director of Sustainability at CannonDesign

We were fortunate enough to catch up with Freed on our podcast Social Design Insights, where we discussed the state of the union in green design, and the bold actions necessary when designing green. Have a listen at the link above.  

The post 117 | What a Great Time to Be Alive appeared first on Curry Stone Foundation.