Today we met with various individuals from different universities to discuss sustainable architecture and sustainable cities. My favorite part of the day was learning about the design and building of various areas on Cuba Street. There is a lot more that goes into city planning than I thought! Everything from art, safety, accessibility, and sustainability. One of the coolest realizations was the ways in which a city could create a pedestrian friendly neighborhood and encourage people to walk more. Instead of directly putting signs up to try to change people’s attitudes, creating pedestrian friendly benches and walkways will naturally produce the desired change. Another cool thing to see was the rainwater garden. I always notice rain water rushing down the road straight into the sewers, and feel like something should be done with all that free water. A rainwater garden is a perfect solution! It ensures rainwater doesn’t go to waste and cleans the water, and also provides refreshing green areas in cities. As we learned later on in the day, green areas are crucial for happiness of residents, so the more green the better.
I also enjoyed hearing creative sustainable solutions to architectural problems. The recycled cardboard chair seemed like a fun and interesting project. This challenge is great for sustainability as it uses recycled material and has very little unnecessary materials as no glue, tape, or mechanical fasteners were used. It was fun to see all the creative designs.
