Design Ecology



"In hot climates, the cooling affect of green roofs can improve solar panel performance by up to 35%."
"Vegetative architectural systems can reduce membrane temperatures by 90ºF, reducing energy for cooling by 30%."
"Green roofs capture and slow the flow of rainwater, significantly reducing impact to stormwater conveyance systems."
"Sea levels are predicted to rise twice as fast as was forecast by the United Nations only two years ago."
"Water scarcity occurs even in areas where there is plenty of rainfall or freshwater."
"Cities are facing increasing challenges dealing with infill from rural areas, outdated infrastructure and budget shortfalls."
"82% of the U.S. population live in a city, that number continues to grow."
"An investment of $11.3 billion per year is needed to meet the drinking water and sanitation target of the Millenium Development Goals."
"Natural systems cannot keep up with the speed and intensity of the impacts of development and urbanization."
"735 species of plants and 496 species of animals are listed as threatened or endangered."
"Utilizing technologically enhanced products and strategies, designers can elevate ecosystem function to a rate that enables system processing to meet the needs of the new industrial ecology."
"A fully integrated design approach can result in the building itself becoming an engineered but highly functioning ecosystem component."
"This concept of restorative architecture promotes air handling, water processing, habitat creation, sequestration of carbon, food production, the treatment of toxins and heavy metals, and the production of energy to all occur seamlessly within an integrated building."

stormwater

stormwater management

Can solving flooding and water quality problems also be the solution to runaway infrastructure costs, overheating cities, draught, poor water quality, and habitat loss? As infrastructure systems increasingly come under functional and budgetary strain, runoff has proven to be one of the most expensive and difficult of urban issues. Using landscape and living architecture applications, excess water can be slowed, filtered, retained, and infiltrated to restore hydrologic process and support site vegetation and non-potable building uses.

Featured Stormwater Projects
freight2

Freight & Salvage

This popular Berkeley folk music venue relied on a living roof and flow-through stormwater planter to satisfy city code regulations. More than 50% of the roof is covered in native meadow and wildflowers, and the conventional roof area drains to a planter box filter at street level; together these features reduce the amount of stormwater flowing into city infrastructure, and prefilter what water does drain to storm pipe. The living roof also reduces energy required for cooling and provides habitat for native birds and butterflies.

Features: ,

van-2

Van Cortlandt Park

This unique project combines community recreation access with high security infrastructure operations in an integrated site plan. The project scope includes a 9-acre green roof system, use of wetland systems to filter water and control building temperature, application of surplus water to provide security, and management of local ecology consultants.

Excess ground water is redirected into habitat enrichment and security features. Surplus water is routed to the adjacent golf course and infiltration systems. Water features supply water for ground source heat in building systems and non-potable project water demand.

Features: , ,

Design Ecology | 5758 Geary Blvd. #241 San Francisco, CA 94121 | info[at]designecology.com | (415) 233-9186
developed by Grail Web Design

phone number lookup
phone number lookup