Landscape Ecological Urbanism

Fredrick Steiner asserts that a solution to a rapidly degrading urban ecology is to no longer design with infrastructure first, but rather micro-ecosystem landscape projects with infrastructure and built objects coming second. This is wrong in my opinion. To solve the problem of the built environment ecology, one must look at just that. Many projects which employ these types of strategies are most needed in dense urban environments, places where massive landscape projects or redevelopment projects are not feasible.


macau, you han district

However, the idea of a micro-ecosystem as a method of remediation seems to be a very logical course of action. This idea of an ecosystem can be applied to the design of a built structure or integrated deeper into architectural thoughts. Building work much like a controlled ecosystem, but if the surroundings and landscape already helped with the control of the interior or built space, perhaps even more passive buildings can be developed. This however leads to my final challenge which is the architects inability to do that. Science and Design are only beginning to make friends, but we as young architects and learners have a unique opportunity to be ahead of the game with that regards. I believe science and design (particularly architects, landscape architects, and planners) need to have a closer relationship with one another to remediate the inherent problem of shaping our world. 



untouched for 8 year, micro ecosystem

By manipulating and shaping our world, we will always damage it, often times with no undoing it. There exists only ONE carbon neutral developed nation in the entire world, and it happens to be carbon negative for that matter. Designers and scientists should seek to understand how that is possible and bring those ideas elsewhere. It cannot be done by only architects.


Bhutan, only carbon neutral developed nation

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