Mosses project!

Informing you excellent people that the moss wall element is progressing. I've been working on experiments with an indoor moss wall, although I am not entirely convinced of their success. I'm not entirely sure how to interpret the results and I will have to repeat the experiment more times to get some more precise findings.

Claopodium crispifolium

Dicranum scoparium

In the meantime, this is what moss looks like when it's attached to a net. It's still a bit fragile but I'll give the moss some more time to grow.

Structures Alive

This New York based green-roof company is woman owned, works with local businesses, native plants, and has a very sexy and concise website. It even includes some very clear descriptions of the construction of their green roofs and the advantages of having one!

Their website specifically is amazing, with lots of photos and good writing. It is very approachable and professional, but still says a lot about their local roots.

Passive Heating and Cooling

Here's an interesting design which demonstrates some key principles of passive solar heating an cooling. It mentions the slate floor which acts as a thermal mass (slowing heating and cooling over the course of the day and night, respectively.) One of the ideas we've been tossing around is using the moss wall as our solar mass, as it's density may be appropriate. (We may want to consider adding a thin stone tile backing to it...)

I've also been reading the Humanure book online, and found the temperature that compost can reach- up to 70 degrees Celsius. This is pretty exciting, as we were also discussing an idea for a water heating system which would run a coiled pipe through the compost containment unit, and then through the central wall of the house. This would heat the house, as well as provide hot water. Any thoughts on how feasible this might be?

TerraScreen indoor green walls

These green walls are a similar concept to our moss wall but with potted plants.

Green Walls, for eugene

So I've been doing a bit of research on green walls for Eugene's upcoming project on the moss wall. On the left here is a diagram of how a green wall works from the Faculty of Applied Sciences at Queens. This article has a breakdown of some of the building related difficulties of the greenwall.

The Sustainable Building Center in Paris has a greenwall, which is pictured above. I just think it's hot and sexy.

Also, as I was searching, I found the greenwall foundation, which we may be able to apply to for grants.