Archive for the ‘Sustainable Design’ Category
Energy Efficient Landscape
There are some interesting developments on alternative energy in Dallas and I wonder what the effect will be for future landscape design. Oncor plans to install 850 miles of transmission lines from West Texas windmills to recharge electric vehicles in Texas. Dallas has a recharging station that opened on September 2010 at the Half-Price Bookstore [...]
Water in the Metroplex Region
My last post was on xeric gardening, and this will be an important footnote. I recently learned of two interesting reports that discuss future water availability or lack of it. The first study (July 2010) comes from the Natural Resources Defense Council; it’s titled “Climate Change, Water, and Risk: Current Water Demands Are Not Sustainable“. [...]
Texas, Water, and Xeric Planting
How green was my valley. Greener pastures. The grass is always greener on the other side. The all-American lawn is fastidious, well-coiffed, and an appealing shade of emerald. All this speaks to the level of forethought and care owners bestow on their home’s welcome carpet. A perfect lawn means the owner is just another law-abiding [...]
Metroplex Industry and Sustainable Design
What would happen if we started applying sustainable design practices to the least aesthetic of places? Industry is zoned separately from residential areas. They are relegated to the status of an economically useful eyesore. Their close proximity is bound to reduce property values. Making them beautiful would be a challenge. But what if we were [...]
Designing with recycled glass
I thought I’d explore and present various ways that recycled glass can be used to enhance landscape design. Using recycled materials in construction and design is a wonderful way be sustainable and elevate points in a LEED project. Glass has qualities of reflection and iridescence, and comes in a wide variety of colors. The more [...]