Urban Archives - Ambient Green

Urban Vertical Lattice Gardening

HoustonUnited States

These are a few samples around our Downtown area of vertical vine growth for shade and privacy purposes. It is an excellent way of implementing urban greenery while providing a practical purpose.

The first group of images displays a line of green shading along several bus stop waiting areas. The next group shows the potential for green shading use in urban parking garages.

Restaurant LED Lighting

Ville de QuebecCanada

We recently converted all lighting from the restaurant to LED fixtures, saving us $ 700 per month. However, after finding these other LED filament bulbs- which adapt much better to our style of globes- we could not resist converting them another time.

Despite their retro appearance and high power (they are turned on at a minimum), these bulbs consume only 4 W of electricity, against 7 W from the previous LEDs, and 50 W for the initial halogens.

Corporate Carpooling Incentive

Santa ClaraUnited States

Our company encourages fewer people to drive to work, individually, by offering designated carpool parking spots close to the building entrance.

Multi-Material Recycling at Local...

MiamiUnited States

I was not aware of some of the options for disposing of more complex materials (including light bulbs, batteries, and other items) until seeing some of these separated bins at our Home Depot. For the past few months now, I have made sure to put aside those items as they stop working and make a quick trip over to drop them off.

EcoCamp Composting Toilet System

Puerto NatalesChile

Our camp uses a composting toilet system, which requires very little water and is excellent for soil regeneration. Such a system utilizes decomposition and evaporation to process waste. What is not evaporated, we mix with wood chips. This remains an active process in which aerobic bacteria transform the waste into fertilizing soil.

Due to the important contribution of the bacteria, the final product is non-harmful and safe to use. This is why we spend a great deal of effort to ensure a hospitable and warm environment for the process, especially through our very cold weather.

Urban Windmills

Corpus ChristiUnited States

Small lineup of vertical axis (VAWT) windmills along the beachfront.

Recycling Bins for Glass

DenverUnited States

While paper and plastic recycling bins are common in public settings, it’s rare to see glass included. Now the product least likely to break down can be reused & recycled infinitely!

https://www.peacecorps.gov/educators/resources/timeline-decomposition/

Apartment Recycling and Sorting

SeattleUnited States

My apartment building offers a composting option in addition to the general waste and recycling bins.

Restaurant Heating/Cooling and Grease...

Ville de QuebecCanada

Here, several of our 14 heat pumps (one per heating / cooling zone) are housed. Connected in a loop by a circuit with water and glycol, each heat pump takes or adds heat according to its needs. Several rooms are air-conditioned throughout the year, while others are according to the season or need. The system uses heat or cold where it is surplus to send it where it is needed. “Moving” the heat is 3.5 times more economical than producing it.

As well, the access door in the floor overlooks the grease trap of the restaurant, which prevents grease from going into municipal sewers. A system checks the level of grease and then, when filled, it is pumped by a truck via a connection outside the building. In 6 years of operation, it is not even one-tenth full.

Food Rescue Organization and...

MultipleAustralia

Our organization gathers surplus food from all types of food providers in order to tackle food waste and eliminate hunger, contribute to charities in need, and educate and involve communities by increasing awareness about food waste, rescue, and security.

We provide rescued food through our supermarket and band of food trucks, while also directing it to more than 900 charities across Australia. To date, we have delivered over 60 million meals and saved more than 20,000 tonnes of food from ending up in a landfill.

Restaurant Electric Car Park

Ville de QuebecCanada

Our small car park is made up of four fully electric cars. We also have four charging stations, one of which is accessible to the public. The other three are being made available, as well.

Solar Parking Carports

DallasUnited States

Here is a solar canopy parking lot at the UT Southwestern Medical Center in our area.

Urban Cool Roof and...

HoustonUnited States

The Houston Permitting and Green Building Resource Centers are housed within a certified LEED Gold building, which incorporates a large variety of sustainable and low-impact features.

Its roof not only supports this large solar installation, but is designed to follow a ‘cool roof code’, as mandated for commercial buildings by the city. The code serves to reduce buildings’ contributions to the heat island effect (a localized increase in temperature around urban areas, created by their everyday activities).

This roof utilizes solar panels (which also act as additional barriers between the sun’s rays and the roof, helping to keep the building cool), as well as exhibiting a light-colored and more reflective roof material, and vegetated green roof on the building’s side. These features give the roof a very high solar reflective index (SRI) of 89/100.

Apartment Recycling for Community...

San AntonioUnited States

Our apartment complex has recycling bins in community mail areas, encouraging recycling directly at the source, where there is a high potential for mass paper waste. This has been an easy way to help residents responsibly dispose of unneeded letters and other mail that may otherwise be thrown away with regular trash.

Hotel Rooftop Garden

PragueCzech Republic

On one of our roofs, we maintain this rooftop garden. Not only does it allow for a more efficient use of space, but it also serves to help cool the roof in the summer, as rooftop gardens can provide better insulation than standard tar or gravel use, and help to remove heat from the air.