By Jan S. Gephardt I hope you’ll enjoy something a little different for today’s blog post, Berwyn’s Solstice Story. This post goes live on the exact day of the Winter Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere where this blog, Artdog Studio, and Weird Sisters Publishing are based. So it seemed an appropriate time to share it. This excerpt comes near the end of A Bone to Pick, the second novel of my science fiction mystery XK9 “Bones” Trilogy. It is ©2021-22…
Happy 51st Earth Day! Followers of Artdog Adventures may remember earlier posts about environmentally-friendly architecture. I tend to post them around Earth Day. People sometimes talk about “green buildings.” But there’s “green” as in eco-friendly, and then there’s “green” as in literally green buildings. And some are both. What do I mean by “literally green buildings”? When I say “literally green buildings,” I mean green with plants. Lately, more and more architects think about plants from the very start of…
Monday’s post was partially inspired by a column I saw in the newspaper. Today’s post is, too. Same issue of the Kansas City Star, actually. But this one originated in The Times of Israel. Sorry to say, it has a pretty dark tone. I’m talking about freedom of religion. Yes, I mean the clause in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that goes, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” But I’m also talking about more than that. The need…
The Artdog Images of Interest I have a thing for “green” architecture. I think the potential to build things that actually improve the environment is amazing. Much better than conventional projects that blight or destroy it. All over the world, I’m delighted to see a sustainability ethos begin to rise up. We all need a sense that we have a moral obligation to do better. All over the world, but not as much in the USA. That’s not to say we have nothing of…
Where did Rana Station Come From? The first of the XK9 “Bones” Trilogy, What’s Bred in the Bone, is now available on Amazon as a paperback or in Kindle format. It explores ideas I’ve been developing for a long time. Its setting, Rana Station, is almost a character in its own right. That’s partially because of the culture, partially because of the communities, and partially because of the incessant need to grow food everywhere possible. Origins of Rana Station I chose the classic Stanford Torus as the basis for my design. But–like many sf authors–I…
The Artdog Image of Interest Do you love time lapse photography? I certainly do. I went looking for a good image to wish you a magical Summer Solstice, for this post. When I stumbled across a time lapse image of the sun rising at Stonehenge on the Summer Solstice, I was delighted. I hope you are, too! This sequence was taken at Stonehenge, in Wiltshire, UK, in 2018. Just watching the video made me feel a little bit the way I did after the…
The Artdog Image of Interest A TEDx speaker, architect Dong-Ping Wong, lays out a case for moving past “sustainable” and transitioning into “productive” architecture. Specifically, he describes architecture that produces three kinds of benefits: Solar and wind energy (see below). Solar and wind energy (see below). Clean water filtration in a river, via his +POOL project. Agricultural crop yields in the middle of a city (strong echoes of my Rana Station, here! Who knew?). He calls it an “urban quilt of productivity.” I’ll warn you: this is longer than…
The Artdog Image of Interest Here’s an update on this “different take,” from 2024! When you focus on unusual projects, sometimes they don’t work out long-term, but this one did! Take a look at the project with mature trees and tested by more than a decade of living and growing. I’m focusing on “green” architecture this month. Not only green as environmentally sustainable, but green as in there are lots of plants incorporated into the design. In this case, it’s an urban apartment…
The Artdog Image of Interest In honor of Earth Day, this month I’m exploring YouTube videos that show some amazing environmentally efficient architecture. Today’s video explores eight different buildings on the cutting edge of sustainability. Several even generate more energy than they can use. VIDEO: Many thanks to All Things Human’s YouTube Channel, for this video.
The Artdog Image of Interest Trees ON buildings? We’ve heard about trees around buildings, but something new has begun to take root in architectural circles. A major theme in environmentally sustainable architecture is the incorporating plants into designs. And that doesn’t mean just any plants. It means carefully chosen shrubs, grasses, and yes, trees on buildings Truly integrating them into the design requires some unusual logistics. But it creates such research-established advantages as mitigating urban heat islands, carbon sequestration, and psychological benefits. Especially for the people actually…