Fil-Am architect's 'Living Walls' breathe and fight pollution

To solve the smelly and unsightly problem of urine-soaked walls and sidewalks in urban areas similar to Metro Manila, a multi-awarded Filipino-American architect has designed a “pee-friendly place” seen to benefit both the public and the environment.

 

Drawing inspiration from desert woodrats that build dens out of foliage and excrement, Lira Luis created the "Living Walls” system to improve the quality of outdoor air and mitigate pollution in large cities.

 

Turning urine, carbon dioxide into breathable air

 

In an interview via email with GMA News Online, Luis explained that the "Living Walls" will utilize urine as a natural fertilizer to encourage the growth of algae and small plants to be grown on a special panel made of ceramic or concrete. The plants will help trap carbon dioxide in the air and convert it into oxygen, and the wall system will be designed to function as an open-air urinal.

 

Luis, an architecture alumna from the University of Santo Tomas (UST), said the idea for the “Living Walls” system stemmed from her desire to reinvent the way structures are built by incorporating natural elements that not only look good, but also “work” to promote the well-being of people who will use and pass by it.

 

“This project, having the flexibility to be replicated in any city, could be a tool for design discussion on resiliency, reconciliation and re-inhabiting of cities that will break current thinking patterns for architecture and its related building enclosures. [This is an example of] systemic development…that can help reintegrate the built environment with the natural world to promote life,” she said.

 

Despite having a license to pilot-test the technology in other countries, Luis has instead chosen to launch it first in the Philippines.

 

Philippines, first among 'breakout nations'

 

Luis plans to launch the technology in the Philippines, ahead of the rest of the world.

 

“In a sustainable development, these ‘breakout nations,’ which includes the Philippines, are design incubators which have the ability to move directly to more advanced technologies and industries. [The country] also represents a new sustainable design demographic worthy of investigation as we find solutions to re-inhabit our built environment,” she said.

 

Prior to conceptualizing the Living Walls system, Luis constructed in 2003 the award-winning Portable Transient Shelter Pods for transient workers and people displaced by calamities. According to a feature on the project on Architizer.com, Luis was inspired to create the shelter pods upon hearing of the need to improve the living conditions of migrant seafarers in the Philippines. — TJD, GMA News