Dornob | Design Ideas Daily

Up On the Roof: Spectacular Scandinavian Grass Roofs

Posted: 19 Sep 2012 10:00 AM PDT

[ Filed under Green Homes & in the Architecture category ]

Green roofs are finally enjoying some well-deserved popularity on modern buildings in the US, but in Scandinavia they have been part of traditional architecture for centuries. Today it is possible to see an astonishing variety of green roofs in Norway, all paying homage to the nation’s love of these eco-friendly architectural features.

Some green roofs are planted with – if you’ll forgive the pun – garden-variety grass. Others display a more complex vegetation pattern, often including flowers, trees and low shrubs. Even trees make an occasional appearance, although in the picture above the trees seem to be overgrown and sitting atop a structurally damaged home.

Green roofs are not only lovely; they help to insulate a home and keep its heating and cooling costs low. The weight of the roof and its necessary structural supports help to stabilize the home, and grass roofs tend to be very long-lived.

One of the first questions typically asked about green roofs is “But how do you mow it?” The answer is simple: in most cases, you don’t. Think of grass roofs as a wild prairie environment where the plants are left to grow as they please. Their beautiful natural state adds a great deal of character to the homes on which they sit.

Norwegians homes trended toward more modern roofs for a while, but a traditionalist movement is bringing these ultra-effective and lovely roofs back. Scandinavians are so serious about their green roofs, in fact, that every year there is a competition to determine the cream of the crop by the Scandinavian Green Roof Association.

Keep Going - Check out this Great Related Dornob Article:

Green For Your Home? Funky Fake Grass-Covered House

Grass as a Material? Green Design Takes to the Streets

[ Filed under Green Homes & in the Architecture category ]

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All-Natural Moss Carpet You Can Grow Right in Your Home

Posted: 18 Sep 2012 04:00 PM PDT

[ Filed under Rugs & Mats & in the Furnishings category ]

Greenery outside of planters always sounds great in theory, but what happens when it gets overgrown, requires extra care or just generally starts to make a mess?

Those are the questions that this organic carpet design by plant artist Makoto Azuma attempts to address, in cooperation with Unitika.

The magic is what happens underneath the rug: a plant-based fiber supporting roots and storing seeds that is “decomposed (biodegraded) by microorganisms in compost or in soil after 10 years. Eventually only carbon dioxide and water remain"

TERRAMAC is named by combining ”TERRA” meaning “earth” or “mother earth” and “MAC” meaning “Son” in Latin. The name, TERRAMAC, expresses “children (sons) of the mother earth” and carries an image of the “products friendly to the earth and loved by all animate being” (via Inhabitat).