Earth 2.0: An Interview with Melissa Sterry
An innovative building concept by Vincent Callebaut Architecture . The design proposal; "to establish at the heart of Central Taiwan, a hub for innovative and groundbreaking architecture, modern lifestyle, and a future urban center that could sustain bio-diversity within the metropolitan environment." Source: http://myeoffice.com/2011/09/taiwanese-architecture/
In June, futurologist Melissa Sterry wrote an article for URBNFUTR entitled “Building the Bionic City: The Ultimate Smart City“. The subject of Melissa’s focus is so intriguing; we had to know more. In this interview with Urban Times, Melissa tells us more about bio-mimicry, smart-tech, and her vision of the cities of the future and a better world. Which leads us to Earth 2 Hub, the groundbreaking project with which we have affiliated. Its going to cover all this and more and we are very, very excited! [Editor]
Interview
UT: Earth 2 Hub speaks of ‘Earth 2.0′ cities. What are the primary differences between an Earth 2.0 and an Earth 1.0 city?
Melissa being filmed against a green-screen in the production for "Earth 2.0 Initialization" (Watch video below). Image courtesy Frank Da Silva
MS: Environmentally speaking, Earth 1.0 cities were takers not givers, in that they consumed resources without replenishing them. The relationship cities have with the wider world has to change. Cities need to become resourceful and to do that they have to become smart – evolving new ways to reduce their environmental footprint and to start giving back at least as much as they take.
UT: You have stated several times “what humankind considers a force for destruction, nature considers a force for creation.” What do you mean by this?
MS: Our world, indeed our Universe is made up of counterparts, something that is repeatedly referred to in both ancient and contemporary culture and religion. In Taoism these counterparts are referred to as Yin and Yang. In Tantricism they are expressed in the god and goddess Shiva and Shakti. In Star Wars the counterparts are the light and dark side of The Force. Destruction and creation are two sides of the same coin, as expressed by the fact that life would not exist on Earth had it not been for past asteroid impacts, volcanic eruptions and other events commonly referred to as ‘natural disasters’. The world’s ecosystems embed this principle by looking for ways to harness the power of natural hazards, such as taking advantage of the new nutrients unleashed by wildfires to facilitate rapid new growth
UT: How can this approach help us overcome natural disasters such as floods, tsunamis, droughts, and even wide-scale seismic and volcanic activity?
A Dust Storm. Image courtesy of Earth 2 Hub/scene from Earth 2.0: Initialization. A short film
MS: Each of the above named ‘disasters’ are in fact absolutely essential operating functions of our planet, for example earthquakes and eruptions are part of the Rock Cycle, otherwise known as Earth’s surface recycling system. If humanity can learn to see these events as opportunities, therein explore ways to unleash the opportunities they may present, such as harvesting kinetic energy from floods and nutrients from volcanic eruptions, while mimicking the way in which natural ecosystems build resilience to reduce the damage such events can cause, I believe we could evolve a far more harmonious relationship with Earth Systems, be they geological, meteorologicalor ecological.
UT: You say that a weakness of today’s cities is that they were not built to adapt? What do you mean by this?
MS: Today’s cities remain in a state of static inertia, regardless of any environmental changes taking place. Natural ecosystems do the opposite – remaining in a continuum of change, constantly anticipating and responding to shifting conditions of light, heat, humidity and kinetic activity. Ecosystems situated in highly changeable environs embed the greatest level of adaptability, for example if the weather in their region is seasonal the ecosystems will build their life-cycles around it, a good example being deciduous tree species that have adapted to accommodate both high and low temperatures. Cities that mimic this behavior could embed similar such resilience, which would not only enable their infrastructures to absorb harsh environmental hazards, such as high winds, with greater ease, but could also enable greater day-to-day efficiency.
NPS image of the forest canopy near Newfound Gap. The trees in the foreground are deciduous trees known as "northern hardwoods," the leaves of which reflect the colors of autumn. As elevation increases in the distance, the region's two chief high-altitude conifer types-- the red spruce and Fraser fir-- become the dominant tree types, as they can bear much colder climatic conditions than the broad-leaved hardwoods. Source: Wikipedia
well great idea, but in 2 pages, not one specific bit of information hmmmm
Blown away by the content of this interview. We really do need to start mimicking nature's ground up approach, if we're as smart as we claim to be this is the only logical step forward
[...] wear that incorporates geometric structures while letting her scientific interest in evolution and bio-mimicry play a narrative for her designs. With each collection, Ada supports a different charity. [...]