peebee.

The things we do in our daily lives affect directly our environment. Mostly in a harmful way. We have been talking about sustainable ways of living for years now, but what about regenerative ways? Can we change our habits to live a beneficial lifestyle and not only lower our carbon footprint but remove carbon from our atmosphere?

Most of the systems around us are shaped in a non sustainable way so it is usually hard to try to live with zero impact. I started by questioning myself what things could I do myself so I don't have to rely on public systems. Could we try to grow our own food at home so we don't depend on supermarkets which produce a lot of plastic for food wrapping, produce incredible amounts of waste, consume lots of energy and emit lso much CO2 with transportation and other actions? Could we reduce our waste to the minimun so we don't contribute to polluting our natural ecosystems? Can we lower the amount of energy we use on a daily basis? What other things can we question and actually change?

I started by testing this possibilities myself from my own context in order to be able to know if this could be replicated by more people. I found a local urban garden called Connecthort which invites people from the neighborhood to engage and collaborate in sustainable activities in the garden. From taking care of the plants, to building a structure with biomaterials, this community helps you reconnect with nature and other people by joining efforts and knowledge to grow and take care of this beautiful space.

BAM is an organization that promotes beneficial practices for people and nature in architecture. Rethinking the way we do things and how can we redirect them into a better action that responds to the needs of both people and nature. Exploring new building techniques and construction methods, they also promote knowledge about biomaterials for construction. Creating healthy spaces for people to engage with their community and the environment and sharing knowledge about different interests. These biobricks are made of clay, sand, straw and limestone.

A prototype of a modular, smart and vertical garden made out of 3D printed clay. These 3D printed pots hosts a series of diverse plants and even insects or other surrounding species. This system was implemented by the community which got involved in the planting steps of the process. Defining which plants to put in which line of planters and taking care of them collectively. This system is bio-photovoltaic which means it creates its own energy from the bacteria in the soil of the plants. With the implemented electronics system we were able to monitor the temperature, humidity and water system of the plants. Making it easier to check and to care for.

Waste feels unavoidable sometimes, but it is true that we can at least try to reduce it. We can start by buying only what we need and nothing extra. Buying locally also helps reduce carbon emissions and help the local economy. Then we can try by using the most out of what we already bought. For example food waste. We usually throw away so much food waste that could be repurposed into something else, being it compost, fertilizer, other food or biomaterials. The tricky part is deciding what to keep and what to throw out. Then you need to know what to actually do with the material you have.

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