Plants & Architecture Integrating plant sciences and the built environment

Plants & Architecture investigates the interactions between buildings and plants and their environment and the development of cities and crops of tomorrow. The Cluster focuses on five areas of research: 1) Green infrastructure – plant selection for green buildings. 2) Wind and mechanical stress effects on plants. 3) Urban agriculture – plant selection, light, nutrient and temperature effects. 4) Bio-derived materials. 5) Urban climate modelling. The Cluster brings together partners from Aberystwyth, Bangor and Cardiff Universities.

COP21 (2015)

At the 2015 Paris Climate Conference (COP21), a legally binding and universal agreement to keep global warming below 2°C was agreed. The agreement has led to a steep increase in efforts to find new ways to reduce carbon emissions, including from buildings and agriculture.

The UK Clean Growth Plan and Industrial Strategy

The UK Clean Growth Strategy, Industrial Strategy (2017) and industry decarbonisation strategies emphasise the benefits of improved energy efficiency of buildings, new low carbon building technologies and low carbon, renewable and bio-materials. Research is needed to develop appropriate (low carbon) materials, building processes and technologies.

The UK Committee for Climate Change (CCC) – Adaptation Sub-Committee (ASC)

The CCC-ASC published their top six areas of inter-related UK climate change risks (2016), including priorities for action on risks to health, wellbeing and productivity from high temperatures and risks to domestic and international food production and trade. In order to mitigate these risks, new ways to mitigate urban heat island (UHI) effects and for (urban) crop production are needed.

The Welsh Government Wellbeing of Future Generations Act (2015)

This Act requires Welsh public bodies to improve long-term economic, social, environmental and cultural wellbeing by working towards achieving seven wellbeing goals. The Act encourages research into the role of the natural environment for quality of life, including the mitigation of rising temperature risks to health, wellbeing and productivity.

Urban farming – from niche to more mainstream

In recent years, initially niche trends in urban farming are becoming more mainstream. Products to enable indoor gardening at home, urban farming start-up initiatives and the development of ‘prefab’ cost- and material-efficient building components are increasing. Such commercial opportunities drive research into more practical and affordable solutions that combine farming with urban living.

What have been the major game-changing events in the last couple of years that have shaped the research agenda in this area?

What have been the major science advances in the last couple of years that have shaped the research agenda in your area?

Integration of models and advanced analytic tools

Recent developments allow scientific models simulating urban infrastructure elements to operate within popular design tools such as SketchUp. This has facilitated the widespread use of modelling within urban planning and design and for the impacts of plants on e.g. heat transfer in the built environment to be considered at city, regional and building levels. In addition, advanced analytic tools such as the JOULES land surface model (UK Met Office), enable unprecedented detail and accuracy in forecasting of urban climate scenarios and the impacts of different building materials and designs.

I. How can we integrate big data into models for green infrastructures and vertical farming?

II. How do we make best use of big data, data analysis and visualisation tools to identify patterns for green infrastructures?

III. How can traditional knowledge on plant growth be integrated with new technologies for monitoring crops in new environments?

To what extent are these questions already being addressed?

www.nrn-lcee.ac.uk/plants-architecture | isd@aber.ac.uk | @PlantsArchitect

Big data and green infrastructure

New sensor technologies enable the integration of monitoring data with models, enabling research into green infrastructure ecosystem service (ES) delivery. Research to date suggests that plant selection affects the provisioning of ES by urban green infrastructure. Using a variety of sensors on experimental green roofs, the Cluster is developing a low-cost methodology for obtaining UK-wide datasets on the performance of green roofs. Cluster research also reveals that the effectiveness of plants and other green roof components can be context specific and depends on local conditions.

Crops in new environments

Sensor technology and elements of automation and robotics allow for advances in controlled environment (indoor) farming. This is creating large amounts of data for individual growers and opportunities to investigate the key drivers affecting produce quality (yield, nutritional value, disease resistance). Cluster research is focusing on the effects of light source, intensity and quality. In collaboration with commercial partners, the impact of additional factors (water, nutrient input, airflow) on nutritional content is also being investigated.

Plants & Architecture Integrating plant sciences and the built environment

Urban heat island (UHI) effects

Recent advances in modelling and monitoring technologies have allowed the integration of UHI patterns with various sources of heat gain, such as traffic emissions. Understanding of factors contributing to UHI is essential to inform policies aimed at reducing its impacts.

LED technologies

The development of energy efficient, tuneable LEDs is revolutionising protected crop production. The emergence of automated plant factories, such as Spread, further stimulates research into the effects of light source manipulation on the quality of produce.

Sensor development

Recent micro-electronic innovations and sensor development have led to sensors that can be attached to plant leaves. Such plant ‘electronic tattoos’ allow for non-invasive monitoring of plant physiology and increase the potential for real-time monitoring of green walls in urban environments.

Advanced low carbon materials

New precision technologies have allowed upscaling of the manufacture of new, specialist materials such as bio-based materials,

photovoltaic panels and electrical components that will aid future building design. Recent trends suggest that consideration of this

‘capital carbon’ of materials in buildings will be increasingly important for decarbonisation and research is needed to optimise materials

and processes so that sector targets can be met.

Taking these events and advances together, what are the most important research questions in your area that are also relevant for policy makers and other stakeholders, and which your research could address?