Cornell Puts a Lawn in the Library It’s increasingly popular for college and university libraries to soothe the savage undergraduate at finals time by providing a dose of contact with nature. Therapy dogs are a common choice, but the Cornell University Library went a more unusual route, installing a ”green sward” which remained there through December 14. … This year lawns were placed in both the Mann and Olin libraries, as well as three other locations around campus, as part of the Cognitive Restoration initiative. The project is based on Attention Restoration Theory, which says that direct exposure to nature, viewing nature through windows, and even viewing images of nature are restorative. (via Library Journal)
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Cornell Puts a Lawn in the Library

It’s increasingly popular for college and university libraries to soothe the savage undergraduate at finals time by providing a dose of contact with nature. Therapy dogs are a common choice, but the Cornell University Library went a more unusual route, installing a ”green sward” which remained there through December 14.

…

This year lawns were placed in both the Mann and Olin libraries, as well as three other locations around campus, as part of the Cognitive Restoration initiative. The project is based on Attention Restoration Theory, which says that direct exposure to nature, viewing nature through windows, and even viewing images of nature are restorative.

(via Library Journal)

Source: lj.libraryjournal.com

Former men’s room of what used to be an elementary school in Detroit; the Catherine Ferguson Academy, a charter high school for young mothers and pregnant teens, now calls the historic building home.  The property’s grounds feature a four-acre urban farm, which helps teach students about gardening, and enhances their skills sets. The school, which allows students to “attend classes and care for their babies in a single environment,” was slated to be closed in 2011. Thanks to community members who rallied in support of the school, the school remains open today. Almost all the school’s graduates enroll in two- or four-year colleges. Via The Unreal Estate Guide to Detroit: Places: Design Observer. Photograph by Andrew Herscher.
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Former men’s room of what used to be an elementary school in Detroit; the Catherine Ferguson Academy, a charter high school for young mothers and pregnant teens, now calls the historic building home. 

The property’s grounds feature a four-acre urban farm, which helps teach students about gardening, and enhances their skills sets.

The school, which allows students to “attend classes and care for their babies in a single environment,” was slated to be closed in 2011. Thanks to community members who rallied in support of the school, the school remains open today. Almost all the school’s graduates enroll in two- or four-year colleges.

Via The Unreal Estate Guide to Detroit: Places: Design Observer. Photograph by Andrew Herscher.

Source: places.designobserver.com

UrbanAir is a project that aims to turn existing billboards into urban gardens, filled with bamboo. Stephen Glassman is the creator and hopes to turn billboards into smart gardens that are wifi enabled and act as sensors to monitor the climate, transforming the suspended gardens into global nodes. (via Artist Aims To Replace All Outdoor Billboards With Bamboo Gardens - PSFK) More info on Glassman’s site here.
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UrbanAir is a project that aims to turn existing billboards into urban gardens, filled with bamboo. Stephen Glassman is the creator and hopes to turn billboards into smart gardens that are wifi enabled and act as sensors to monitor the climate, transforming the suspended gardens into global nodes.

(via Artist Aims To Replace All Outdoor Billboards With Bamboo Gardens - PSFK)

More info on Glassman’s site here.

Source: psfk.com