Dallas' 3rd Eco-Design is Contemporarily Cool
LITTLE
Inspired by Darwin’s Entangled Bank, this fully-integrated project is designed to create a network of reliance that supports residents of all income levels.
The third finalist for the Dallas sustainable city block, Entangled Bank by Little, has the least going on architecturally of the three, but also features some of the most novel, thought-out and variegated amenities.
It comprises a beautiful tall triangular main building, with lower structures extending through the rest of the property in front. The interior space would contain 350 to 1,500-square-foot residential units, onsite educational facilities such as an organic cooking institute and organic farming institute, organic grocery store, spa, fitness facility and day care where children, the disabled and the elderly could be cared for all in one space.
An outdoor entertainment space, a unique feature to the three designs, would host fun events and enhance community.
Another stand-out feature is the vertical garden that climbs the side of the building, allowing each tenant to grown their own organic food, which creates a kind of surreal veil. While beautiful in the renderings, focus on such an element could become unattractive if a few busy Dallas-ites forget to water.
The more scientific facilities include photovoltaic solar cells providing 100 percent of the power for the units, a vertical axis wind turbine, and a greywater waste water recycling system for irrigation.
And, last, but not least, Dallas could get back a bit of its rancher heritage with a rooftop sky pasture complete with a species of cow that can thrive in small spaces.
Holly LaFon has written and worked for various local publications including D Magazine and Examiner.
