This poster mused over life in hillside house with eyelash awnings beneath a teflon coated fiberglass fabric hat. It was a creative escape from my career as an Urban Designer in a world of crowded streets, steel, concrete, cars, busses and trains.

What if building designs went beyond curb appeal, status, style and ornament to help Nature regain a foothold in our day to day, where walls and roofs serve more like bones and tendons that join together in the surrounding life?

Let trees become old-growth forests that host a complexity of life. Sponge rainwater before it leaves the property to carry life through dry spells. Value topsoil at a price greater than gold and leave no dirt uncovered by green, so streams and rivers run clear. Compost human and animal waste for its safe return to gardens and fields. Intentionally create nesting spaces for swallows, swifts and other bird life. Let bigger critters hang out on the roof.

Context

In the mid-1980's, notions about "sustainable" or "green" building design were still considered to be romantic coyote calls from the fringe. Nonetheless, as a personal journey, the poster embodied thoughts of the kind of future I wanted to live in - a place with lots of plants and animals working out life together.