The Whole HOG: Aug/Sept 2013

Water-centric Green Design News

We’re hitting the books this September with a filled-to-the-brim back to school edition of The Whole HOG. Three stand-out school installations, from Nundah State School, the Dalton School, and Omaha North High School, demonstrate how valuable HOG tanks can be in the classroom – indoors or outdoors.

We’re catching up with Team ASUNM as they prepare their SHADE home to compete in the Solar Decathlon 2013. They’re bringing six HOG tanks with them. And in our B.U.G. Design section, we take a closer look at the winning Illawarra Flame House (from an Australian team) in the China 2013 Solar Decathlon. Fellow Aussies and HOG founders, Sally and Simon Dominguez, say “Good on you, mates!”

Speaking of green student design competitions, registration for the 2013 Campus Rainworks Challenge has begun! Check out our HOG giveaway for competing student teams.

February 2012: Dalton Water Wall – From Concept to Reality

                                               from concept                                                    to reality

We first showed the preliminary concept sketch for the Dalton School water wall in our August 2011 newsletter. Fast forward six months and the whimsical water wall is the subject of a Landscape Architecture Magazine feature on environmental education moving beyond the garden.

Landscape architect Liz Pulver, of Town and Gardens Ltd, designed the storm water feature of the remarkable rooftop science classroom for the Manhattan prep school. Two orange HOGs – chosen for their compact rectangular form, stackability, and eye-catching orange –  are installed horizontally to capture rainwater from an adjacent roof.

“For kids this age, it’s all about interactivity and exploration,” says Will Hopkins, chairman of the Dalton School’s science department.

The stormwater moves down the wall through a series of pipes, paddles and wheels and collects in removable buckets used to water plants. When it rains, the wheels and beams move on their own, even when the tank valves are shut off. Planters, a cold frame, a compost bin, and solar panels complete the 16-foot square rooftop “Green Lab.”