Smart Tree: An Architectural, Greening and ICT Multidisciplinary Approach to Smart Campus Environments

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Urban Planning
• Architecture
• Information and Communications Technology (ICT)

Background:

• Climate change, pollution, and urban sprawl pose significant threats to urban environments and natural ecosystems.
• Existing mitigation strategies often lack a multidisciplinary approach, failing to integrate key fields like architecture, vegetation, circular economy, and ICT.
• University campuses offer a unique environment for testing sustainable solutions due to their research communities and willingness to adopt innovative practices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel, integrated approach for campus spaces that combines usability and sustainability.
• To introduce the
• Smart Tree
• concept, merging innovative architecture, furniture design, flora integration, environmental sensing, and communication technologies.
• To overcome the limitations of current approaches by providing a holistic, multidisciplinary solution for urban campus environments.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a comprehensive literature survey on related approaches and underlying principles.
• Identified general requirements and constraints for the
• Smart Tree
• area development.
• Established key interactions between architectural, greening, and ICT perspectives to guide system design and implementation.

Main Results:

• Proposed a novel integrated system design for the
• Smart Tree
• concept.
• Analyzed the environmental impact of the developed system.
• Identified research challenges and lessons learned for future development.

Conclusions:

• The
• Smart Tree
• offers a viable, integrated solution for creating sustainable and usable spaces on university campuses.
• A multidisciplinary approach is crucial for effectively addressing complex urban environmental challenges.
• Further research and development are needed to refine and scale such integrated solutions for broader application.