Get to know Daniel Griffin, the Director of Eco Shield Systems (previously Archology Systems), Cicada Innovations' Deep Tech Elevate and Fast Start graduate and recent Cicada x Tech23 alumni.
Eco Shield Systems is developing technologies for the rewilding of urban spaces by transforming cities into forests. They aim to address the declining biodiversity in urban environments, as the increasing pressure from population growth, intensive land use, and urban development is destroying habitat corridors and creating isolated habitat islands. Overall, it negatively impacts the air and water quality and the livability of cities.
Addressing this, Eco Shield Systems (ESS) has developed two integrated façade systems that utilise biophilic design and technology to provide shading and porosity and support a thriving ecosystem. The ESS is an architectural system that acts as a multifunctional, shading façade that can retrofit commercial and residential dwellings. The ESS is the supportive infrastructure for its biological component, the Living Eco Shield System (L-ESS), which is specifically designed to create a sophisticated habitat for fauna.
Could you tell us a little bit about yourself, your background, and why you started Eco Shield Systems?
As a formally trained architect with experience at leading firms like Hassell, I've worked on significant projects like the ICC theatre in Darling Harbour. In these roles, I focused on the intersection of landscape architecture, urban design, and architecture. I pushed for progressive sustainability initiatives, and eventually, I had the opportunity to bring one of my long-held brand ideas to life.
While it's easy to discuss creating novel ecosystems on building facades, the reality is much more complex. We've spent years trying to turn these concepts into tangible realities.
Tell us a little bit more about the technology and these novel ecosystems behind Eco Shield Systems?
Yeah, so it's a new typology of vertical greening systems. Unlike traditional green walls or facades, ours synthesises architectural elements and vertical greening elements to complement each other. This supports greater biodiversity and mitigates the harsh urban environment's pressures on vertical greening systems.
The key differentiator is that our system rotates the vertical greening 90 degrees, creating a porous structure that can be applied over existing buildings. This allows for visual transparency from the inside, a feature our customers have requested. It also creates porosity, forming habitat corridors for migrating species to move between urban habitat islands. This enhances genetic diversity.
As mentioned, this also helps reduce the urban heat island effect. Our system's hydrological design moves water down through plant-growing media, sheltered from the sun and hot winds, to maintain efficient water flow and security. This is controlled by precise sensors, enabling high evapotranspiration performance. Theoretically, this can reduce the surrounding urban temperature by four degrees.
Beyond that, the system itself acts as a thermal shade, reducing the thermal load on the host building by 79%. This leads to a 40% reduction in building cooling emissions.
What made you move from being an architect to being a founder of a climate tech company?
Much of this came from a first customer who wanted one of these systems for their building. During the design process, we realised that existing market products weren't suitable. We needed something porous, long-lasting, and capable of creating a habitat with appropriate infrastructure. This led us to develop our own systems, marking a significant departure from my architectural practice and the beginning of six years of research into creating these novel ecosystems.
Those early years of research were challenging as I transitioned from designer to researcher and, eventually, entrepreneur. It was a departure from my comfort zone but incredibly rewarding. I was leaving behind one world and entering into another world. I am very much not a classic startup person, nor had I ever imagined that I was in a startup. It was only probably until six months before the Elevate program that I realised that we were running a startup and that transition between coming from a designer to being a researcher into being, I guess, an entrepreneur.
Tell me about your initial conversation with your first customer. What problems were they trying to solve, and how did your solution meet their needs?
Our first customer had a steep, sloping waterfront site near a national park in a remnant-growth forest. Due to the site's steep slope, the building's mass pushed it into the sightlines of wealthy neighbours, leading to a lengthy court battle. Our intention was to create the building as an extension of the landscape, blending seamlessly into its surroundings. During the year-long court battle, we even took a commissioner on a boat tour to demonstrate the minimal visual impact of our building. Eventually, the neighbours capitulated.
One of the driving factors behind our solutions is their ability to help building owners and developers create structures that support the urban and landscape environments. From a sustainability perspective, our solutions assist in navigating the emerging regulatory landscape. For example, Melbourne's introduction of the Green Factor score pressures developers to achieve a certain level of urban greening. This follows the lead of Singapore, where a significant portion of the site area is required for vegetative cover. There's a strong regulatory push to achieve urban greening, and our solutions can play a crucial role in meeting these goals.
Watch the full interview below:
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