In a few weeks, big cities across the US will experience the annual bummer/phenomenon known as "Urban Heat Island." There's not much we can do to avoid the extra high temperatures, but the designers at Rael San Fratello Architects have a solution for the future in their Planter Brick, which is a brick designed to act as a permanent planter on a building's exterior. Having live plants built directly into a structure wall could not only counter the heat island effect and aid in filtering the air, but could also create better sound and temperature insulation for buildings. Aesthetically speaking, we think it would be awesome to see a wall of succulents. The concrete bricks are 3D-printed to order, and are in production now. [via emerging objects]