Cooling the urban heat island with more reflective roofs
The Conversation, by Dominique Hes
Melbourne, Australia. "The cool roof research was funded by the City of Melbourne, as part of a larger Green Infrastructure development program at the University of Melbourne Burnley Campus; including green roofs, walls, facades, street and home shading and geothermal testing...Our Melbourne-based research tested four buildings in a suite of six full-scale buildings of approximately 12m²...The building treatments included three different types of paint, a control and a “green roof” (which we’ll be reporting on later). Our results are available in the full report on the City of Melbourne website..." [1.27.12]
Green Home in Ho Chi Minh has Living Walls
Twisted Sifter, by Staff
Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. "In the city of Ho Chi Minh (formerly Saigon, and the largest city in Vietnam), you will notice many of the homes adorned with pots and planters. It’s a local custom and one that adds to the city’s visual identity. Architecture firm, Vo Trang Nghia, embraced this aesthetic as per the request of their clients, a couple in their 30s and their mother...In a bustling and sometimes chaotic city with a metropolitan area population of 9 million people, this stunning urban oasis offers peace and tranquility within the its living walls." [1.26.12] The buildings are alive: in biology, designers and architects seek answers
SmartPlanet.com, by Jason Dearen
World. "...Biomimetic principles are already transforming public spaces in the most densely populated areas of the U.S., in projects that are providing a template for the next generation of planners and architects who will be in charge of accommodating the world’s ever expanding population...In San Francisco, one of the most densely populated places in the U.S., the Italian architect Renzo Piano worked with local botanists to create a new kind of living roof at the California Academy of Sciences...In New York, designers and architects James Corner Field Operation and the firm of Diller Scofidio and Renfro worked with planting designer Piet Oudolf to repurpose an unused, rusted and decrepit elevated railbed — the “High Line” — into a park..." [1.26.12]
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The Sustainable Sites Initiative™ (SITES™) has announced the first three projects to be certified by the nation's most comprehensive system for rating the sustainable design, construction and maintenance of built landscapes. The corporate headquarters of an international manufacturing company, a new university green space and a children's playground in an urban park are the first to be recognized for their sustainable land practices from among 150-plus pilot projects that began the certification process in summer 2010. These initial projects are the St. Charles, Missouri, campus of Novus International Inc.; the Green at College Park of the University of Texas at Arlington; and the Woodland Discovery Playground at Shelby Farms Park in Memphis, Tenn.
