Holland, MI. "This is an office building? Step into the three-story atrium at the new Haworth Inc. headquarters, and you might think you're in a modern museum or upscale mall...Crowned by one of the largest sedum-planted roofs in the state, the building is 50,000 square feet larger and one-third more energy efficient than its predecessor..." >>more
University Park, PA. "This past week a vanload of Extension educators traveled to Penn State to learn a little more about energy and ways to help with energy issues. We visited a "green" roof on the new forestry building that reduces a lot of stormwater runoff from the building. Green roofing is being used more and more by companies building new..." >>more
West Harrison, NY. "...Green roofs, that is, a roof of a building that is partially or com-pletely covered with vegetation and soil, have proven over the long term to be part of a Best Management Practice (BMP) in the fight against global warming. A green roof retains or slows down storm..." >>more
Kansas City, MO. "Can the public trust Kansas City leaders to implement green solutions such as green roofs and rain gardens into the overhaul of the city’s massive sewer system? Or should green solutions be part of a federally mandated plan to fix the sewers?..." >>more
Columbia, MD. "Solar arrays, "green" roofs and storm-water management that doubles as civic art and takes place only when it's raining are among the ideas for improving the environment in the redevelop-ment of downtown Columbia, a consultant told residents this week..." >>more
Prince William, VA. "A Merrifield-based developer plans to bring green roofs—an environmentally friendly trend largely seen in European and urban design—to a mixed-use project in the U.S. 1 corridor...the rooftops for two mixed-used buildings would have courtyards filled with greenery and trees, one featuring a pool and deck that would not only absorb stormwater runoff and reduce air pollutants but would also offer a place for residents to go in their leisure time..." >>more
Brighton and Hove, England. "...Devel-opers want to transform the Sackville Trading Estate in Hove into a public square surrounded by 170 homes, shops, restaurants, offices and a supermarket. The new flats will be large, in response to Brighton and Hove City Council's request for family-sized homes, and all will have access to roof terraces...The plans also aim to be sustainable with extensive roof gardens, improved bus facilities, car clubs and car share schemes..." >>more
Ajman, UAE. "...The Boulevard, Ajman; a $408 million mixed use master development...The 170,000 sq ft, 3-level shopping mall will join the hotel to offer a central leisure and shopping zone offering a spa, roof gardens, and a vast food court. The project also features fine dining; fully equipped health clubs and rooftop swimming pools..." >>more
Lancaster, PA. "...Though Seavey said the energy-saving benefits are key, he said storm-water runoff is probably where the firm will see the largest difference...Seavey received some help with the cost in the form of a grant from Gov. Ed Rendell's Energy Harvest program. National Novelty Brush Co. shared nearly $500,000 in state funds with five other local businesses. As part of the initiative, green roofs are planned at the Bare Building at 39 E. Chestnut St., Box Company Flats at 225 E. Grant St., Penn Stone at 190 W. Ross St., Two Dudes Painting at 750 Poplar St. and the new YMCA at 265 Harrisburg..." >>more
Abu Dhabi, UAE. "Desert buildings that produce more energy than they consume may no longer be the stuff of mirages. Chicago-based Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture recently won a competition to design Masdar Headquarters, a 1.6-million-square-foot, zero-waste, zero-carbon facility that it predicts will generate not only enough power to run itself, but also surplus energy to help fuel buildings surrounding it...Underneath the canopy, a series of interconnected volumes, topped by green roofs, provide space for offices, retail stores, and residences..." >>more
Natomas, CA. "...With a few sprinkles of water, plants will spring from its top, forming a cover of vegetation across the roof of the H. Allen Hight Learning Center. The school's "green roof" is one of many construction features designed to save energy when the campus opens in August with 500 students. It's also likely the first local example of a building trend sweeping across rooftops worldwide..." >>more
UK. "Max Fraser: Living roofs are green houses, important for biodiversity, good for the environment, and facilitating better rain runoff. Old Mayor of London introduced a scheme to promote them, important in cities. Introducing Joe Swift, presenter of Gardeners’ World, here to talk about living roofs and green walls. Joe: Ken Livingstone was into living roofs, so interesting to see how this develops with the new Mayor. As our cities become harsher and harsher, green roofs become more and more important..." >>more
Fayetteville, AR. "...Mark Boyer, asso-ciate professor in the department of land-scape architecture, was awarded $10,000 for a project titled “Green Roof Demonstra-tion Plot Trials.” The purpose of this project is to measure the benefits of green roofs in Arkansas through the construction of 12 mock roofs on the university’s new Watershed Research Education Center. The mock roofs..." >>more
Chicago, IL. "...At Lakeside Lofts, a 96-unit environmentally friendly new-construc-tion loft development at 2025-2035 S. Indi-ana in the South Loop, two large botanic gardens on top of the parking garage contain four-season plantings along with seasonal flowers...The 93-unit eco18, a condominium development at 1818 S. Wabash Ave., boasts a green roof. X/O Condominiums, a 496-unit high-rise and townhouse enclave at 18th and Prairie Avenues, is planning three green roofs. Plans for The Catalyst, a 217-unit building at 123 N. Des Plaines, call for a green roof on the fifth floor...Bartlett Town Center, a mixed-use development of condominiums and lofts in downtown Bartlett, is bringing the green roof concept to the West sub-urbs...In the Northwest suburbs, Parkview condominiums in Arlington Heights on the corner of Dunton Avenue and Eastman Street has a terrace/green roof...The Crossings at Morton Grove by Toll Brothers offers roof top decks...">>more
Stone Ridge, NY. "...Through its office of Continuing and Professional Education, SUNY Ulster recently brought on-line a host of new courses in the area of environmental sustainability. These include courses in green home design and renovation, alter-nate energy systems for the homeowner, green roofing, and a sustainable building advisor certification class..." >>more
UK. "...The number of green roof companies has increased fivefold in as many years. Where fewer than 10,000 square metres of sedum blanket were laid annually, that figure is now approaching 100,000...Green roofs might not reduce your water bills but, according to Dusty Gedge, the founder of Livingroofs.org and president of the Euro-pean Federation of Green Roof Associa-tions, they can cut your air-conditioning bills. As well as absorbing up to 60 per cent of rainwater, green roofs can lower the surrounding air temperature by up to 11C. “2005 and 2006...if we all had green roofs, we wouldn’t need air-conditioning." Just last month, Britain’s first policy on green roofs was produced by the Mayor of London. Sheffield, Bristol, Manchester and Birming-ham are all soon to follow..." >>more
Chattanooga, TN. "...Fidelity Trust Co., will install a green roof on its building at 714 Cherry St. The company completed renova-tions on the building in February and ordered the plants that will occupy about 2,300 square feet on the roof...The GPS roof, also close to 2,300 square feet, will have iris, phlox and even apple trees. The school’s green roof, funded by area busi-nessman Greg Vital, will be part of Bowman Terrace, supported by the families and friends of Nickey and Peggy..." >>more
Fort Worth, TX. "On April 11, the University of Texas at Arlington installed 1,000 square feet of soil and plants to the roof of the Life Science Building. This summer, the Botanical Research Institute of Texas will continue making plans to install what its director of development, Cleve Lancaster, says will be "one of the largest examples of green roof in North Texas" at BRIT's future headquarters next to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden...The team is testing five different types of green roofs, Kinder said. The testing platforms are 15 wooden-box roof modules, each 16 square feet, filled with current commercial products, transplanted native soil and experimental mulch designs..." >>more
Wichita, KS. "...The new master plan, approved in January, calls for every public building to be constructed to LEED platinum standards (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and platinum is the highest rating). There are also plans to build a dozen model "eco-homes" that would be testing grounds for a variety of environmental building materials and techniques from "green roofs" and double-paned windows to..." >>more
College Park, MD. "...While we're at it, why not install green roofs? As the name suggests, green roofs are roofs with plants growing on top. Think breezy, green, shady park - on a roof. Not only do green roofs compensate for the footprint of the building, they insulate better than traditional roofs. In this case, the buildings would actually increase the amount of verdure in the area, taking Lots 9 and 11 from..." >>more
Rochester, NY. "Building "green" not only is the right thing to do, it can improve your bottom line...wasting water or failing to use rainwater resources can cost companies down the road, or cost the community. Jendryaszek said a 14,000-square-foot roof planted with sedum and connected to a rainwater catching and recycling system can save about 200,000 gallons of water a year from going into storm drains...Broccolo Tree and Lawn Care booth demonstrated those sedum-planted roofs and walls built by Brighton's Green Living Technologies. Only three of the roofs have been installed locally - including the..." >>more
Portland, OR. “With more work to do, still leading the transformational process is neighbor Paul Leistner, Chair of Southeast Uplift neighborhood coalition...We just found out that we needed a new roof on the building,” Leistner revealed. “The metal roof is 50 years old; the project is going to be challenging. We wanted to do an eco-roof; this is our opportunity...” >>more
U.S. "Over at Grist, Anna Fahey posts a persuasive set of facts and counterclaims geared at convincing those who are skeptical about the existence of so-called "green collar jobs."...But the work is being done: Fahey mentions no less than two dozen private organizations that traffic in preservation, efficiency retrofitting, renewables and construction. I'll add to the list...Sustainable South Bronx, which provides environmental stewardship training (green roofs, brownfield cleanup) to low-income minorities..." >>more
IL. "...Aside from natural beauty to otherwise unused spaces, green roofs provide habitat benefits for wildlife. A green roof on a parking lot at Chicago’s McCormick Place has become a major stop for food and water for birds migrating across Lake Michigan, Andrea Cooper said...“There’s a green eco-conscious; it’s becoming almost pop,” she said. “People are wanting to do their own part, and this is one small way to do that.” >>more
Portland, OR. "...On the west side, Fanno Creek’s pump station is a red brick building with fake chimneys. It is a very attractive building. The City Council mandates that we use eco-roofs. We could blend the roof into the slope [at certain sites]...” >>more
U.S. "...Unfortunately, I have found that we lag behind architects when it comes to participating in the conversation around sustainability; in fact, we are often relegated to presiding over green roof technology...I am not simply referring to gardens and majestic wildernesses; in fact, the most sustainable form of human habitation is the city..." >>more
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