I did it – I finally took my (GRP) Green Roof Professional exam from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, passed, and am now part of the Class of 2009-10, the first year since the launch!

Of course you passed, my friends said, you’ve been at this since the late 1990’s, been called the “Queen of Greenroofs,” the Audubon Society said I was the “Dean of Greenroofs” several years back, and Paul Kephart from Rana Creek once told an audience in San Francisco that I had a PhD in greenroofs!  I quickly thanked him for the educational upgrade, but explained really I just have an undergraduate degree in landscape architecture…

Hold on, while it wasn’t that hard, it also wasn’t that easy – I didn’t quite ace it, and it took some studying of the four Green Roofs for Healthy Cities’ courses – well, really three (I didn’t study Green Roofs 101 – I did teach it, though, for one stint during the introduction in Portland, OR, in 2004 along with Patrick Carey, Haven Kiers, and Wendy Wark, pictured at right).  But that’s the point of the exam – to ensure a certain level of comprehension of the philosophy and application of greenroof methodology and technology, which also means to know your basic understanding of the combined black and green arts, and to know when to call in a seasoned professional in one of those particular halves when necessary.

Even though I’ve been at this for over ten years with several greenroofs designed under my belt (plus writing about them, speaking, compiling the Projects Database with 1,028 profiles so far, etc.), I felt it was very important to receive my GRP designation for many reasons.  (I became a LEED APin 2004 for similar reasonings.)  I had planned to take it here in Atlanta last June, 2009 at the inaugural exam held during the 7th annual Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference (now Cities Alive) and said so when I interviewed Jeff Bruce, but didn’t because I missed the registration deadline!

In any case, I took a look at all the cities offering the GRP exam this year and jumped at taking it New York City on Friday, April 30 because it’s such a great town and we have friends there.  Aramis and I had great hosts in Wendy and Chris Wark – Chris is our new “Energy Editor” and they’re long time greenroof compadres.  To welcome us, we had dinner at their place the night before and since Wendy is now a director at Metro North Railroad, and she promised us a special late afternoon “insider” tour of Grand Central Station, after my morning GRP exam at Pace University.

There were about 30 of us taking the exam, and all went smoothly.  Since we had the afternoon free, we roamed a bit, first exploring New York’s historic South Street Seaport next to the Brooklyn Bridge at the tip of Manhattan.  Most important for us, though, was to visit the Ground Zero site, pay our respects, and see the construction progress.  We started at the beautiful St. Paul’s Chapel.  Opened in 1766, it’s Manhattan’s oldest public building in continuous use – a place where George Washington worshiped and 9/11 recovery workers received round-the-clock care, and lingered at each of the memorials to the victims of that horrific day – personal mementos, photos, and messages to lost ones.  We also visited the Ground Zero Museum Workshop alongside a throng of international visitors, where we reflected at rare, heart-pulling images of the day and the models and plans of the new Freedom Tower and more.

Wendy then showed us the bustling, beautiful and massive Grand Central Terminal, revealing seven little know secrets about its Beaux-Arts architecture and past…Did you know that the four-sided brass clock in the center of the information booth in the main concourse holds the four largest opals in the world?  Drinks at MAD46 were next – a trendy rooftop lounge (of course!) followed by dinner at Guantanamera, a wonderful Cuban restaurant.

On Saturday Wendy, Chris, Aramis, and I spent our last day in the Meatpacking District touring the much publicized 1.45-mile (2.33 km) High Line, which was packed with people sightseeing, pushing baby strollers and wheelchairs, and even some taking in the sun in the extremely hot sunshine.  I found the High Line to be an extremely successful example of public space: interesting regenerative design in the form of ecological reuse of a former urban blight.

Originally constructed in the 1930s to lift dangerous freight trains off Manhattan’s streets, it was abandoned in 1980.  But today the High Line is an elevated public park owned by the City of New York and operated under the jurisdiction of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.  Designed by the landscape architecture firm of James Corner Field Operations and architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro with planting design from Piet Oudolf and engineering design by Buro Happold, the first section opened to the public in June, 2009.

“The park welcomes visitors with naturalized plantings that are inspired by the self-seeded landscape that grew on the disused tracks and with new, often unexpected views of the city and the Hudson River. Pebble-dash concrete walkways unify the trail, which swells and constricts, swinging from side to side, and divides into concrete tines that meld the hardscape with the planting embedded in railroad gravel mulch. Stretches of track and ties recall the High Line’s former use. Most of the planting, which includes 210 species, is of rugged meadow plants, including clump-forming grasses, liatris and coneflowers, with scattered stands of sumac and smokebush, but not limited to American natives.” ~ Wikipedia

Although I found the site’s modernist hotel to border on hideous, I loved the High Line’s overall design – its honesty to its railroad past – and the planting flow of this linear park spanning 22 city blocks, which in effect is a very large greenroof!

Which brings me back to the reason for this post – to let you know I am a proud GRP, and if you are involved with our industry or are considering entering, I highly recommend you pursue this course of study and sit for the exam – even if you, too, have been doing this for over 10 years (or more!).

Thanks to the Warks and to NYC!  Speaking of New York City, look for our second installment of Sky Gardens ~ Greenroofs of the World ™ WebTV series in about a month or two.  Sponsored by Green Roof Blocks, we’re highlighting the fabulous Cook+Fox Architects Corporate Officesand their 8th floor penthouse greenroof in Manhattan!

As usual, happy greening! ~ Linda V., GRP

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Headquarters in Washington, D.C. was our Greenroof Project of the Week (GPW) from April 25 through last Sunday, May 2, 2010.  When I asked ASLA for some updates on the roof, they explained they were in the midst of midyear meetings, so I knew I would be a bit late reporting on this beautiful rooftop space, but here we go!  I chose this particular project to end April, aptly befitting since it was Landscape Architecture Month.  Founded in 1899, ASLA chose April because it is the birth month of the “Father of Landscape Architecture,” Frederick Law Olmsted, and in any case it’s certainly a perfect example of thoughtful, sustainable design to end Earth Month on a positive note, too.

Being an associate member of ASLA (I’m not full ASLA because although I have a degree in landscape architecture, I’m not licensed as a landscape architect - aka LA), I was very proud that our professional organization became a greenroofing pioneer when they decided to retrofit their headquarters with a living roof back in 2004.  Under the leadership of landscape arcitechture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc. (MVVA) and in typical LA fashion, a creative, design-focused team of practitioners was established to determine functionality and design intent with all the stakeholders. Multiple charrettes afforded an open invitation to collaborative feedback and re-design.  One of the main priorities was for the roof to provide educational, viewing, and recreational opportunities to employees and visitors – in effect, a landmark demonstration project to showcase the many benefits of greenroofs and what landscape architects contribute to this project type.

Since weight was a potential issue on the older building as well as accessibility, the project began with a structural assessment to ensure that the roof could accommodate the additional load of a greenroof, around 40 lbs/sf for an extensive roof.  Limitations became opportunities for creative design:

“The designers made maximum use of the structural capacity of the building, varying soil depths and plantings to take advantage of differing load capacities. For example, the elevator shaft has the greatest structural capacity and could accommodate 21 inches of soil; plantings on the elevator shaft include sumac trees, which may grow as tall as 30 feet at maturity.” ~ ASLA Green Roof Demonstration Project Fact Sheet

The ASLA greenroof is unique in so many ways!  As stewards of the Earth, landscape architects promote native plants, which always positions a plantscape – whether on land or roof – to accurately portray its genius loci, or sense of place.  And yet as we all know, greenroofs most certainly are not set in native environments – the “soil” is not native as it is a highly engineered growing medium designed to supply drainage and retain moisture, secure and anchor plant roots, and provide aeration and nutrients in a highly unnatural environment – a rooftop usually separated from the ground plane by many feet.

Balancing this responsibility, ASLA decided to inform the public regarding both options and the roof contains both native and introduced plant species – the more proven, non-native greenroof plant material, which for the most part has been the true survivors of the harsh effects of wind, frost, heat, and drought found on a roof, and various native selections researched to perform well under this stressful conditions.  Here’s a look at the changing aesthetics of nature, even on designed spaces – the two photos above show the South Wave in bloom: the top photo is from early May, 2007, and the bottom from June, 2009, which sports its current look.

[The] “desire to make the green roof feel like a garden also guided MVVA’s approach to planting the space. The idea was to use the roof as a kind of laboratory for identifying species, beyond the typical green roof sedums, that could thrive in shallow soil, and under the harsh environmental conditions typical of many urban rooftops, without extensive maintenance or watering.  We were particularly interested in plants that might offer increased environmental and experiential value.

“In addition to a variety of succulents, therefore, the plantings included flowering perennials like Goldenrod, Spiderwort, Black-eyed Susans, Artemesia, and Butterfly Milkweed, as well as a variety of grasses, including Blue Gamma Grass, and Virginia Wild Rye.  For the first two years during the establishment of the plants, we had a member of our staff make periodic visits to evaluate the success of the planting, making adjustments to the plans based on our observations.” ~ Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc.

So their design features two different but equally stunning elevated ”waves” featuring a 6″ deep semi-extensive system with both native (flowering herbaceous perennials and grasses) and non-native plants on the North Wave, 6′ high, and non-native plants (mostly sedums) on the 4.5″ deep extensive South Wave system, 5′ high.  From the central viewing platform, plants are brought up to eye level and an aluminum grating was added so sedum is literally blooming at visitors’ feet from another extensive greenroof system underneath.

The waves also act as noise insulators from the a/c units and the roof provides an urban habitat for birds, pollinating insects and butterflies.  Completed in 2006 and open to the public almost five years now, visitors have come from around the world to view the 3,000 sf greenroof, including past First Lady Laura Bush.

MMVA provided the axonometric drawing (thumbnail) at left of the various layers of the greenroof which shows how the design uses typical green roof materials, but in a way that is layered and exaggerated to create a space that is visually engaging and multi-functional (originally posted in the April, 2006 USATODAY.com article “Green roofs swing temperatures in urban jungles” by April Holladay under “Anatomy of a Green Roof“).  Rachel Gleeson, Senior Associate with MVVA, explains that the spatial innovation of the design is an extreme vertical exaggeration of the roof insulation (Styrofoam) to create the two large sloping landforms that are the “waves,” rising to heights up to six feet.  Covered with only a thin soil profile, they create a rare kind of rooftop topography that has a profound influence on the space.

Yet the waves posed technical challenges. After the application of the Styrofoam, a perforated soil retention membrane was added to allow water to stream through but still  hold the plants in place.  A cable was then run through the system to prevent it from becoming airborne.  Rachel continues:  “Strong winds on the small roof threatened to shear the lightweight foam from its anchors, and the shape and angle of the landforms’ walls compounded this threat. Robert Sillman Associates, the structural engineer on the project, devised an ingenious solution that used the arcing steel frames of the landforms as armature.  [The cable] elegantly secures the two foam objects to the roof trusses below, preventing the foam from blowing off the building.”

“One of the things that MVVA felt was important with the ASLA Green Roof was to establish a precedent for a hybrid green roof garden that celebrated the unique pleasure of an urban rooftop garden without sacrificing the utility and low weight of a typical green roof.  Some of the most exciting aspects of the ASLA Green Roof are the ones that demonstrate ways that the human uses and the green roof functions could really support each other – most notably the “waves” of raised planting and also the grating that allowed for open walking surfaces above planted areas.” ~ MVVA

Each wave is distinct and beautiful at different times of the year and serves double-duty by not only offering all of the ecological, environmental, aesthetic and psychological benefits pertaining to greenroofing, but showing the public options for creating a living roof of their own.  And the innovative metal grating walkway system over the middle greenroof plantings allowed ASLA to utilize 90% of the greenroof by planting sedum and other succulents below the grates! 

“For the most part, sedum and green roof plants cannot be walked on, which often times creates a trade-off between having a green roof and creating an occupiable space for people.  The experimental system used in the ASLA Green Roof floats a super lightweight aluminum grating, low in heat conductivity, 3” over a thin green roof system of sedum.  The sedum selected usually reaches about 6” in height, so the plants are not hidden, but can poke up through the aluminum grating a bit.  In the areas of high traffic the plants that emerge through the grate get trampled a little, but this results in regeneration, rather than destruction.” (MVVA)

One more unique feature of the project is the buy-in received from not only members of ASLA who contributed money, but also the greenroof industry - the majority of the products and services were donated.  Major donors include:  American Hydrotech and their Garden Roof Assembly;  Emory Knoll Farms/Green Roof Plants for vegetation; and St. Louis Metal Works for edging and drains, to name a few (see the complete list here).

ASLA also received a $25,000 Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grant from the Chesapeake Bay Program, a partnership between Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, the Chesapeake Bay Commission, and the federal government.

Keith Swann, Special Assistant to the Exec. VP, American Society of Landscape Architects, shares the following info with us:

The American Society of Landscape Architects Green Roof Five Years Later

The ASLA green roof still continues to amaze all who visit it. And those visitors have come from as far as the Middle East, Far East and Australia to witness its beauty. With its wide variety of soil depths and diverse plant selection, this green roof offers many microclimates for the plants to thrive. From the terrace level with three inches of growing medium, the sedums have thrived under the innovative grating system as well as the in the other areas. This grating, aluminum, light-weight and recyclable, allowed a maximum planting area and walkable space on the roof. The bonus is the sedums bloom at your feet in addition to on the “waves” bringing a wide abundance of plants and color to eye level for everyone to enjoy.
 
In addition to the terrace level and waves, the newly added staircase, which makes this a popular public project, has 12 inches of growing medium and flourishing shrubs of fragrant sumacs, Pasture rose, and New Jersey tea. The elevator shaft has 21 inches of growing medium and houses the Flame sumac and the trumpet vine that is covering the trellis for additional shade as you enter the green roof.

By using the Hobo temperature monitoring system, the green roof has shown a maximum temperature difference of 43.5 degrees lower than from a nearby tar roof.  As the plants have matured, this temperature has risen from the initial reading of 39.5 degrees lower. The expectation is that as the plants mature even more over the years, the temperature difference between the two roofs would continue to increase.  As a demonstration project, this type is data is very useful in determining the just one more attribute of how green roofs are healthier for the environment than conventional roofs.

The roof has been monitored for stormwater runoff, water quality (to determine the concentrations of contaminants of concern leaving the greenroof), and air temperature and is compared with data from the conventional roof on the building next door.  See a synopsis of comprehensive water monitoring data from the first year of the ASLA Headquarters’ greenroof here or the full briefing report (both .doc files).

The ASLA is very committed to promoting the work of landscape architects and greenroofs, so much that they have a section of their website devoted to the subject – Green Roof Central, where you can learn all about greenroofs in general as well as their own.  There’s a webcam showing the HQ greenroof and a page for educators and students – the ASLA Green Roof Education Program, The Roof is Growing!  The program provides print and web-based educational materials geared to a middle-school age audience (grades 6 - 8) and their teachers.  Key goals of the program are to raise awareness of environmental issues and the role green roofs can play in reducing storm water runoff, mitigating the urban heat island effect, improving air quality, and providing important biohabitat for birds and insects.  (In 2007 I was one of the expert reviewers of the four segments of the “The Roof Is Growing!” web component.)

Advocacy is a also a big item for the ASLA – they focus on state and federal issues that impact the profession of landscape architecture.  Advocacy efforts are organized around these key issues: economic recovery, transportation, sustainable design, livable communities, water & stormwater, and historic landscapes.

Greenroofs.com highlighted the ASLA HQ greenroof in our 2009 Greenroofs of the World™ Calendar for the month of August with the photo above (but we Photoshopped out the ad on the brick wall per their request), and as familiar as I am with this roof, I haven’t yet visited this lovely, warm green space created with humans and nature in mind – but I promise, I will!  See a one and a half minute video of the ASLA Green Roof from the organization below for a quick visual of this beautifully designed, ecologically inspired, showcase of responsible architecture:

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Headquarters is located at 636 Eye Street NW, Washington D.C. 20001.  Tours of the ASLA greenroof are available for groups or individuals on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm by calling ASLA at 202.898.2444 or filling out a form.

 ~ Linda V.

I’m a little late for profiling last week’s Greenroof Project of the Week (GPW), the stunning Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Center for Health & Healing (CHH) - because we were in Portland last week for Ecoroof Portland, which I’ll be blogging about next.  I’ve been a fan of this project for a few years – in 2008 Haven Kiers and I included it in the #1 category for our Top 10 List of Hot Trends in Greenroof Design, “The Influence of LEED on Design Professionals = Pushing the Green Envelope,” and as a judge for the 2009 Green Roofs for Healthy Cities’ Green Roof Design Awards of Excellence, I had the pleasure of reviewing it in detail (unfortunately, it was beat out by the awesome Gary Comer Youth Center).

The Oregon Health & Science University is dedicated to improving the health and quality of life for all Oregonians through excellence, innovation and leadership in health care, education and research.  One of the largest employers in a city and a state known worldwide for leadership and dedication to conservation and the environment, OHSU’s CHH building represents the state-of-the-art in integrative design, involving the hard work and input of many multi-disciplinary professionals.

Located in Portland’s South Waterfront neighborhood, the award-winning 16-story, 400,000 sf OHSU Center for Health & Healing is one of the first buildings to rise from this former shipyard site and the first building in their new River Campus.  The Center for Health & Healing is the most resource efficient large scale building in the region, and one of the greenest in the U.S.  A mixed-use facility for wellness, medical research, clinics, surgery, classrooms and ground floor retail, in 2007 it received Platinum LEED certification, making it the first medical and research facility in the world to have achieved this distinction.  The integrated design features this building boasts is amazing (see the profile), and as a result is 61% more energy efficient than required by Oregon code.
 

“This is a remarkable achievement given the complex array of uses and systems that were needed in the building.  We had to capture every opportunity to integrate together function, architecture and engineering.  This is really the result of a great collaborative team effort.  We have set a new standard for OHSU and for other projects in Portland.” ~ David Crawford, chief financial officer of the OHSU Medical Group (press release).

The Center is linked to Marquam Hill by the Portland Aerial Tram, which has proved to be a major success. According to OHSU, this highly efficient passenger conveyance between their facilities is estimated to eliminate 2 million vehicle miles and 93,000 gallons of gasoline annually, and reduce yearly greenhouse emissions by more than 1,000 tons.

OHSU CHH has both extensive greenroofs (or ecoroofs) and intensive greenroofs (roof gardens), with a mixture of public and private accessibility. 

Non-accessible ecoroofs include those found on the 17th floor, and staff-only extensive gardens and office accessible balconies located off the 15th and 16th floors, above.

The accessible areas include the day patient area on the 4th floor (above) which opens out onto the restorative garden and the 5th floor (below) which opens out onto the courtyard, a common area and intensive green roof.

“Both programmed for passive recreation, these rooftop gardens allow patients, visitors, staff and faculty to enjoy scenic views of the region, informal social interactions as well as organized gatherings and events.  The roof gardens incorporate paths through lush plantings and benches for seating, offering fresh air and a green oasis as a seasonal topic for the soul amidst the stressful world.” ~ Walker Macy.

We had wanted to visit the building, but were unable to due simply to time restraints.  But we did speak with Laura Herbon, Associate at Walker Macy, the landscape architecture firm who designed the greenroofs (they were exhibiting at Ecoroof Portland).  Walker Macy has broad experience providing dynamic garden design for roof gardens, ecoroofs and courtyards over structures, and their work covers a broad range of sizes and purposes and includes places meant for people to gather and grow gardens as well as sites designed strictly for stormwater management.  The OHSU CHH certainly does both! 

Walker Macy has worked on many ecoroofs in the area, including The Louisa, Mercy Corps Headquarters, Bellevue Towers, and Doernbecher Children’s Hospital - among about 18 others involving greenroofs of some sort.  Macy Walker shared the following info about OHSU’s CHH:

“The green roofs are reducing the peak run-off volumes to the storm sewer, designed to store a minimal amount of water to keep the soil saturated, since the region’s climatic pattern—extremely wet winter and extremely dry summer—generate the volume of stored water that cannot equal the demand and supplemental irrigation that is needed. The stormwater network connects all rooftop gardens and the fertilizers used contain no phosphorous. The OHSU building incorporates both rainwater and groundwater collection systems on the roof and underground, which get mixed with the building’s own gray water and sent to the basement treatment system. Reclaimed water is stored in cisterns before being pumped upstairs or sent outside to irrigate the building’s grounds and rooftop gardens. Excess reclaimed water is piped into the nearby Willamette River.

“OHSU had to obtain a number of special permits to install its state-of-the-art water system, which includes a membrane bioreactor in the basement that basically is a small scale sewage plant. The result is that the building uses 60% less water than most buildings its size, and its outflow to the city sewage pipes is virtually nonexistent. Through the installation of a bioreactor on site, the building cleans 15,000 gallons of wastewater a day. Constructing the water system was expensive, despite a $50,000 grant from the Portland Office of Sustainable Development and more than $500,000 in system development charges the city waived because the building does not outflow into city sewage. OHSU estimates the system will not pay back its initial costs for at least 10 years. Meanwhile, the building’s $12,000 annual water bill is considerably less than the $80,000 to $100,000 bill OHSU estimates it would have paid without the water reclamation system. The CHH generates 2.1 million gallons annually in potable water savings.

“After deducting tax credits and other financial incentives, the green premium for this building was a mere 1.13% of the total project cost. The facility’s return on investment will be just over one year, after which the energy savings are projected to be $600,000 annually.”

Wow! The Oregon Health & Science University Center for Health & Healing embraces all that a green building should be: energy and resource efficient and good for the soul, all while providing beautiful and peaceful aesthetics.  For additional information on this LEED Platinum building and how the greenroofs tie into the whole system, review this thorough case study document produced by OHSU design team member Interface Engineering (you can also see the LEED Scorecard) or contact Walker Macy.

~ Linda V.

What’s GPW?  I’m starting a new blog feature here on Sky Gardens ~ where cool green meets lofty blue, to go along with Greenroofs.com’s “Greenroof/Greenwall Project of the Week” – or GPW.  I’ll note back stories for each selected project and include updates, new photos, etc., and share why I feel this is a noteworthy and interesting case study.

Also known as Millennium Water, the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Village at Southeast False Creek (SEFC) will eventually become home to 16,000 residents and commercial users after the Winter Games with 250 affordable housing units in its first phase, a 45,000 square foot community center, three child care centers, an elementary school, community garden, public plaza, and much more.  The 32 hectare (80 acres) SEFC community is a former industrial site on the shores of False Creek near downtown Vancouver, B.C.  More than half of the land is owned by the City, while the remainder is owned privately. 

Millennium Development Corporation developed the $1-billion-plus waterfront property, and the master plan for the sustainable community provided a unique opportunity to develop an urban center for residential, commercial and public use.  The City of Vancouver is to be recognized as a governmental trailblazer and recommended for dictating 50% greenroof coverage for the entire area!

Dubbed “The most sustainable neighbourhood on Earth,” on Tuesday the Olympic Village in Vancouver’s Southeast False Creek was awarded LEED® Platinum ND certification by the U.S. Green Building Council for a variety of factors, including its proximity to the downtown core, mix of uses, affordable housing, green buildings and habitat restoration.  And the Canadian Green Building Council announced the Gold certification of all residential buildings on the Millennium Water site.

 ”This should be a source of pride for residents and an example to the rest of the world.”  ~ Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson

Back in 2007 our Design Editor, Haven Kiers, and I included the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Village (Millennium Water) in our inaugural Top 10 List of Hot Trends in Greenroof Design, as a current example of trendsetting sustainability efforts on a city scale.  We showed it as an example of the #1 category on our 2007 list for ”Visionary Proposed Projects” - see the PowerPoint here.  NATIONAL, Millennium Development’s public relations firm, provided these images of the various models for our presentation and the profile in The Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database.

Last October at the inaugural 2009 CitiesAlive! World Green Roof Infrastructure Congress in Toronto, I attended Dr. Karen Liu of Xero Flor Canada’s presentation, “Special Green Roof Projects in B.C.” where she shared the company’s design and engineering experiences for their part in the Olympic Village’s extensive greenroofs.  In the Master Planting Plan (see below) the landscape architect, Durante Kreuk, had created vegetated silhouettes of Olympic sports figures atop the buildings, so to achieve this, a combination of various planted Sedum plugs, annuals and lightweight red lava rock were used.  Shallow aluminum edging helps define the different color and plant zones:

To update the profile, I relied on the excellent case study by The Challenge Series entitled “Millennium Water: The Southeast False Creek Olympic Village - Vancouver, Canada.”  The story of the development is told in a seven-chapter book that documents the decisions and challenges involved in creating such a showcase and world-class example of green development strategies.  You can access the entire book online above, order printed copies, or subscribe to their newsletter.  Referring to the recent LEED awards, Roger Bayley of The Challenge Series stated:

“This esteemed certification reflects the dedication to sustainable community development that is found throughout the Millennium Water: SEFC community, and is a truly commendable achievement for all those who were a part of the planning, design and construction process.” ~ Roger Bayley

Of course Vanouver has many beautiful greenroofs and greenwalls, and just one of numerous other great buildings with a spectacular greenroof not to be missed is the Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project, which we’ve previously highlighted as our “Greenroof Project of the Week.”

Completed just last November, 2009, it will be interesting to see how the Olympic Village rooftop vegetation fills in and greens up after a few seasons, and we certainly look forward to visiting this beautiful city with many eco-friendly projects in November, 2010.

Kudos to the people of Vancouver, B.C. and all involved in the many years of making the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Village at Southeast False Creek a wonderful, welcoming place for the athletes, officials, and visitors, and for designing Millennium Water as a future sustainable home to Vancouverites!

~ Linda V.

Did you see that the Auckland-based Natural Habitats Landscapes recently designed and installed NZ’s first commercial interior greenwall?   Sexy, too, imagine getting your hair done with living, clinging, luscious plants breathing down your neck…

Very cool reality coming from the land of so many fantastical landscapes (sorry, I just couldn’t help the reference to Lord of the Rings, among so many other incredible, breathtaking vistas: natural, man-, Hobbit-made, or otherwise)!

Pip Patterson, of Natural Habitats Landscapes, tells us that Takapuna is now home to New Zealand’s newest and most innovative venture, The Department Store, providing a multi-dimensional fashion, art and beauty experience across three floors, now featuring a dramatic greenwall.

Completed in mid November, 2009, one of the greenest triumphs of the new store - which is also a New Zealand first – is the large, vertical, interior garden or ‘Green Wall’ in the Stephen Marr Salon on the top floor. 

Spearheaded by Stephen Marr, Karen Walker and Dan Gosling from Black Box, the Green Wall was designed by Katie Lockhart and installed by Natural Habitats Landscapes.  The Department Store showcases the very best of fresh, creative New Zealand brands, and has embraced an international level of retail thinking by designing this unique space with emphasis on our environment.

The Green Wall is a natural extension to Stephen Marr’s environmental commitment and is unique in that it is double-sided and measures 10 metres long by 2 metres high, boasting well over 1,000 individual plants.

The Green Wall divides the upper level, promoting unique spaces that can be used for presentations such as fashion shows.   The building has had skylights installed to ensure the wall is given as much natural light as possible and the use of supplementary man-made lighting is kept at a minimum.  Although already stunning, the green wall is initially sparse as the plants adjust and dig in to their newly created habitat, full coverage is expected within six months or so.

Note:  We get a lot of press releases claiming to be “firsts” in many respective fields – and we rely upon readers like you to set the record straight if this is not the case.  Do you know of another green wall in New Zealand that came before this beautiful one?  Let us know!

In any case, visit Natural Habitats Landscapes to learn more.  See the greenwall profile in The Greenroof Projects Database here - and after many green wall entries to date, do you think it’s time to adjust the name of this database to perhaps “The Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database”?  Stay tuned in the New Year!

Happy Greening! ~ Linda V

After a long 16 months, the first episode of our WebTV series Sky Gardens ~ Greenroofs of the World will be up and ready to see on Sunday, November 8, 2009.  You can watch Episode 1: Rock Mill Park on the Greenroofs.TV Channel on Greenroofs.com and YouTube.   Download our Press Release here.

The Sky Gardens ~ Greenroofs of the World video series grew naturally out of my previous column “Sky Gardens ~Travels in Landscape Architecture” which ran from June, 2003 through April, 2006 here on Greenroofs.com.  With that column I was combining my various fields of expertise, and the description read:

“What do you get when you cross a landscape in the sky with an ecological designer, greenroof website publisher, and an international flight attendant?  Why, a column entitled “Sky Gardens ~ Travels in Landscape Architecture” of course!  Welcome to the ramblings of my unique bird’s eye perspective of the world, as I continue to visit new cities and noteworthy landscape architecture projects ~ both at ground and greenroof level.”

My hectic schedule proved too much for such an indepth column, and it evolved into this Sky Gardens ~ where cool green meets lofty blue Blog.  But I still wanted to pursue the thought of examining greenroof projects in-depth: the who, where, what, why and how’s of the entire planning and design process.  Our oldest son, Joey, is a screenwriter with film experience and so with the help of his film production company, Red Hand Productions, last year I decided to channel this vision into a more visual medium – video.

We selected one of my own designs here in Alpharetta for the first episode, and it’s been a true labor of love.  I’ve been involved with the Rock Mill Park project since 1999 when I interned as a student of landscape architecture with the City of Alpharetta.  I was thrilled when my design for “Celebrating Ecological Design in a Native Landscape” became a reality with construction of The Greenroof Pavilion and Trial Gardens of Rock Mill Park in 2007.  So many talented and generous people contributed to this endeavor, and being able to film and share this project built on such an environmentally sensitive and culturally important former Cherokee-owned site was an honor for me.  See 2008’s Love the Earth: Plant a Roof! and What I Did on My Summer Vacation… for a little more background info.

I think you’ll enjoy our first episode, where we interviewed many people involved in the project and filmed on site at Rock Mill Park; Alpharetta City Hall at Mayor Arthur Lechtas’ office; the City of Alpharetta Engineering/Public Works Department; the historic Log Cabin at the former site of Milton High School; Saul Nurseries “Swamp” location; and the former Cherokee capital, New Echota in Calhoun, GA, now a Historic Site.

We’ve had some trials and tribulations along the way, but that just makes it more special now that it’s done!  On November 8 you can see Episode 1: Rock Mill Park in four 10-minute installments on our home page and the Greenroofs.TV page on our website, where they will be added to the Greenroofs.com playlist on the greenroofstv channel on YouTube, found at http://www.youtube.com/greenroofstv.  All four videos will be lined up in order for easy viewing.

Look for our second Sky Gardens ~ Greenroofs of the World episode which highlights the gorgeous Cook+Fox Architects LLP corporate headquarters in Manhattan, NY, and details some of the greening initiatives that New York City is spearheading, coming soon to GreenroofsTV!

~ Linda V.

 I had the pleasure of interviewing Jeff Bruce, president of Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company, Chair of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) and the GRHC Training and Accreditation Committee which developed the Green Roof Professional – or GRP – Accreditation program, last week on May 19, 2009.  Jeff and many others have devoted countless hours to developing a rigorous and comprehensive offering to the marketplace, and I wanted to learn more about the program itself as well as Jeff and his company.

Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company has been around for close to 30 years and has a strong reputation with projects involving landscape architecture, comprehensive master planning, site design, recreation planning, urban design and more – offering design and specialized technical support including irrigation engineering and green roof technology.

Linda:  Jeff, please tell us about your Company’s program as a professional firm – its overarching mission and goals, and how sustainability fits in?

Jeff:  Well, we’re a bit of a unique firm in so far as in the past we’ve incorporated scientists and particularly agronomy in our practice area which gave us a bit of a technology focus.  So we supply other landscape architectural groups, as well as architects and engineers, highly specialized services and green technologies, greenroofs and things of that nature.  We have a nationwide practice that helps support that little niche we’ve been fortunate to find.

Linda:  I did notice that you’re definitely national in scope and your company has been involved with many award-winning greenroof projects such as the Lurie Garden in Millennium Park, Soldier Field, and more.  Can you briefly describe some of these experiences?

Jeff: Yes, they’re some of the more rewarding projects we’ve ever worked on.  At Lurie Garden we were the irrigation consultant and did some soil consulting for Gustafson Guthrie Nichol Ltd., the lead landscape architects.  That was a very beautiful project, as well as the North Burnham Park renovation at Soldier Field where we did all the soil consulting, turf consulting, and green roof consulting for Peter Schaudt’s office.  We’ve also had three other greenroof awards for projects we’ve been fortunate enough to work on, so we’ve been able to find the right clients that allowed us to work on these exceptional projects.

Linda:  You’ve had a lot of wide array of awards and honors, so kudos to you and your firm.

Jeff:  It’s finding the right client that wants to do the right project and gives us a little latitude to be creative.

Linda:  True, and I always tell people I think that it’s up to us as designers to inform our clients, to let them know all the possibilities that are out there.

Jeff:  We also have a phrase, “You can’t save an owner from himself!”  So having the right combination is certainly a blessing when it comes to assembling a team and getting the right individuals involved in it.

Linda:  The 7th Annual Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference is coming up next week, and Atlanta will offer the inaugural Green Roof Professional Accreditation test on June 5.  The ad says that “by 2013, the overall green building market is forecasted to more than double.  Be ready to embrace these changing times and become a recognized professional by taking the Green Roof Professional Accreditation Exam.”  Before we get into the program itself, though, how did you first become involved with Green Roofs for Healthy Cities?

Jeff:  Well, it goes back probably 6 or 7 years – when we submitted an abstract for the Washington, D.C. conference and the abstract at the time was “The Weakest Link in the Delivery of Green Roof Projects.”  It got the attention of the executive director, Steven Peck, who at the time was looking for someone to chair an implementation workshop which was the 201, so he tracked me down and asked me if I’d chair that taskforce to write the GRHC 201 Implementation course.

Linda:  Now that you’ve given me the genesis of your participation, how about a little bit of the process you and the team experienced – the vision and collaboration.

Jeff:  It was quite an extensive process in so far as developing the course work and the manuals, all four courses, and then the first step in the GRP process was an occupational analysis by a task force established in 2005.  I believe about 30 professionals met in Toronto and outlined all of the needs, skills and knowledge base that a green roof professional would require, and out of that came the occupational analysis which ended up weighting the importance of each of those pieces of knowledge that a professional would possess in that process.  Then from that was the actual test accreditation exam committee that was assembled, and another 30 or 40 people at the Baltimore Conference sat down for an extra day with the industry experts and wrote test questions for the exam.  Prometric was the group that assisted us with developing the test.  They did a little training and then they reviewed all of the questions for accuracy and appropriate technical formatting.

The pool of test questions was brought back to the committee, and they went through each question one by one; a couple hundred test questions were narrowed down to the most logical choices.  Final questions went back through another Prometric review.  There was a third review of the test questions with another select group of technical experts, and after about 18 months of development we‘ve gotten to the point that we’re now prepared to roll out the test and have really become comfortable on the validity of the questions and the type of information being used for the exam.

Linda:  Was there any input from other organizations or associations?

Jeff:  There was a large peer review of all of the course material content, which really serves the basis of the GRP exam.  There was also  a number of individual people in particular expertise areas of the industry that were targeted as independent peer reviewers for us.  We looked at the roofing industry, the roofing manufacturing and landscape contracting, roofing consultants and landscape architects, and assembled a team of peer reviewers that went through the process and gave us really good input to further clarify the questions and content.

Linda:  I was wondering if it was hard to get buy in from fellow colleagues, or if you encountered any resistance from any particular contingents in the industry?

Jeff:  Believe it or not, not really.  There is always this discussion and debate about accreditation and self-regulation.  I think everyone in the industry recognized the value of education and having a designation that helps the public understand that this particular individual has a certain understanding of the course material that would provide them a qualification in the marketplace.

Linda:  Here in North America, we’ve been designing modern greenroofs since the mid 1990’s and as a result we have millions of square feet on roofs greened already.  Some people might say this program is unnecessary, especially to those who have been designing these living roofs, and that it’s simply a justification to promote the professional association and make some money.  I know the GRP is a measure of knowledge of established best practices, and that with the designation we can distinguish ourselves in the marketplace as well.  Why do you believe that the greenroof industry needs an accreditation program now?

Jeff:  Green roofs are somewhat unique as a practice area because they entail such a wide variety of disciplines that it’s very difficult or virtually impossible for any individual to be an expert in every aspect of the industry.

Linda:  I agree!

Jeff:  We’ve sort of coined the phrase that the green roof industry is complemented by two halves of the equation – the black arts and the green arts – and so when we’re looking at the accreditation program, we had to look at those skills and competencies that are required in order to understand the delivery process and not necessarily trying to test a roofer on Latin species of Sedums or a horticulturalist on the melting point of a certain asphaltic roofing compound.  So because of this wide range of knowledge, I think the GRP designation facilitates the ability of the public to understand how to apply these types of green technologies.

Again, it is a voluntary program in that those who choose not to participate will still be able to practice in the field, so it’s not an obstacle for them.  From my perspective, it is a celebration of a technical body of knowledge an individual holds.

Linda:  Well, that’s a good way to look at it.

Jeff:  It is sort of a personal badge of commitment that we value this type of technology to the point that we’re willing to sit for the exam and to promote our understanding of it.  If you look at all other accreditation programs, they’ve run into many of the same criticisms that they’re a self-promotion vehicle and that they are self regulating a minority of individuals.  If you follow other programs over a period of time, you will find that the association side and the accreditation side typically become separate organizations at some point in the future.

We have seen that through ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects) and CLARB (Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards), and even with the USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council); they’ve migrated to two associations as the accreditation program gained momentum.  Programs also gain sophistication and complexity.  In the beginning the association is a strong support component and nurturing component in order to get an accreditation program on its feet and to get it widely accepted into public domain.

Linda:  Yeah, I agree with you.  What types of companies or professionals would you like to see come on board?

Jeff:  We did not try to restrict anyone that is interested and capable of demonstrating sufficient knowledge about this to sit for the exam and become accredited.  I think it would require a certain degree of knowledge and background about the construction industry and the construction delivery process in order to be successful.  It tends to be a logical choice for architects, engineers, roofing consultants, roofing manufacturers, landscape contractors that have an interest in green roofs – or general contractors, building management, those types of individuals that have an understanding and sequencing of the construction process.

This knowledge base that we’re looking at is really specialized applied knowledge, so it’s an overlay of what an individual might already need to understand about contracting law, projects, understanding critical path of construction sequencing and how to measure performance and success in the field.  So, although we didn’t limit who takes the exam, we tried to work off some industry assumptions and direct the materials so that it was specifically for unique aspects of green roofs in the construction market.

Linda:  Getting back to landscape architecture, the profession encompasses a broad field, embracing a wide range of interests, with many of us gravitating towards one particular area, greenroofs, for example.  As a landscape architect, do you feel specialization will eventually kill or possibly dilute our profession?

Jeff:  I’ve been involved in ASLA as a trustee for many years, and have a long involvement in ASLA.  I understand the dichotomy involved in specialization.  Over the years landscape architects have always struggled to define their identity because we are so diverse and we practice in so many different phases in society.  In a technologically increasing community and environment, it is absolutely necessary that landscape architects and other professions maintain higher levels of specialization as certain aspects of the industry get more and more complex.  I think that’s a natural aspect.  When I look at landscape architects, I am very hopeful that because of their common basis of understanding and education, they’ll still be able to maintain a dialogue and a connection with landscape architecture even as the specialties continue to get more granular and complex.

I view landscape architects collectively as contextualists in that we, in solving problems, seek out other professions.  We seek out connections with the past, seek out connections with ecology, place culture and try to mend and heal places.  This reaching out as a popular culture facilitates us working as teams and embraces a recognition of diversity within the profession.

Actually, 30- 40% of our consulting work is with other landscape architects, and it is probably the most rewarding work we do because there is an affinity of understanding.  There’s a similar basis of attempting to resolve the project.  Specialization is the way for us to get better at what we do but still maintain a common core of landscape architecture.  I’m hopeful, so very hopeful, that we will be able to continue to embrace other specializations and keep our identity under the umbrella of landscape architecture.

Linda:  Well, I have to say that was very eloquent!  I can’t think off the top of my head like that!

Jeff:  The way I got to be fellow (FASLA) is I got involved in Missouri licensure of landscape architects, and we fought a very, very tough battle that took close to 12 years to get the legislation passed.  As a result we learned every tactic in the world, politically, every backroom maneuver, and we got so good at it that I was appointed to the registration assistance team at ASLA national.  As part of the registration assistance team, we travelled around and gave legislative workshops for other states.  I was involved with six states that gained licensure.  We dealt with turf battles, strategy of defining work, specializations, and tiered accreditation of licensing.  I’ve been thinking about it for about 25 years.  So my elegant statement has been constructed over a long time.

Linda:  Then you have a good memory!

Jeff:  Well, yeah, and there’s a few things you’d like to forget about that process – I always equated it to getting your cuff caught in a piece of machinery and it just dragged you through the machinery.  During the process it was like I never thought if I’d joined this committee it meant a 25-year commitment.

Linda:  Right, it kind of takes over your life.  I know people on various GRHC committees who would say the same thing!

Jeff:  Exactly.  What attracted that organization to me, I think, was the interesting perspective about licensure and accreditation and what that might mean.  The whole opportunity to look at not a singularly educated vocation, but a very multi-disciplinary organization to establish a knowledge base of information was intriguing to me.  It’s very similar to the USGBC model but not as expansive.

Linda:  What unique attributes do you think landscape architects will offer as a Green Roof Professional?

Jeff:  Good question.  Well, I alluded to it a little bit previously, which was their propensity for team management and team building, working with other professionals.  The rooftop is an extremely hostile environment in which to try and grow vegetation, and more realistically in trying to create sustainable, restorative ecosystems.  I think the landscape architects’ skill set is perfectly aligned with those unique challenges that occur on the roof, working with constructed materials, working with natural systems, working with water, harvesting soils, and all of those things provide very unique attributes for landscape architects.

I think each of the professions that we have targeted and involved in the process also provide those very unique but different attributes.  Roofing consultants – there is an enormous amount of technical data and expertise required in waterproofing of structures, and roofing details and flashing/counterflashing details, for example.

Linda:  Right, and that’s going to be my hardest area to take – the 301!

Jeff:  Well, I can tell you that the trepidation is equally split – if you’re part of the green arts, you fear the black arts, and if you’re part of the black arts you equally fear the green arts.  But I sincerely hope that everyone that comes out of the exam really feels that the material has been well vetted, has been well thought out and then represents a reasonable representation of the skill set we need in the generalist form.  I think we’ll strike the appropriate balance between those two divergent areas of specializations.

Linda: Getting back to the Accreditation Program, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities is basing the GRP exam on the four Green Roof Courses, the 101, 201, 301, and 401, but is it a requirement that people have taken these classes already or can anyone just walk in and wing it?

Jeff:  Anyone could, in fact, sit down and take the test if they so desire.  We recognize that some people may not have the opportunity in their schedule to sit for all the courses throughout the year, so the course manuals are also available for purchase if you wanted to read through them.  As part of the legal defensibility of the exam, we had to have citable references for each of the questions and all of the questions came out of the course materials.

Linda: Can you give us some of the specifics of what to expect on the exam, like the number of questions and how it long it might take?

Jeff:  There will be 100 questions, and we’re allowed 2 hours.

Linda:  And Green Roofs for Healthy Cities is using the exam from the launch here in Atlanta as the benchmark of sorts for future tests, is that correct?

Jeff:  Yes, part of the process that we will go through with Prometric is a validation of the test questions by the first hundred or so exam takers.  So there would be, again, another quality assurance process whereby we would look aggregately at all the exam questions and see if there’s an anomaly in answers and responses so that we can make it again as fair and as defensible as possible.

Linda:  Can you give our readers any pointers or last minute advice before we take the test?

Jeff:  Well, I think, again, we tried to focus on those pieces of information that are most valuable for the professional as they facilitate teaming and delivery of green roofs.  One of the very important aspects of that was certainly the best management practices that were called out in each of the manuals.  So the best management practices are areas where we focused importance on, and you’ll see a number of questions that emerge from those particular recommendations.

Linda:  Very good, I haven’t signed up yet, just because I’m always late for everything!

Jeff:  Well, there’s always a percentage of the population that are like that so we’re looking at a really good representation of “first adopters” we’re calling them that are going to come out and represent the profession.  It should be noted that there are going to be three additional exams that will be given around the country. You can check the GRHC website for the locations and times of the other exams.

Linda:  Anything else?

Jeff:  I would just encourage everyone to come down to Atlanta and the conference - we’ve got some extraordinary tracks that we’re looking at, one of which is food production on rooftops – rooftop agriculture – which I think is going to be a significant emerging market for us and it should be a lot of fun.

I appreciate the opportunity!

Linda: Very good, Jeff, and it really has been my pleasure to speak with you today!
 

For more info on the GRP, visit the FAQ’s section from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities.  I hope many professionals from multi-disciplinary fields take the challenge and get their Green Roof Accreditation – I’ll be there, too:

The Green Roof Profession (GRP) Accreditation Exam will be held on Friday, June 5, 2009  at the 7th Annual Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference from 4:00 – 6:00 pm at the Conference venue, the Hyatt Regency Hotel, in the Hanover Room, C-E.

Happy Greening and Test Taking!

~ Linda V.

Spring is the Birthday of the World

“‘Tis like the birthday of the world,
When earth was born in bloom;
The light is made of many dyes,
The air is all perfume:
There’s crimson buds, and white and blue,
The very rainbow showers
Have turned to blossoms where they fell,
And sown the earth with flowers.”
- Thomas Hood

Spring is way sprung and we’re in full gear, knee deep in the season of birth and renewal, of laying the foundation for the future, of nurturing and sowing our seeds within the season of perpetual hope and new beginnings! 

I guess it’s no wonder, then, that events honoring the sacred feminine – the ying opposing the yang in the universe within our spiritual and physical worlds - are observed during this time.   Holidays such as Easter and Earth Day occur during Spring in the Northern Hemisphere which runs from March into June.  According to Wikipedia, ying yang describes “seemingly disjunct or opposing forces…interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, giving rise to each other in turn.”   The decidedly earthy, motherly Yin and masculine Yang are complementary opposites within a greater whole, each dependent of each other – sounds like the basis for a really good relationship, right?

Yes, and wouldn’t you say that the greatest environmental maternal relationship of all has to be with Mother Earth?   I believe it’s no coincidence that late March was chosen to host Earth Hour, at the beginning of Spring.   Earth Hour 2008 was held internationally on March 29 from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. local time, marking the first anniversary of the event.  This year it was celebrated on March 28 from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. local time and as a company and as a family, this was our second year participating in Earth Hour.

Although we observe Earth Day on  April 22, Earth Day was initially celebrated on March 21, 1970, the equinox day.  Earth Day, now Earth Week, marked the beginning of the modern environmental movement.   Wikipedia says, “The equinoctial Earth Day is celebrated on the March equinox (around March 20) to mark the precise moment of astronomical mid-spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and of astronomical mid-autumn in the Southern Hemisphere.”  Margaret Mead added her support for the equinox Earth Day, and in 1978 declared:

“EARTH DAY is the first holy day which transcends all national borders, yet preserves all geographical integrities, spans mountains and oceans and time belts, and yet brings people all over the world into one resonating accord, is devoted to the preservation of the harmony in nature and yet draws upon the triumphs of technology, the measurement of time, and instantaneous communication through space.

EARTH DAY draws on astronomical phenomena in a new way – which is also the most ancient way – using the vernal Equinox, the time when the Sun crosses the equator making night and day of equal length in all parts of the Earth. To this point in the annual calendar, EARTH DAY attaches no local or divisive set of symbols, no statement of the truth or superiority of one way of life over another. But the selection of the March Equinox makes planetary observance of a shared event possible, and a flag which shows the Earth as seen from space appropriate.”

Landscape Architecture Month is also set in Spring, in April.  I chose the field of landscape architecture for many reasons, but most definitely for the blending of creativity and ecology, stewardship of the land, and my simple passion for plants – I’ve always had a green thumb (my nurturing side also gave way to my three children) and love to draw.  Still dominated by men, the last 20-25 years or so has seen an incredible rise in female practitioners.  When I was at the SED at UGA from 1996-2000, enrollment was extremely male-dominated – easily 4, if not 5, to 1.

As a planet, as a culture on a mega-grand scale, we are bound together as minuscule parts of a mutual whole…One of my favorite quotes is sometimes labeled as an Ancient Indian Proverb, or attributed to Antoine de St. Exupery, Ralph Waldo Emerson, David Bower or Andre Gide, but whoever wrote it obviously felt respect for our natural environment, promoting spiritual sustainability, too:

“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”

In any case, I hope you’re enjoying Spring by having celebrated Earth Hour, Earth Day and Week, Landscape Architecture Month, and especially Mother’s Day, a smaller scale but equally important celebration to honor the feminine.  

Happy Mother’s Day, from our Pahl/Velazquez family of four generations:
Top: My sister Alicia Pahl-Arritola; Bottom, left to right: my Mom Ellie Pahl; me; my daughter Anjuli and my grandson, Nicholas Joseph.

Let’s continue to honor our mothers, ourselves, and Mother Earth, every day.

~ Linda V.

With the holidays right around the corner, are you like me, a world renown procrastinator, still looking for last minute gift ideas for your loved ones?  If so, here are my favorites for all you greenroof aficionados out there.  The best part is that they can all be ordered online with a quick click of your mouse, they’re all in stock – and without any traffic or long lines!  You might be familiar with Haven Kiers‘ and my annual Top 10 List of Hot Greenroof Design Trends, where we compile the not to be missed, new, noteworthy and exciting projects from around the world, so in that spirit…

Some are new offerings, and some are “old” favorites – in our relatively young industry it’s pretty funny to refer to something as old, but so be it - and each is all about vegetated roof projects.  Without further ado, here we go:

My Top Ten List of Greenroof Gifts

1) The 2009 Greenroofs of the World Calendar!  At just $12.95 each, including shipping & handling, (less if you buy more), it’s also the least expensive item on our list, via Greenroofs.com.

An exclusive of Greenroofs.com, we’re now in our second year of publishing the “Greenroofs of the World” 12-Month Wall Calendar series which combines two of our most popular destinations:  The Greenroof Projects Database and Upcoming Events.  2009 is filled with beautiful living roof projects from municipal applications to recreational areas to private homes and beyond, and there’s even more green building events from around the world than last year’s.   This year we have greenroofs from Spain, Germany and Canada alongside the U.S. cities of Portland, Chicago, Birmingham, Northbrook, Steamboat Springs, Newport, Pittsburgh, Port Townsend, and Washington, D.C., ranging from 350 to 765,000 sf.

The Calendar will make a great inexpensive last minute gift or stocking stuffer (well, if you have a really wide stocking) for friends, family, colleagues, and even you!

2)  Green Roofs in Sustainable Landscape Design, 2008, by Steven L. Cantor.  $44.07, via Amazon.com.  Wow – after years of hard work from this talented landscape architect and former university professor, what an amazing compilation and final product!  I’m currently reading and writing a Recommending Reading for this absolutely invaluable must-have. 

It’s truly spectacular in scope and breadth with approximately 70 detailed case studies alongside terms and definitions; issues; the design process; plant materials, irrigation and specifications; trends; and numerous appendices - I (obviously!) highly recommend this for everyone.  I beleive this is the true reference manual for living roofs that we have all been waiting for since Ted Osmundson’s initial offering – see below at #6.

3)  Green Roof Plants: A Resource and Planting Guide, 2006, by Edmund C. Snodgrass and Lucie L. Snodgrass.  $19.77, via Amazon.com.  Although plants are the obvious focus, it’s comprehensive in scope and a considerable amount of effort has been placed on examining greenroof fundamentals.  The book serves as an insightful and practical design resource as well as greenroof planting guide for beginners and experts alike.

Their research and compilation of a North American climatic-wide palette of proven greenroof plants encompassing USDA hardiness zones 2 – 9 is a testament to their expertise and years of species trial and error on Emory Knoll Farms.  Read my Recommended Readings Review.

4)  Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls, 2004, revised and updated 2008, by Nigel Dunnett and Noël Kingsbury.  $23.07, via Amazon.com.  The book’s forte and major value is as an essential resource – especially in terms of plant description, characteristics and specification.

It’s also a great bargain in that the book is filled with color photos, drawings, charts and reference material.  Here is another indispensable  reference guide containing a truly massive collection of extensive plant directories for both greenroofs and façade greening.  Read my Review.

5)  The DIY Guide to Green & Living Roofs, 2008, by John Little and Dusty Gedge.  £11.65, via livingroofs.org.  John Little of The Grassroof Company and Dusty Gedge of Livingroofs of the UK have joined forces to provide a practical guide to creating small scale greenroofs. 

On my to-do list for upcoming Recommended Readings, it’s really a highly informative, hands-on design and construction reference for Do-It-Yourselfers.  Full of photos, details and diagrams, the guide includes terms and considerations for both the UK and North American markets. Available in various eBook formats.
 

6)  Roof Gardens: History, Design, and Construction, 1999, by Theodore H. Osmundson.  $47.25, via Amazon.com.  Ted Osmundson has enjoyed a long and productive career in landscape architecture, and has been a true pioneer in the field of roof gardens.  This reference standard is appropriate for roof garden fans and design professionals alike and has been considered THE bible of traditional rooftop design, and really, the title says it all.

Roof Gardens is a classic even if it’s just (almost) ten years old and certainly a must have in your library of design books.  Read my Review.

7)  Green Roof: A Case Study: Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates’ Design For the Headquarters of the American Society of Landscape Architects, 2007, by  Christian Werthmann.  $45.00, via Amazon.com.  The ASLA Headquarters greenroof is a living representation of the Society’s ideals regarding sustainable design – in other words, they’ve put their money where their mouth is with their own living roof! 

And it’s not only highly educational and functional, it’s beautiful, too, so much so that we featured it in the August spot in our 2009 Greenroofs of the World Calendar.

8)  BUILDING GREENer – Guidance on the use of green roofs, green walls and complementary features on buildings (C644), 2007, by Paul Early, Dusty Gedge, John Newton, and Steve Wilson.  £90.00 via CIRIA.  Although intended for UK readership, this book is expertly written by well known and respected environmental design leaders whose message is clear that this guidance can be applied universally.

A comprehensive assessment of published research and information on living roofs and walls, BUILDING GREENer shows us ecological designers how such low tech features as nesting boxes can easily be incorporated to encourage greater biodiversity in our building construction practices.  Read my Review.

9)  Green Roofs: Ecological Design and Construction, 2004, by Earth Pledge Foundation; contributing authors include Leslie Hoffman, William McDonough, Katrin Scholz-Barth, Tom Liptan, Ed Snodgrass, Dusty Gedge, Steven Peck, Manfred Koehler, Takehiko Mikami, Colin Cheney, Mathew Frith, Melissa Keeley and Joel Towers.  $26.37, via Amazon.com.

Forty-seven spectacular international case studies are highlighted, organized based on three major factors in sustainable design: economy, social value and ecology.  Appendices and endnotes are particularly detailed and extremely useful.

10)  Last, but certainly not least, is Award-winning Green Roof Designs, 2008, by Steven W. Peck, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities.  $39.99, via Schifferbooks.com.  The first five years of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities’ Awards of Excellence North American-winning projects and designers have been chronicled in the categories of: Residential, Institutional, and Institutional/Commercial, totalling 30 in-depth case studies. 

Outstanding individuals are also featured, highlighting the first five recipients of the Civic Awards of Excellence and the first Research Award of Excellence, going to the late Dr. David Beattie.

I trust you’ll enjoy these selections and hopefully you can carve out some down time in the next couple of weeks after the hustle and bustle of the festivities, to slow down, enjoy your family, and perhaps even catch up on some reading in the New Year. 

Warm wishes throughout your holiday season, and Season’s Greetings to all!

~ Linda V.

As an airline employee I’ve flown now on numerous 9/11 anniversaries, including today, returning from Orlando this morning from visiting my beautiful daughter, Anjuli.  Days after this other day which will also live on in infamy, we were given lapel pins which read “Remember, Honor, Renew” and I’ve worn it ever since on my uniform in remembrance.  You can’t help but Remember the horrific events of September, 11, 2001 – the panic, the disbelief, the heroic actions of so many, the souls lost, the families separated within this lifetime, and also the rather selfish line of ”Where were you on this date?” which people love to go on about.

So today on Patriot Day here in the Untied States we Honor the people from around the world whose lives were lost on U.S. soil here in New York, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvannia because of what, obvious acts of aggression and extreme violence which equate to social/psychological/political intolerance? religious fanaticism? or perceived meritorious acts of moral justice or superiority?  Maybe also a combination of these and ideals from a certain small but albeit powerful faction of Muslim separatism, an extreme type of eco-centrism, and a belief that these terrorist acts are selfless, divine, and which according to these fanatics result in the extinction of evil and the promotion of greater good?  I recently read about “The Romantic Ideal” pertaining to The Holy War, which on one website states, 

“Muslims emphatically insist that the Jihad, or Holy War, was only a means of defence and was never used as an offensive act…”

I don’t pretend to know much about it, but I do know that many Muslims were dismayed and appalled at these actions.  Read much more on the war on behalf of Islam.

We also need to Honor everyone who reacted immediately with selfless acts – specifically the brave firefighters, police, and unnamed civilian heroes, and afterwards also to those of all races, creeds and nationalities who spoke against these inhumane actions – thank you!

So how about Renew part?  Let’s continue the healing process to renew our faith in human beings - as neighbors carpooling each other’s kids to individuals influencing our local and national political candidates – to ourselves as citizens of the world.   If we understand that we all live on one Earth, we can extend this committment to renewing our stewardship of our own planet – I mean, if we’re going to renew something, there’s nothing more sustainable for the long term than “live locally, act globally!”

When I put my pin on this morning it occurred to me, as a former student of landscape architecture back in the late 90’s and now as an ecological designer of greenroofs and green walls, that “Remember, Honor, Renew” is also a great philosophy in terms of environmental design.  We are taught to look at a site’s history, both physical and cultural, to determine the “genius loci” or spirit of place as a basis of design.  So from this perspective we can create a spiritual connection to the past in addition to promoting a renewal of ideals and ecological principles for the future, and really express the true nature of a site.

But the Imagine piece of the equation came to me from a rather personal perspective, but one that fits this new amended motto of “Remember, Honor, Renew…and Imagine.”  Our oldest son, Joey, celebrated his first anniversary with his wife, Korinne, in late July, and he picked out John Lennon’s “Imagine” as our wedding song together as mother and son – talk about a tear jerker!  It seemed the perfect fit for my firstborn who has grown into a young creative man with high ideals, so why not for the more jaded of us, too:

“Imagine there’s no heaven
It’s easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today…Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world…

You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will live as one” ~ John Lennon, 1971

 

 

 

Imagine a world working in tandem to combat issues as seemingly unimportant as a specific religion (God is God, right?) or political theology to more pressing ones such as global warming (Nature as God perhaps?) and freedom, peace and safety for all.

So, “Remember, Honor, Renew…and Imagine.”  Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, maybe the new Freedom Tower which will replace New York’s World Trade Center (finished by 2011 or so) will embrace this new credo, but we certainly don’t have to wait until then to continue believing in ourselves and each other, and imagining a better future, do we?

Linda V.