Each week you can expect to learn What’s New here on Greenroofs.com through our “This Week in Review” video.  Here’s the transcript from November 18th, 2011 from our daughter, Anjuli – click on the photo below to see the video, or here.  Enjoy!

- Hello, I’m Anjuli Velazquez and welcome to This Week in Review for November 18th on GreenroofsTV.

- Project of the Week

-  Our project of the week is the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital Rooftop Healing Gardens built in 2010 in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts. The 90,000 sf LEED-Gold certified facility has other sustainable building elements besides the “wellness” area rooftop garden, including an array of over 200 solar photovoltaic panels that provide the hospital with 45 kilowatts of power and a Connection to the Natural World, Places of Healing and Respite. “Martha’s Vineyard Hospital was able to meet this innovative credit by incorporating many Planetree patient-focused elements into the new facility that enhanced patient healing; including views, natural light, privacy, and access to healing gardens.” Weston Solutions’ Northeast GreenGrid team provided a plant mix including grasses, perennials, and sedums that are proven to be reliable in the Northeast climate and that bloom at various times during the season, creating an always welcoming space for hospital visitors, patients, and staff.

To learn more about the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital Rooftop Healing Gardens, click on our project of the week photo on our homepage.

“What’s New”

-  Our new 2012 Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ 12 Month Wall Calendar will be available soon for purchase, so check back and get a fun gift for you, your family, friends, staff and clients!

Industry News Update

-  The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) just released a new report, “Rooftops to Rivers II: Green Strategies for Controlling Stormwater and Combined Sewer Overflows.” It looks at 14 cities that are choosing to use green infrastructure as a cost-effective means to reduce the flooding and water pollution caused by both extreme and everyday storms.

-  Over at Sky Gardens, check out Linda’s latest posts: “Greenroofs.com’s ‘This Week in Review’ on GreenroofsTV: November 4, 2011,” “This Week in Review” for October 28th, 2011 and our GPW.

- “Upcoming Events”

-  November 16th-23rd: Dusty Gedge will have Living Roofs Presentations & Workshops in various locations in New Zealand.

-  November 28th-December 9th: is a Conference of the Parties COP17 2011 Climate Summit in Durban, South Africa.

-  November 30th: is a Green Roofs for Healthy Cities Green Roof Professional Exam in Philadelphia, PA.

-  November 30th-December 1st: is the GOVGREEN Conference and Exposition in Washington, DC.

-  November 30th-December 3rd: is the CitiesAlive 2011 9th Annual Green Roof & Wall Conference in Philadelphia, PA. Greenroofs.com will be there – will you?  Linda and Haven Kiers will be presenting their Top 10 List of Hot Trends in Greenroof & Greenwall Design on Friday, December 2, so don’t miss it!

-  And December 1st: is a Green Wall and Roof Forum by Green Living Technologies in Philadelphia, PA.

- “In the News”

-  Gail Johnson of Globe and Mail, talks about how it’s “Easy to be green when your roof saves you money” in Port Coquitlam, Canada. She says, “Thousands of hand-planted sedums and succulents cover the roofs of Walmart and Canadian Tire, anchor tenants at the Onni Group’s Fremont Village shopping centre.” The newly opened outlets abide by the Canadian bylaw that requires buildings of more than 5,000 square meters to use greenroof technology. Mayor Greg Moore realizes that there was some resistance from developers to the city’s new sustainability initiative but the shift to green roofs is a sign of things to come. Developers are now expressing interest in using environmentally sound technology in smaller structures as well. We know that greenroofs help reduce stormwater run off and help offset the urban heat-island effect which they can do through daily dew and evaporation cycles, allowing plants to cool cities during hot weather. Energy savings continue throughout the life of the building, which typically would be twice as long as a traditional roof.

-  Craig Welch of The Seattle Times, reports on “Vancouver, BC, works to be greenest of all.” Vancouver has announced its desire to become the greenest city in the world by 2020. Welch says, “The city is moving to reduce solid waste by 50 percent, cut residents’ carbon footprints by a third and dramatically increase public transit, walking and bike use. It is packing citizens in more densely, trying to encourage more locals to grow food and generally urging lighter living on the land.” One example of how the city is striving to be the greenest is in its drive to substantially cut the waste it sends to landfills. Canada is increasingly making industries take responsibility for disposal of the products they sell, which means that citizens can drop unwanted goods off at facilities paid for by their manufacturers. Vancouver has already achieved success as it continues to get attention from around the world for its efforts to be an eco-leader; and it is inspiring a new generation of innovators.

To learn more about these stories and new ones posted daily, go to our In the News or newslinks section of our website.

-  Send us your green articles, videos and images to editor@greenroofs.com and share your greenroof or green wall info with the world!

- Make sure to keep up with everything Greenroofs.com by following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook, being a member of our network on LinkedIn, and subscribing to our greenroofsTV channel on YouTube!

- This has been This Week in Review for November 18th, 2011 on GreenroofsTV.  I’m Anjuli Velazquez and I’ll see you next week!

*This week’s episode is sponsored by The Greenroof Directory, brought to you by Greenroofs.com.*

Did we miss something?  We’d love to hear from you!

~ Linda V.

As I wrote about yesterday, today we are airing the Opening Keynote Address video by Charlie Miller from our Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit on greenroofs.tv and our GreenroofsTV channel on YouTube.

Charlie Miller, P.E. and principal of Roofmeadow (formerly Roofscapes, Inc.), has been a mentor and inspiration to me since my early days as a landscape architecture student who had “discovered” greenroofs in 1997/98.  It was a no-brainer for me to choose Charlie as our opening keynote speaker – to honor his open attitude about information sharing and to share his outlook and expertise with our Virtual Summit audience!

Charlie’s Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit 2011 keynote address is titled ”A New Place.”

“After an acquaintance of almost 20 years, Americans may think that they know green roofs.  In fact, there is much left to discover as we colonize the world of the great urban plateau.” ~ Charlie Miller, P.E.

Enjoy!  Visit greenroofs.tv to see “A New Place” here or click below.

We appreciate your feedback, and feel free to contact Charlie directly at: cmiller@roofmeadow.com.

Check back next week on GreenroofsTV for our second installment from the Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit 2011!

~ Linda V.

Each week you can expect to learn What’s New here on Greenroofs.com through our “This Week in Review” video.  Here’s the transcript from October 28th and 21st, 2011 from our daughter, Anjuli – click on the photo below to see the video, or here.  Enjoy!

- Hello, I’m Anjuli Velazquez and welcome to This Week in Review for October 28th, 2011 as well as last week, October 21st on GreenroofsTV.

- Projects of the Week

-  Our project of the week is the PECO Main Office Building built in 2008 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The rooftop garden, on the top of an eight-story section of the building, holds growing media up to 8 inches thick, and the vegetative covering will reduce rainwater runoff by up to 70 percent and provide better insulation. With an anticipated investment of $15.3 million, the initiative also includes the opening of PECO’s first green building in West Chester, replacement of the landmark Crown Lights messaging system atop the company’s Center City headquarters, energy efficiency upgrades at many of the company’s offices and service centers across the region to comply with LEED certification, as well as community and customer support for energy efficiency and environmental benefits. Mayor Michael Nutter has recognized the roof as a step forward in his quest to make Philadelphia the greenest city in America. In the effort to encourage a critical mass of enlightened Philadelphians to support the development of urban roof top landscapes, the PECO green roof is proving to be a key player. Roofmeadow and the Philadelphia Horticultural Society closely track the native plants to identify those that are best able to endure the harsh conditions of a windy, riverside rooftop.

- To learn more about the PECO Main Office Building greenroof, click on our project of the week photo on our homepage.

- Our project of the week last week was the Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Vertical Extensive Green Wall Testing Facility built in 2009 in Singapore. The Landscape Design and Horticulture programme from the School of Life Sciences and Chemical Technology at the college embarked to develop simpler green walls for high rise buildings where 90% of residences are dwellers. Then they evaluated shallow rooted plant species for their growth habit, disease susceptibility, nutrient deficiencies and maintenance requirements. The 2-year research on sustainable plant species for the green wall involved 40 students from the Landscape Design and Horticulture programme and the outcome was a 12m x 2.5m vertical extensive green system uniquely designed for the climate in Singapore.

- And to learn more about the Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Vertical Extensive Green Wall Testing Facility, search project id number “1330” in our Projects Database and/or check out Linda’s blog post about it at Sky Gardens.

“What’s New”

- Industry News Update

-The next round of ecoroof incentives is now open & the City of Portland is again offering FREE technical workshops.

- Green Roofs for Healthy Cities’ Awards of Excellence Winners Announced – congratulations to all the great projects and winners, in particular to one of our Contributing Editors, Patrick Carey of hadj Design as the Green Roof Designer, who won in the Green Roof Extensive Residential category for the Hood Canal Project, a private residence in Quilcene, WA.  The greenroof on this coastal residence is a perfect example of a small-scale project with an even smaller development impact.

- The EPA asked ASLA to collect case studies on projects that successfully and sustainably manage stormwater. ASLA members responded with 479 case studies from 43 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada – by the way, one of the projects where Linda was the greenroof design consultant is included – Rock Mill Park in Alpharetta, Georgia.

- The NY State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection reached a draft agreement to reduce combined sewer overflows into area water bodies. The agreement modifies New York City’s approach to improving harbor water quality, under which the city will invest an estimated $187 million in green infrastructure projects by 2015, part of a planned $2.4 billion public and private investment over the next 20 years.

- Guest Feature

Read “Welcome to the 9th Annual CitiesAlive Green Roof and Wall Conference: Restoring Urban Water: Philadelphia Takes the Lead” by Steven Peck.

-Contributing Editor

- Also, read Christine Thuring’s latest article “GREEN ROOFS ON THE CURVE Virtual Conferencing: WOW it’s NOW!”

Advertiser Press Release:

- LiveRoof® Hybrid Green Roof System Selected for Five New Green Roof Projects in North Carolina.

- Over at Sky Gardens, check out Linda’s latest posts: “Vote for Colombian Greenroofs in ‘Innovadores de America’ – Innovators of America by November 7!,” “GreenRoofs in Australasia’s Greening Cities Conference 2011 in Sydney,” “Are You Going to the International Green Technology Symposium in India?,” “Fall 2011 Portland Ecoroof Opportunities,” “GREEN ROOFS ON THE CURVE 2011,” “Watch the Highlights Video of the ,” “Greenroofs.com’s ‘This Week in Review’ on GreenroofsTV: October 14th, 2011,” and our GPWs for the PECO Main Office Building and Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Vertical Extensive Green Wall Testing Facility.

- “Upcoming Events”

- Today is the last day to participate in our Archived Mode of the Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit 2011, so be sure to watch whatever video you haven’t watched yet or you’d like to watch again as well as download info from our sponsors Tremco and American Hydrotech and all of the exhibitors and associates!

- October 26th-29th: is the Midwest Roofing Contractors Association Conference Rosemont, Illinois.

- October 28th-30th: is a Green Living Technologies – Green Roof/Green Wall Installer and Maintenance Technician Certification Training in Penfield, New York.

- October 29th-30th: is a Green Roofs Course, Brighton Permaculture Trust in Brighton, United Kingdom.

- October 30th-November 2nd: is the ASLA 2011 Annual Meeting & EXPO in San Diego, California.

- October 31st-November 2nd: is WGIN’s International Green Technology Symposium 2011 in Indore, India.

- November 3rd-6th: is a GRHC Green Roof Boot Camp in San Francisco, California and on the 4th, there’s a GRHC Advanced Green Roof Maintenance in Chicago, Illinois.

-  Check out our homepage for more Upcoming Events!

- “In the News”

- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries announces that the “Tamachi Building Co. Invites Kindergarten Children to Potato Dig At Company’s Rooftop Garden.” They are offering a fun learning opportunity about the environment as a corporate social responsibility activity. They say, “Within the rooftop garden, a 21.5 square meter vegetable garden has been used for potato cultivation. Sweet potato was selected for planting because during the summer season it offers a high green coverage ratio, thereby providing excellent heat insulation; also, sweet potatoes offer good opportunities for children to dig and taste. The remainder of the garden is being utilized primarily for planting grass, flowers and evergreens.”

-  AnnMarie Costella of the Queens Chronicle, reports on “Queens gets a bit cooler with another green roof.” She says the “Jamaica Wastewater Treatment Plant is [the] latest location [to] be outfitted.” A variety of large and small flowering plants have been planted on this 6,000 square foot building, which will be able to absorb up to 13,000 gallons of rainwater and lessen the amount that gets dumped into the sewer system that leads to the Jamaica Bay. This green roof is part of the NYC Green Infrastructure Plan, which calls for $2.4 billion worth of green projects over the next 20 years in order to reduce combined sewer overflows and increase buildings’ absorption of ultraviolet light. Green roofs also improve insulation, interior cooling and energy efficiency.

To learn more about these stories and new ones posted daily, go to our In the News or newslinks section of our website.

-  Send us your green articles, videos and images to editor@greenroofs.com and share your greenroof or green wall info with the world!

- Make sure to keep up with everything Greenroofs.com by following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook, being a member of our network on LinkedIn, and subscribing to our greenroofsTV channel on YouTube!

- This has been This Week in Review for October 28th and 21st, 2011 on GreenroofsTV.  I’m Anjuli Velazquez and I’ll see you next week!

*This week’s episode is sponsored by The Greenroof Directory, brought to you by Greenroofs.com.*

Did we miss something?  We’d love to hear from you!

~ Linda V.

Published bi-annually by Singapore’s Centre for Urban Greenery & Ecology, or CUGE, the beautifully designed and illustrated CITYGREEN aims to discuss and highlight issues relating to urban greening and ecology.

In CITYGREEN’s latest issue, Parks – Enhancing Liveability in Cities, articles range from feature projects, best practices on planning, lighting, design and safety to commentaries on the role and evolution of urban parks.

Contributors for the current issue include organizations like Projects for Public Spaces and renowned individuals including Peter Harnik and Martha Schwartz.  The full listing of exciting articles for Issue 3 – ISBN: 978-981-08-9764-2 is shown below with selected photos:

“Planning Green Open Spaces for South East Asian Capital Cities”- left
Strategies to green up urban open spaces in our region
Author: David E. Aldous

“Learning From The Success of The World’s Great Parks”
Key lessons from Central Park New York, Luxembourg Gardens Paris and Hong Kong Park, among others
Authors: Fred Kent, Kathy Madden and Dana Kitzes

“Encouraging Green Open Spaces: Parks in Shanghai”- left
A look at sustainability-driven parks and initiatives in Shanghai
Author: Geoff Ng

“An Excerpt: Urban Parks in the 21st Century United States”
A Peek at Harnik’s Urban Green: Innovative Parks for Resurgent Cities
Author: Peter Harnik

“The Importance of Planning: A City in a Garden”- left
Planning, designing and programming attractive parks in land-scarce Singapore
Author: Lim You Ling

“A Place for Leisure, Culture and Entertainment: Cairns Esplanade”
The redevelopment of Cairns Esplanade into an icon of the place
Author: Stephen White

“Past, Present, Future: The Singapore Botanic Gardens”- left
The evolution and lasting relevance of our Singapore Botanic Gardens
Author: Peter How

“A Walk Through the Years in Singapore’s Parks: Interview With Kong Yit San”
Insights into the transformation of Singapore’s parks since the 1980’s
Author: Ho Rui An

“The Need to Improve Our Oversight of These Spaces: Playground Area Standards Update”- left
Why it is important and how to make public spaces safer for our children and elderly
Author: Kenneth S. Kutsa

“Encouraging Public Appreciation: Interpretation and Education in Parks”
Methods to help parks reach out to the public and students
Author: Janice C. K. Yau

“Adding Value to Parks Through Understanding User Needs”- left
Methods of evaluating and improving parks for their users
Author: Victor Tan

“Benchmarking Sustainable landscapes: Green Mark For Parks”
Using a triple-bottom line approach to assess and benchmark parks on sustainability
Authors: Neil Power and Kannagi Sekar

“Small Details, Big Results: Landscape Lighting” – left
See several considerations behind light and good lighting design
Author: Fernando Rojo

“A Focus on Planning and Design: Facilitating Safety”
Thinking about safety and risk issues in good design
Author: Michael Behm

“Community Engagement and Health Promotion in Parks and Gardens: Population Health and Nature in the Urban Environment”- left
Taking a leaf from initiatives by the South Australian government
Authors: Adam Dwyer, Graeme Hopkins and Christine Goodwin

“Ecological efforts in Karori Wildlife Santuary, Kaikatiki Project and Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park”
Author: James Wang

“Revisit and Discover: Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve”- left
A place to learn about Singapore’s mangrove history and Wetlands biodiversity
Authors: Sharon Chan and Edwin Lee

“A Landscape Architect’s Vision for Singapore’s City Centre: Orchard Central Park”
Imagining green possibilities for the dynamic Orchard Road shopping belt
Author: Joerg Rekittke

“The Role of the Public Realm Landscape: The Softer Side of Sustainability and the Hard Working Urban Landscape”- left
The challenge to integrate hard and soft systems to design and create meaningful public spaces
Author: Martha Schwartz

Online subscription is now available at www.citygreen.sg.

Last autumn, I was honored to have been asked to write an article about Greenroofs.com entitled “The International Greenroof Industry’s Online Information Portal: Greenroofs.com” for their second issue.  The full-color 104-page magazine was included in all the registrants’ bags for the  inaugural International Skyrise Greenery Conference 2010.

View contents of Issue 2 here and Issue 1 here.

I have to say that CITYGREEN is a first rate, very high quality publication and worth the cost!  I can’t wait to receive my copy.

I hope you, too, enjoy this very informative, glossy publication from CUGE on parks worldwide worthy of your greenroof and greenwall library and coffee table!

~ Linda V.

Each week you can expect to learn What’s New here on Greenroofs.com through our “This Week in Review” video.  Here’s the transcript from October 7th, 2011 from our daughter, Anjuli – click on the photo below to see the video, or here.  Enjoy!

- Hello, I’m Anjuli Velazquez and welcome to This Week in Review for October 7th, 2011 on GreenroofsTV. We’ve been so extremely busy with our inaugural Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit 2011, that we haven’t been able to have a This Week in Review for a few weeks, so allow me to catch you up with what’s been going on here at Greenroofs.com.

- Project of the Week

- Our project of the week is Harvard Graduate Student Housing at 29 Garden Street built in 2004 in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  The former police station from the 1920s was renovated in 2003 with the greenroof installed the following year.  The six-story complex has 75 apartments for the graduate students and “the garden courtyard provides a beautiful outdoor amenity space for residents and has made this housing building one of the most popular places to live on campus.”  The American Hydrotech project profile states, “The once unsightly rooftop is now a 10,000 square foot Garden Roof® providing pleasing views and helping to add a sense of place and community for the graduate student residents there.  The Garden Roof will significantly increase the life expectancy of the roof and is also helping to control stormwater runoff.”  The rooftop plantings include a mix of succulents, sedums and delosperma, drought tolerant varieties that are perfect for Boston temperatures.

- To learn more about the Harvard Graduate Student Housing at 29 Garden Street, click on our project of the week photo on our homepage.  Also, to learn about our projects of the week for the past few weeks, you can go to the Sky Gardens Blog and read Linda’s posts about each one.  Or, go to our Projects Database and search project ID number “825” for the World Expo Zaragoza 2008/Zentro Expo Zaragoza greenroof from ZinCo, project ID number “553” for the Musée du quai Branly green wall by Patrick Blanc, and project ID number “996” for the Casa Feliz Studios greenroof from Tremco.

“What’s New”

Advertiser Press Releases:

- Industry News

- According to Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, the City of Toronto’s award winning Green Roof Bylaw has already resulted in more than 1.2 million square feet of new green space planned on new commercial, institutional, and multi-unit residential developments across the City.

- Smart Growth America – Through a grant from the U.S. EPA’s Office of Sustainable Communities’ Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities Program, Smart Growth America is pleased to offer free technical assistance to help communities implement smart growth strategies to build stronger economies while protecting human health and the environment.

- American Rivers – Want to create 1.9 million American jobs and add $265 billion to the economy? Upgrade our water infrastructure. That’s the message of Water Works: Rebuilding Infrastructure, Creating Jobs, Greening the Environment, a report by Green For All, in partnership with American Rivers, Pacific Institute, and the Economic Policy Institute. The report looks at an investment of $188.4 billion in water infrastructure—the amount the EPA indicates would be required to manage stormwater and preserve water quality. That investment would inject a quarter of a trillion dollars into the economy, create nearly 1.3 million direct and indirect jobs and result in 568,000 additional jobs from increased spending.

-  Joblinks: C. M. Hobbs has a job opening for a Grower/Plant Propagator on the west side of Indianapolis, IN, USA.

- Over at Sky Gardens, check out Linda’s latest posts: “Greenbuild and Greenroofs in Toronto!,” our GPWs for the last few weeks, “Thank You to Our Sponsors and the Winner of the 2nd iPad2 at the Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit 2011 is…,” along with other Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit 2011 related posts, “Notre Voyage Fantastique: Chicago & Patrick Blanc” by Linda and Caroline Menetre, “Remembering and Rebuilding: Ten Years After 9/11,” and “Greenroofs.com’s This Week in Review” on GreenroofsTV: September 9, 2011.”

- “Upcoming Events”

- Until October 28th: All of the content from our Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit 2011 – Connecting the Planet + Living Architecture: People, Projects & Design is still very much live, so you can access it all on demand and tell your friends and colleagues to continue to register!  You can even continue to chat live while in the virtual environment via video, audio, or text through October 28!

- October 1st-23rd: Leverage – Strengthening Neighborhoods through Design Exhibition in Philadelphia, PA.

-  Check out our homepage for more Upcoming Events!

- “In the News”

- Roberta Cruger of Treehugger reports on “The 9/11 Memorial & Museum’s Focus on Sustainable Design.” She says “From a green roof to locally harvested trees, the National September 11 Memorial and Museum opens on the 10th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center with a dedication and much media coverage of every angle, including Steven Spielberg’s The Rising: Rebuilding Ground Zero.” A grove of more than 400 swamp white oak trees, all harvested from within a 500-mile radius of the World Trade Center, on the Plaza act as a beautiful green roof for the 9/11 Memorial museum, the train station and other facilities 70-feet below street level. These trees are meant to represent the renewal of life in their natural cycles. The irrigation system includes stormwater capture in underground storage tanks to save energy and resources and the site is seeking LEED gold certification.

- The San Francisco Chronicle announces that “Academy of Sciences [is] honored with another green building award.” The say “everyone’s favorite combination of aquarium, planetarium and natural history museum has received a second Platinum rating from the council’s LEED program.” And this one’s for operations and maintenance. The extensive vegetation on the living roof consists almost entirely of natural species and the glass walls allow views from 98% of occupied spaces. Also, they use 100% recycled paper in all its printers and they are all Energy Star-rated.

- Caroline McMillan of the Charlotte Observer talks about “Green roof sprouts up in the suburbs.” LEED-accredited architect, Rebecca Fant and her mechanical engineer husband, John Alday, have recently installed their very own greenroof. Their porch roof was in need of restoration, so they decided to go green with the help of LiveRoof® vegetation. They aren’t reaping the full benefits of greenroofs like managing stormwater runoff, keeping their house warm in the winter and cool in the summer yet because their greenroof is just over their porch but Fant says, “it’s a little teaser for what we’re trying to do inside the house, as we renovate and improve the energy efficiency and other environmental features.”

- To learn more about these stories and new ones posted daily, go to our In the News or newslinks section of our website.

-  Send us your green articles, videos and images to editor@greenroofs.com and share your greenroof or green wall info with the world!

- Make sure to keep up with everything Greenroofs.com by following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook, being a member of our network on LinkedIn, and subscribing to our greenroofsTV channel on YouTube.

- This has been This Week in Review for October 7th, 2011 on GreenroofsTV.  I’m Anjuli Velazquez and I’ll see you next week!

*This week’s episode is sponsored by The Greenroof Directory, brought to you by Greenroofs.com.*

Did we miss something?  We’d love to hear from you!

~ Linda V.

Each week you can expect to learn What’s New here on Greenroofs.com through our “This Week in Review” video. Here’s the transcript from September 2 and August 26, 2011 from our daughter, Anjuli – click on the photo below to see the video, or here.  Enjoy!

- Hello, I’m Anjuli Velazquez and welcome to This Week in Review for September 2nd, 2011 as well as for last week, August 26th on GreenroofsTV.

- Project of the Week

-  Our project of the week this week is the extremely cool 8 House built in 2010 in Copenhagen, Denmark.  And our project of the week last week was the Duke University Ocean Conservation Center built in 2010 in Beaufort, North Carolina.

-  The 8 House is a 61,000 square meter bowtie-shaped mixed-use building of three different types of residential housing and 10,000 square meters of retail and offices which make up Denmark’s largest private development. It stacks its lively urban neighborhood into horizontal layers of typologies connected by a continuous walking and cycling path up to the 10th floor which creates a three-dimensional urban neighborhood where suburban life meshes with the energy of a big city. Two sloping green roofs totaling 1,700 square meters are strategically placed to reduce the urban heat island effect as well as provide the visual identity to the project and tying it back to the adjacent farmlands towards the south. The architects wanted to design a “long, coherent house with immense differences in height, creating a strong inflow of light and a unique local community with small gardens and pathways that channel your thoughts into mountains in Southern Europe and memories of a childhood home.”

-  The Duke University Ocean Conservation Center houses a lecture hall, teaching laboratory and commons area and uses geothermal pumps for heating and cooling, solar panels for hot water and photovoltaic rooftop panels to convert sunlight into electricity. Local building materials, like yellow southern pine and Atlantic white cedar and recycled wood, are used throughout the 5,600-square-foot center. In 2008, the Ocean Conservation Center was awarded Gold LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council and in 2009 was awarded a Green Building Wood Design Award from Woodworks. The extensive green roof was installed in 2010 over the low-slope portion of the Energy Star roof and is a Xero Flor pre-vegetated extensive system, with specialized components to secure the green roof from high wind coastal exposure. Living Roofs worked with Xero Flor America and Frank Harmon Architects to design the green roof system and the irrigation which is supplied by a rainwater catchment system.

To learn more about the 8 House, click on our project of the week photo on our homepage and to learn more about the Duke University Ocean Conservation Center, type in project ID number 1155 in our Projects Database.

“What’s New”

- Industry News

-  We’ve released our agenda, our international speaker line-up and the trailer for the Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit 2011!  Held on September 27th & 28th, we have some simply awesome professionals speaking who are all passionate about what they do!  Check out the press release for all of the highlights for this ground breaking event or head on over to virtual.greenroofs.com and watch our exciting trailer that was really fun putting together, read our agenda, and learn more about our speakers. While there, you can pre-register for the event by September 9th and be eligible to win an Apple iPad2!

-  Make sure to read new columns from three of our contributing editors:  The Green Wall Editor George Irwin’s latest is “Green Wall Deception, Death of a Green Wall…” where he gives personal opinion about the potentials for failure.

-  Energy Editor Chris Wark’s latest is: “Consider the Source.” It’s a very classy response to an inaccurate article about the so-called benefits of greenroofs in the June 2011 issue of the ASHRAE Journal.

-  And enjoy the article “I am excited about the Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit 2011” from our Sustainable Business Insights Editor, John Shepley, about reducing your carbon footprint.  He cites our Virtual Summit as just one example of “Awareness.”

-  Over at Sky Gardens, check out Linda’s latest posts:  ”Greenroofs.com’s ‘This Week in Review’ on GreenroofsTV: August 19th, 2011” and our GPWs (8 House and Duke OCC).

- “Upcoming Events”

-  September 7th-9th: is the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) 2011 International Symposium: Emerging Technologies and Roof System Performance in Washington, D.C.

-  September 9th: the Early Bird Registration and contest period for your chance at winning the first of 2 iPad2s ends for our Virtual Summit 2011.

-  And September 27th & 28th: of course is the Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit 2011 – Connecting the Planet + Living Architecture: People, Projects & Design, held online around the world!

-  Check out our homepage for more Upcoming Events!

- “In the News”

-  Tyler Falk of SmartPlanet, reveals “NYC’s urban agriculture potential.” He shares some interesting insights in a new report from the Urban Design Lab at Columbia University’s Earth Institute that explores New York City’s urban agriculture potential. The report showed nearly 5,000 acres of empty land that would be sufficient for farming throughout the five boroughs, and that urban agriculture can have a huge impact on food security in neighborhoods where fresh and healthy produce is needed the most with help from more city farmers. He found some more interesting information in the report like how urban farms equal green infrastructure, and that rooftops are numerous in New York City but are not being utilized enough for urban agriculture and more. Check out the full article for more information and a link to the complete report: “The Potential for Urban Agriculture in New York City.”

-  Stephen Totilo of Kotaku, talks about “The Coolest Things in Nintendo’s American Headquarters (And One Uncool Thing).” Well the only “uncool thing” he says about the headquarters is that they don’t “let visitors take pictures of the best parts of the building.” When you walk into the headquarters of Nintendo of America in Redmond, Washington, you have to sign an electronic waiver promising you won’t bring firearms, will keep any Nintendo secrets you hear to yourself and won’t take any unauthorized pictures. There are a few spots you can take some photos, which he did, so be sure to read the full article check to them out. The Nintendo headquarters was awarded Gold LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in May of 2010. Among other eco-friendly additions, they have bamboo floors on each level, daylight sensors near the windows that dim or brighten interior lights based on the natural light in the room, heat and motion sensors in the many conference rooms, and there’s a 75,000 square foot Sedum living room to top it all off.

- To learn more about these stories and new ones posted daily, go to our In the News or newslinks section of our website.

- Have something you think we should know about and post on our website?  Send us your green articles, videos and images to editor@greenroofs.com and share your greenroof or green wall info with the world!

- Make sure to keep up with everything Greenroofs.com by following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook, being a member of our network on LinkedIn and subscribing to our greenroofsTV channel on YouTube!

-  This has been This Week in Review for September 2nd and August 26th, 2011 on GreenroofsTV.  I’m Anjuli Velazquez and I’ll see you next week!

*This week’s episode is sponsored by The Greenroof Directory, brought to you by Greenroofs.com.*

Did we miss something? We’d love to hear from you!

~ Linda V.

Each week you can expect to learn What’s New here on Greenroofs.com through our “This Week in Review” video.  Here’s the transcript from August 12, 2011 from our daughter, Anjuli – click on the photo below to see the video, or here.  Enjoy!

- Hello, I’m Anjuli Velazquez and welcome to This Week in Review for this week, August 12th, 2011 on GreenroofsTV.

- Project of the Week

-  Our project of the week is the BCIT Green Roof Research Facility built in 2003 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The British Columbia Institute of Technology designed a dedicated Green Roof Research Facility with the support of regional government, organizations, industry associations and material suppliers to help address the major barriers to market penetration of green roofs in BC. The BCIT Green Roof Research Facility was constructed to evaluate green roof performance for stormwater source control and thermal efficiency.  It has three independent roof surfaces – one reference roof and two green roofs – each with their own weather poles to measure climatic parameters. In addition to researching stormwater source control and thermal performance of green roofs, the BCIT Centre for the Advancement of Green Roof Technology also conducts product performance testing, serves for demonstration, and offers research-based education and training across disciplines. The Centre is a leading sustainable initiative that will help re-define how buildings are designed, and how land and water can be more effectively managed.

-  To learn more about the BCIT Green Roof Research Facility, click on our project of the week photo on our homepage.

“What’s New”

-  Due to a series of unexpected events, we have rescheduled our Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit 2011 to September 27th & 28th. We are very excited about our exceptional line-up of speakers and exhibitors and the extra time will ensure that the event will be a unique experience like no other. The extra time will be well worth it in the end to allow our speakers more time to prepare their presentations, people to be back from vacations, and for all of us to start spreading the word! So, our Early Bird Pre-Registration has also been extended and now you have until September 9th to pre-register and be entered to win an iPad2!

-  Advertiser Press Releases:

-  AIA Credits Available at Boston GreenFest for the GLTi “Green Roof Installations” Lecture with George Irwin.

-  Community College of Philadelphia Selects LiveRoof® for Two New Green Roofs at its Main Campus.

- Industry News

-  The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) has agreed to make extensive improvements to its sewer systems & treatment plants, at an estimated cost of $4.7 billion over 23 years, to eliminate illegal overflows of untreated raw sewage, including basement backups; and to reduce pollution levels in urban rivers and streams.

-  Over at Sky Gardens, read Linda’s latest posts: “Date Change for the Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit 2011,” TWIR for 8.5.11 and our GPW.

- “Upcoming Events”

-  August 16th: there is a Green Roofs for Healthy Cities – GRP Exam in Washington, DC.

-  August 16th-18th: is Ag Progress Days, Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences in Rock Springs, Pennsylvania.

-  And August 18th-20th: is Boston GreenFest 2011 in Boston, Massachusetts.

-  And check out our homepage for more Upcoming Events!

- “In the News”

-  Darah Hansen of The Vancouver Sun talks about “Car dealership buzzing with sweet activity.” In 2007, the 62,000-sq.-ft. Auto West BMW dealership in Richmond opened with more than $1 million in sustainable features, including a 16-meter-tall wind turbine, solar panels, a geothermal heating and cooling system, and a rooftop garden. Honey bees came two years later, following the rise of alarming news articles on the global collapse of honey bee colonies. The rooftop garden includes more than 3,500 bee-friendly plants, from lavender, wild strawberries and red currant to pink carpet roses, blueberries and apple blossoms. The project is also part of a study led by York University exploring how the urban environment affects the nesting habits of honey bees.

-  The Your News Now, web staff says “Downtown building gets new green roof.” The roof of the Monroe Building in downtown Syracuse now has a new environmentally-friendly roof with stormwater management capabilities projected to capture more than 90,000 gallons of water each year. The building’s owner applied for and received help from Onondaga County’s Green Improvement Fund, which is part of the county’s Save the Rain campaign. Its goal is to help reduce storm water pollution and clean up Onondaga Lake. The Green Improvement Fund covers several areas in the City of Syracuse.

- To learn more about these stories and new ones posted daily, go to our In the News or newslinks section of our website.

- Have something you think we should know about and post on our website? You can send us your green articles, videos and images to editor@greenroofs.com.

- Stay up-to-date with what’s going on at Greenroofs.com by subscribing to our greenroofsTV channel on YouTube, following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook and being a member of our network on LinkedIn.

- This has been This Week in Review for August 12th, 2011 on GreenroofsTV.  I’m Anjuli Velazquez and I’ll see you next week!

*This week’s episode is sponsored by The Greenroof Directory, brought to you by Greenroofs.com.*

Did we miss something? We’d love to hear from you!

~ Linda V.

Patrick Carey, hadj design principal, member of the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild, greenroof designer and Green Roofs for Healthy Cities trainer extraordinaire – and Architecture Editor here on Greenroofs.com – is featured in the July 27, 2011 KING5.com Evening Magazine video “Go Green with Greenroofs.”  Click below:

Host Jim Dever describes how a green revolution is sprouting up, so to speak!

Patrick is interviewed extensively with Seattle City Hall in the background and on location at several area homes, including the Mazurek Art Studio and Jon Alexander’s Garage.

I was lucky to have visited them all and more along with Patrick Carey in August 2004 – read about it in my previous column (and inspiration for this blog), “Sky Gardens ~ Travels in Landscape Architecture” here.

“I think that green roofs are the greenest thing you can do in construction except not build at all!”  ~ Patrick Carey

Way to go, Patrick!

By the way, Patrick Carey will be leading one of our panels sessions at our upcoming Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit 2011 on August 23 and 24, 2011:  Join him along with Dr. Robert Berghage, Charlie Miller and Ed Snodgrass as they examine “Greenroofs Without the Hype.”

Knowing those four, it should be pretty interesting!  Happy Greening,

~ Linda V.

Each week you can expect to learn What’s New here on Greenroofs.com through our “This Week in Review” video.  Here’s the transcript from July 29, 2011 from our daughter, Anjuli – click on the photo below to see the video, or here.  Enjoy!

- Hello, I’m Anjuli Velazquez and welcome to This Week in Review for this week, July 29th, 2011 on GreenroofsTV.

- Project of the Week

- Our project of the week is the Church Street Station, built in 2002 in Evanston, Illinois.  Focus Development wanted to build their 17-story postmodern Church Street Station Condominiums not only with beautiful interiors but also to be a place that their customers would love to call home.  They also had future needs in mind by putting in a garden roof where condo owners could go to get away from the day-to-day stresses.  Adding natural beauty to the 5th floor roof atop the residents’ parking structure, this 8,500 s.f. garden roof sits alongside a beautiful pool and fitness room.  American Hydrotech provided the Garden Roof Assembly, which is a seamless, hot-applied rubberized asphalt membrane that provides long-lasting protection and incorporates a minimum of 25% recycled materials – along with retaining moisture, irrigating the vegetation from the underside, helping to recreate the plants’ natural growing environment on the roof.  Birch, maple and evergreen trees, tall grasses, and flowering shrubs and perennials create a naturalistic backdrop to the lush lawn and beautiful arbors, making the garden roof a benefit for the building owner, its occupants, and the whole neighborhood.

To learn more about the Church Street Station garden roof, click on our project of the week photo on our homepage.

“What’s New”

-  Pre-Registration is now open for our Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit 2011! Connecting the Planet + Living Architecture: People, Projects & Design, a Greenroofs.com Virtual Conference and Expo, which will be held on August 23rd & 24th of this year!  Remember to Pre-Register by the Early Bird Registration date of August 10th and you’ll be entered to win one of two iPad2’s that we’ll be giving away!

-  Also here on Greenroofs.com:  Our monthly eNewsletter is going out today, so look for it in your inboxes!

-  Advertiser Press Releases:

-  CitySoil™: New Growing Media for Green Roofs and Urban Agriculture now in the market.

- Industry News

-  This week state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens announced that urban forestry grants totaling $966,489 are being awarded to communities & organizations across New York.  The NY State Urban & Community Forestry Program provides technical assistance to communities through local Urban Foresters & ReLeaf volunteers.

- You can apply for a Greening Western Queens Fund Grant by submitting an application to the North Star Fund by September 12, 2011.  Special consideration will be given to the planning and/or creation of greenroofs and other newly created green spaces that demonstrate multiple benefits, for example, energy conservation and increased local food production.

-  Joblinks Update:

New York Green Roofs is looking for a Foreman-in-training and a Green Roof Installation Laborer in New York, NY.

- At the Sky Gardens Blog, read Linda’s latest posts:  “CitiesAlive Early Bird Registration Ends Tomorrow, August 29!” – which is today, so make sure you register to save $150 off the registration rate; “Virtual Summit 2011: Participating with the SCN!,” “Greenroofs.com’s ‘This Week in Review’ on GreenroofsTV: July 22nd, 2011,” and our GPW!

- “Upcoming Events”

- August 23rd & 24th: is our Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit 2011 held online around the world!

-  And check out our homepage for more Upcoming Events!

- “In the News”

-  Alexandra and Elena Hall, of blogTO talk “Atop the Sky Garden of UofT.”  They say, “initiated by the Urban Agriculture Society and maintained by a dedicated group of volunteers and urban agriculture enthusiasts, the Sky Garden is one of Toronto’s largest rooftop vegetable gardens and the first of its kind on a Canadian university rooftop.”  The garden has grown fresh produce for the student community and all harvested vegetables and herbs are donated to the University of Toronto’s food banks, Hot Yam!, a student-run vegan cafe, and/or divided among the volunteers.  Reducing the amount of time and labour necessary for maintenance, the garden’s built-in irrigation system makes sure that water and organic fertilizers are evenly distributed.  Read the full article to find out how you can take a tour of the Sky Garden!

-  Wade Malcolm of The News Journal announces, “First green roof on UD campus will keep class comfortable.”  Annette Shine, a chemical engineering associate professor at the University of Delaware, decided to grown a garden on the roof of the Colburn building.  The 14,000 square feet of small sedums planted in trays with 4 to 8 inches of soil is UD’s first greenroof.  Rooftop gardens are popping up on campuses around the country and are a great way to cool buildings in hot weather and teach faculty and students about the benefits of greening their buildings.  In the case of the Colburn building at UD, the plants cause the peak temperature on the roof to occur later in the day, at a time when they don’t have many classes.  Another greenroof is currently under construction at the university.

- To learn more about these stories and new ones posted daily, go to our In the News or newslinks section of our website.

- Have something you think we should know about and post on our website? You can send us your green articles, videos and images to editor@greenroofs.com.

- Stay up-to-date with what’s going on at Greenroofs.com by subscribing to our greenroofsTV channel on YouTube, following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook and being a member of our network on LinkedIn.

- This has been This Week in Review for July 29th, 2011 on GreenroofsTV.  I’m Anjuli Velazquez and I’ll see you next week!

*This week’s episode is sponsored by The Greenroof Directory, brought to you by Greenroofs.com.*

Did we miss something? We’d love to hear from you!

~ Linda V.

Each week you can expect to learn What’s New here on Greenroofs.com through our “This Week in Review” video.  Here’s the transcript from July 22, 2011 from our daughter, Anjuli – click on the photo below to see the video, or here.  Enjoy!

- Hello, I’m Anjuli Velazquez and welcome to This Week in Review for this week, July 22nd, 2011 on GreenroofsTV.

- Project of the Week

- Our project of the week is the San Francisco Residential Living Wall built in 2010 in California.  A newly remodeled modern house sits on a bottom of a hillside in Pacific Heights with a notable retaining wall at the back of the property.  The backyard is sunken into the hill edged with three large, tall concrete walls surrounded by greenery.  The owner/designer’s mission was to create a striking display of vertical gardens that would take advantage of the walls to their greatest potential.  The goal was to show a living wall that brings biodiversity, beauty and enjoyment to the owner’s lifestyle.  This planting display is modeled after a natural vertical garden similar to a woodland cliff on a north facing hill in California.  The vision of a mixture of subtropical plants with northwestern ferns and fern-allies gives the wall its lush looking state.  The framework of the wall uses Tournesol Siteworks modules and bracket systems and had been in planning for six months prior to the installation of the 96 VGM modules with 1,536 plants used to cover the back yard.  The planting was based on a planting plan developed from a sketch drawn by the homeowner and designer Michelle Bond of Thumbellina Gardens; and the plan has over 75 varieties of shade loving plants which were appropriate for the north facing hillside of the site.

- To learn more about the San Francisco Residential Living Wall, click on our project of the week photo on our homepage.

“What’s New”

– Pre-Registration is now open for our Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit 2011! Connecting the Planet + Living Architecture: People, Projects & Design, a Greenroofs.com Virtual Conference and Expo will be held on August 23rd & 24th of this year! Pre-Register by the Early Bird Registration date of August 10th and you’ll be entered to win one of two iPad2’s that we’ll be giving away!

- Advertiser Press Releases:

- VGM green wall modules by Elmich Australia have been installed at Fujitsu headquarters in Melbourne to create an internal north facing green wall.

- Plug Plant Sale Now on at Sedum Master!

- LiveRoof is the First Green Roof System to be FM Approved fulfilling the highest standards for performance, safety and quality.

- Joblinks:

- The University of Sheffield is looking for a Marie Curie Experienced Researcher in Green Roof Stormwater Management in Sheffield, United Kingdom.

- Over at the Sky Gardens Blog, check out Linda’s latest posts about “The Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit 2011 from Greenroofs.com!,” and how to Win an iPad2 by Pre-Registering by August 10, “Greenroofs.com’s ‘This Week in Review’ on GreenroofsTV: July 15th, 2011” and our GPW.

- “Upcoming Events”

- July 25th: is the Skyrise Greenery Awards 2011 Deadline!

- July 26th: is a Green Roofs for Healthy Cities Advanced Green Roof Maintenance Course in Toronto, Canada.

- And August 23rd & 24th: is our Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit 2011 held online around the world!

- “In the News”

- Ana Lisa Alperovich of the Inhabitat Blog, talks about “RIBA Award-Winning Dental Practice Rises From The Lush British Countryside.” Going to the dentist can be a stressful and unsettling experience for some, maybe most, people and the sterilized white dental surgery rooms don’t seem to help the situation. David Sheppard Architects wanted to change that and created Brown’s Dental Practice, a relaxing woodland double-height dental practice that incorporates local materials like stone, wood and glass, while blending in with the lovely Ivybridge countryside. The dental surgery center also features a sloping green sedum roof and a range of photovoltaic panels which produce renewable energy used throughout the building. Also, this project was recently awarded this year’s Royal Institute of British Architects Award.

- Lisa Law of Americus Times-Recorder, reports on “Medical center to feature ‘green’ rooftop.” The new Phoebe Sumter Medical Center’s anticipated opening date is December 17th, later this year and with its opening, patients will enjoy the largest green rooftop in the southeastern United States. The director of marketing and public relations, Marcus Johnson, says “the roof is 26,000 square feet and the primary goal of the roof is to provide not only beautiful scenery, but provide a holistic environment for patients as well as visitors.” He also says it’s been proven that patients heal better when surrounded by plants, and the greenroof is eco-friendly offering other benefits like, providing thermal insulation, cutting down on dust, along with reducing energy costs. The greenroof will feature sedum and delosperma in a vast variety of colors of reds and yellows; and will serve as a sanctuary for butterflies, wild bees, beetles and more.

- To learn more about these stories and new ones posted daily, go to our In the News or newslinks section of our website.

- Have something you think we should know about and post on our website? You can send us your green articles, videos and images to editor@greenroofs.com.

- Stay up-to-date with what’s going on at Greenroofs.com by subscribing to our greenroofsTV channel on YouTube, following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook and being a member of our network on LinkedIn.

- This has been This Week in Review for July 22nd, 2011 on GreenroofsTV.  I’m Anjuli Velazquez and I’ll see you next week!

*This week’s episode is sponsored by The Greenroof Directory, brought to you by Greenroofs.com.*

Did we miss something? We’d love to hear from you!

~ Linda V.