At the beginning of June I had the opportunity to tour the beautiful home at 901 Moreland Avenue, or Eden House, as it’s also known, here in Atlanta.
The invitation-only “Friends Fusion” Open House was attended by over 100 people eager to see the environmentally friendly home. The clean lines, airy design, and careful selection of materials and textures gives this contemporary home a luxurious feel without being fussy. And while it has many green features, the most striking is the living roof!
Designed by David Butler, LEED AP, of David Butler & Associates, Inc. and developed by Eastworks LLC, the Gold LEED for Homes certified, 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath is just one year old. In addition to its LEED status, 901 Moreland Avenue has a number of other green credentials such as the Earthcraft® certification and HERS (Home Energy Rating System) – a program of the EPA’s Energy Star for Homes which includes being Energy Star® Indoor Air Quality Package Certified and having Energy Star® and Watersense Appliances®. What it all boils down to is the home was built responsibly, to save energy and water and promote superior indoor air quality.
The corner site allows for great visibility for many of the exterior sustainable features: The 1,500 extensive greenroof wraps almost completely around the four sides and draws a lot of looks from passersby. The eight rain barrels are used as a gravity rain water harvesting and irrigation system, and two are located on the second story roof for direct irrigation of the greenroof.
An interesting feature is that two of the rain barrels are connected by rain chains instead of the usual downspouts, which creates a lively interplay of the water as it descends.
Passive cooling is accomplished through a solar thermal canopy, which is also visible from the main street. A convenient ramp way provides accessibility and in fact the entire first floor is wheelchair accessible. The interior is urban chic smart, yet very cozy in a uber-hip way and Environmentally Preferable Products (EPP) were specified throughout.
For example, the bamboo flooring is stunning, they only used no or low VOC paint, and the well-designed small kitchen has reclaimed concrete countertops and a snazzy recycled glass mosaic backsplash.
And David designed the house to really take advantage of natural light and ventilation – there are several skylights and a wide breezeway connects to the separate third bedroom (or other flexible space), bathroom and garage.
The two bedrooms on the upper floor benefit from the cross ventilation positioning of the windows, and you can see how the living roof is visible from many angles upstairs. The windows frame it beautifully ~ how wonderful to wake up to such greenery at eye level, but on the second floor!
The festive Open House event was well put together and although the main purpose was to showcase its many features (and offer it for sale), the organizers also celebrated the project’s recent LEED Gold certification by raising over $500 for Prevent Child Abuse Georgia with a raffle. Some of the big prizes included a solar thermal panel and frame and a water conserving Kohler toilet.
The film by Landon Donoho, “Sky Gardens Atlanta,” (I was a producer) was premiered and guests got to see David Butler being interviewed here last October by Landon when the green-minded architect shared his experiences building this gorgeous, modern, single family dwelling.
The event was actually sponsored by many of the companies providing services and products, and they all set up shop in the bright, walkout basement. This team of specialists reported a brisk evening sharing green building techniques and product information with the inquisitive guests.
Greenroof-related sponsors included JDR Enterprises, Inc., who supplied J-DRain drainage products; ERTH Products, who supplied the growing media; and T+E Design, Inc., who provided landscape architecture services. As usual, it was great to see Janet Faust, LEED AP, GRP of JDR and it was very nice to meet Thomas Nichols, RLA, of both ERTH Products and T+E Design, Inc. Others present were Gutter Water, LLC, rain water recovery system; CORT, Peachtree Home Staging; Woodman Insulation; Hardwoods Incorporated; PlumbWorksInc.; and Muffley & Associates, real estate solutions.
It’s wonderful to see architects and developers are taking (calculated) risks by taking on green construction, and I highly commend David Butler and Eastworks LLC for their innovation, commitment, and leadership with Eden House’s lovely architecture and healthy living environment! Hopefully we’ll see more sustainable development projects from this company soon. For more info, please contact Nicholas Brown of Muffley & Associates at: 404.848.0996 or David Butler at: 404.589.0800.
Read more about the project in The Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database here, and if you’re in the market for a sleek 1,986 sf home in a bustling Atlanta location, want dramatically lower utility bills, less maintenance, better use of the sun, a healthier living environment and fewer adverse impacts on the environment, this could be your new home!
Have you seen HGTV’s first season of “The Outdoor Room with Jamie Durie” yet? It’s really good! Now based in Los Angeles, Jamie’s an extremely talented, and well-travelled, landscape artist from Down Under and he brings his international wanderings as the basis for his popular, eclectic designs.
Lackluster outdoor spaces are transformed from dysfunctional and boring to flowing and fantastic. Homeowners share their woes and desires, and host Jamie draws upon a variety of elements for his metamorphoses – previous experiences with the rich and famous; visiting local designers, horticulturalists and gardeners; and referencing both native and exotic landscapes as well as architecturally designed sites. The result is always a unique outdoor room, or series of rooms, infused with Jamie’s world view on design aesthetics.
A few weeks ago I saw Episode #HORJD-107H called “The Edible Garden” about transforming a quirky, uneven family backyard into an eco-retreat full of ornamental vegetable gardening options plus a variety of adult and children spaces for play and rest. And what caught my eye was the top-to-bottom living gazebo!
Since the young eco-conscious family of four from Echo Park, CA, enjoys growing their own organic food and already had several productive but awkward raised beds of their own, Jamie wanted the same features, just with different sensibilities. After saving some of the existing plants, he visited John, a local “edible garden” designer who incorporates A-frames into his creations for his take on structural elements and planting beds. Jamie also interviewed Miguel Nelson of The SmogShoppe - a former Los Angeles gas emissions station/auto repair shop turned hip eco-event space with 2,000 sf of amazing green walls.
What a cool space! First of all it’s pending LEED Platinum certification, and the exterior and interior walls are completely covered in lush vegetation, grown in modular “Woolly Pockets.” I was unfamiliar with this particular system which is made from felt and recycled plastic bottles.
Not part of the show, but interesting on its own, I found out that in addition to his commercial enterprise, Miguel started “Woolly School Gardens.” Through the program, inexpensive gardens are planted at local schools to help teach nutrition and gardening to students K-12. They say they’re ideal for urban schools as the Woolly Pockets planting system allows them to be created anywhere – from a concrete wall to a chain link fence. There are numerous Woolly School Gardens in the Los Angeles area and the goal is to have 11,000 by 2011. For more information, visit www.woollyschoolgarden.org.
Back to the HGTV episode, with the SmogShoppe as his inspiration, Jamie and crew built the open-air structure leaving one expansive wall open. The living lounge area was easily blanketed on the remaining three sides with Woolly Pockets. Luscious, edible plants were inserted and it was done. By the way, these vegetated walls are called “Wallys,” seen below. Although Jamie doesn’t even mention the greenroof (time editing restrictions?), I checked with the company and half of the roof, indeed, is covered with their modular greenroof system called “Meadows.”
The outdoor structure performs beautifully with double duty as a cool relaxation get away and stunning, productive area for vertical “pocket” gardening. In the end, the family gets to enjoy their newly redesigned, sustainable back yard while setting a great example for ecologically sensitive living for their kids, who also get to learn about natural composting with an earthy gift from Jamie – a squiggly worm farm!
The full episode used to be online at HGTV, but now you can see the partial episode here, and below from YouTube (the HGTV embedded code isn’t working):
This Edible Garden is well worth watching if you have the chance to catch it with reruns. Each episode of “The Outdoor Room with Jamie Durie” is brimming with equal parts elegant innovation and international flair, and I’m sure this is just the beginning of educating homeowners and entertaining their audience with examples of these living, touchy, sometimes even woolly, vertical gardening techniques.
Kate Zidar, from the Stormwater Infrastructure Matters (S.W.I.M.) Coalition in New York City, is asking for feedback regarding obtaining the current greenroof tax credit in NYC. S.W.I.M. is a coalition dedicated to “ensuring swimmable waters around New York City through natural, sustainable stormwater management practices in our neighborhoods. This approach is environmentally and fiscally responsible because it utilizes stormwater, currently viewed as waste, as a resource.”
S.W.I.M. supported the initial legislation that created the NYC green roof tax credit and by collecting feedback on the process, they hope to evaluate its effectiveness and improve future results for those who either attained or attempted to attain this noteworthy credit.
“We hope that our friends and members in green roof-related professions who have experience with the tax credit will spend a few minutes answering these questions.” ~ Kate Zidar
She assures us it’s very short and sweet (there’s all of nine questions), and that all of our feedback is invaluable. Take the “NYC Green Roof Tax Credit…did it work for you?” survey available on SurveyMonkey here and send any commentary to Kate at: swimmablenyc@gmail.com.
On Saturday, May 22, 2010 we believe history was made in downtown ATL when Bill Brigham and Beate Allio took their wedding vows. A traditional affair with silk and lace, ribbons, flowers, and lovely music, this was still no ordinary wedding ceremony ~ we’ve all heard about going down to City Hall to get hitched, but our bride and groom were married in front of about 50 family and friends high above the city street on the Atlanta City Hall Pilot Greenroof!
We’re sure it was the first wedding on the Atlanta City Hall Greenroof, and believe it was the first on an ATL living roof, maybe the southeast or even the U.S. – if you know better, please let us know and we’ll blog about it, too. But until then, Bill and Beate will claim the title.
I’ve known Bill Brigham, ASLA, Principal Landscape Architect/Project Manager, Bureau of Watershed Protection, Department of Watershed Management, City of Atlanta since 2001 when I was involved in the initial planning sessions for the greenroof on the Atlanta City Hall, back when then Environmental Manager Ben Taube and team were considering the old Atlanta City Hall East… Bill eventually designed the greenroof on the new City Hall at 55 Trinity Avenue, and we’ve attended many meetings and conferences together, were on the Atlanta Local Host Committee for last year’s Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference, plus we filmed him here last October (see Rooftop Hopping in Metro Atlanta, photo below), and anyone who knows Bill is immediately impressed by his extreme good nature and sense of humor (landscape architecture skills not withstanding!).Due to weight and space limitations, the guest list was very selective, so Aramis and I felt honored to have been included in the couple’s special day. A second marriage for both, it was very touching to see the blended family together. Bill’s son, Roland, was the Best Man, and Beate’s daughter, Nicole, was the Maid of Honor. The bride’s two sons, Chris and Devon, were Groomsmen and both the Mother of the Bride, Mrs. Renate Freter, and the Mother of the Groom, Mrs. Charlotte Larsen, were part of the wedding party.
Scott Lubar was the Officiant uniting the couple, and we all enjoyed Bill Grabbe, the pianist, and Carol Smart, the soloist with their delightful music and voice.
The colorful, intimate setting was perfect for a man so instrumental in the design, ongoing research and maintenance of the greenroof, and fitting for a woman who was introduced to the future groom by Lucy Smethurst, a conservationist, plantswoman, artist, and neighbor of Saul Nurseries‘ “Swamp” location. Bobby Saul donated all the plants for the project in 2001 along with the greenroof growing media from Ernie Higgins of ItSaul Natural – Mr. Natural (both in attendance), and Bobby had afterwards introduced Bill to Lucy, and then Lucy introduced the bride and groom! So you could say greenroofs and kismet played a part in the couple’s future.
“Plant love. Leave no waste.”
That could have been the motto of the wedding. The invitation was printed on 100% post consumer waste, on seeded, plantable paper – all we have to do now is plant the invitation in a sunny corner and keep it moist, and we’ll have a mini wildflower field to remind us of the balmy late spring day.
And wait, it gets better! Instead of throwing rice or bird seed during the recessional -Bill had said, “Heaven forbid!” The couple opted for a safer alternative, both environmentally conscious and beneficial:
“We will be using the green rice look-a-like… sedum leaflets stripped from the sedum species already being used up on the existing roof. (Another one of my crazy ideas.) This way it keeps any “invasive” plant species from destroying the roof and will instead act as a “re-seed” to the existing roof’s sedums.” ~ Bill Brigham
Regeneration at its best with pretty sedum packets after the expression of vows, exchange of rings and announcement of marriage! The reception followed at Lucy Smethurst’s estate, which is nestled in a beautiful natural wooded area with naturalistic plantings, trails and artist gallery.
Congratulations to Bill and Beate and the new Brigham-Allio family! Perhaps this will be just the first of many more greenroof weddings to come at Atlanta City Hall.
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!).
What an awesome concept the Brooklyn Grange Rooftop Farm project is! I first heard about this late last year but then about a week ago colleagues Bill Foley and Wendy Wark alerted me again, and so now I finally took action this afternoon by donating $50 to the cause. Not a lot of money, but enough to show Greenroofs.com’s support for an extremely worthwhile undertaking.
As we all know in this green industry of ours, underutilized rooftop space is one of the greatest real estate potentials for greenroof implementation. In this age of trying to come together as a community, organic farming, and healthy food plus security issues, what better way to help mitigate the developmental woes of a building’s footprint that planting crops at rooftop level? And (hopefully) make a profit?
That’s exactly what Brooklyn Grange is doing for their own community – they’re in the process of starting a rooftop farm with a team of five partners and a whole bunch of friends, and the organizer, Ben Flanner says it’s ”A big project that requires a lot of hard work to say the least, and one that sets an example for using under-utilized rooftop space across this dense city to do something productive. There are many benefits to the city and community from such an operation.” Most certainly, and we can all help by donating even just $1 – by this Friday, May 28, 2010 – but $10 gets a bee named after you! Actually, for all donations of $10 or more, they will list you as a donor on their website and name one of their honeybees after you.
They’ve setup a campaign on an interesting new website called kickstarter, which is designed to help raise funds for enterprising people to start new projects – such as this one. Kickstarter has a unique platform where you set your goal at the onset of the campaign, and then you need to hit that goal from online pledges to receive funding, otherwise all of your pledges are simply returned to the pledgers. People can click on your project and pledge any amount during the course of the campaign.
So what is the project really all about? Their page on kickstarter says:
“Brooklyn Grange will be a 1 acre rooftop farm situated in New York City. Such a commercially-viable rooftop farm has yet to be realized in this country. We will use simple greenroof infrastructure to install over 1 million pounds of soil on the roof of an industrial building on which we will grow vegetables nine months of the year. Being in the country’s largest city, the farm will create a new system of providing local communities with access to fresh, seasonal produce. We plan to expand quickly in the first few years, covering multiple acres of New York City’s unused rooftops with vegetables. The business has many environmental and community benefits, and allows our city dwelling customers to know their farmer, learn where their food comes from, and become involved.”
Ironically, as it turns out, Brooklyn Grange’s first project isn’t in Brooklyn but on a 40,000 square foot, 6-story industrial rooftop in Queens! And the group is very happy to have the good fortune of this company’s backing, too, and they’ll be selling their produce in both boroughs as well, including tomatoes, eggplants, chilies and various leafy greens. The farm will be run by Ben Flanner, who started and ran a proof of concept rooftop farm in the summer of 2009. The beyond-organic produce will be sold directly to the community at an onsite stand, affording shoppers a direct relationship with the farm and farmers. Additional produce will be sold to a small group of market-driven local restaurants. He explains the business philosophy:
“We are a for-profit business. We believe in adding fiscal sustainability to the sustainability rubric so that urban rooftop farms can expand across the city, the Northeast and even the world! Any profits we make will go towards paying our farmer a living wage and whatever remains will be reinvested in the business so we can keep growing.” ~ Ben Flanner
In what stage is the project now? In a newsletter today, May 25, 2010, Ben shares that “At this moment, we’ve installed about two-thirds of the rooftop soil, and we have about 110 sacks (~300,000 lbs) to lift yet with the crane, continuing tomorrow morning early.”
Brooklyn Grange needed to hit their goal of $20,000 by Friday, May 28, to get some important funds for the farm through kickstarter, and I’m pleased to report they have! As of right now, supporters and fans have pledged $20,740.50, but please consider contributing more to their entreprenuerial greening efforts. To pledge now, visit here, and they’d love it if you would also help spread the word! Read “High Above Queens, the Dirt Is Deep, and Good” by Diane Cardwell in the New York Times of May 13, 2010, see their profile on kickstarter, and the video below.
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.
Where can you find urban rooftop sophistication that meets a native Tennessee landscape on a rehabilitated condo building? Greenroofs.com’s Greenroof Project of the Week is the Westview Condos in Nashville, Tennessee - a wonderful example of urban renewal by incorporating beautiful and much needed nature on an exclusive, 10-unit residential building in the heart of a bustling city. Originally a corporate office building, the renovated property was converted to high-end, mid-rise condos in 2005.
The first residential greenroof in Nashville, the 8-story structure was redeveloped to provide exclusive and luxurious loft condominiums with spectacular views of downtown. A lobby and commercial space occupy the first floor with indoor parking on the second level, leaving six floors for residences, topped off with a lush vegetated roof used by residents as recreational space.
The eco-friendly project won the 2006 residential award for greenroof design from the USGBC Tennessee chapter.
Developer Ron McClaron of McClaron and Associates chose to replace the previous roof with a greenroof because he considered the Westview a prime location for launching an environmental demonstration project. I met Ron in August, 2003 when he came to visit my first built greenroof project in downtown Atlanta, the 3TEN HauStudio. He was starting research into the possibility of renovating this former Southern Bell building into condos and wanted to pick my brain about costs, plants, etc.
The Nashville roof was in poor condition and as he looked at options, he desired considering greening the roof to take advantage of the environmental advantages and as a means of possibly enhancing the building’s value and marketability. He knew that weight wasn’t a particular consideration in this application since the basic structural support was pre-stressed concrete - the building was designed with the idea that Southern Bell might have desired to add additional floors at some point.
Yet, the process wasn’t as easy as might have been expected, given all the environmental and economic benefits of living roofs:
“…city officials had to be convinced this project’s benefits would outweigh difficult logistics associated with downtown construction and transportation of greenroof building material, and potential fire safety hazards.” ~ Southeast Watershed Forum Case Study
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) contributed funds in the form of grants in order to use this as a demonstration project of their commitment to sustainability. You must agree that Ron’s original vision for a more sustainable redevelopment was successful – the condos range from 2,300 to 5,00 sf and all ten units were sold quickly. In fact, many homeowners had identified the greenroof as their top reason for buying in The Westview.
The private roof top garden provides a 360 degree vista of Nashville including the State Capitol, and homeowners entertain their guests in four separate sitting areas, including a gazebo, while watching butterflies and listening to birds. They even have a gas grill and wine chiller for comfortable dining al fresco, surrounded by trees, shrubs, grasses, and blooming perennials!
As you may know, Ralph Velasquez is our Sustainable Roofing Editor, but in 2005 he was the Greenroof Consultant for the Westview Condos project as president of his previous company, Integrated Building Technologies (currently he is now Director, Sustainable Technologies Group with Tremco Inc.). FAMOS GmbH greenroofing membranes and two-ply modified bitumen built up system were used, supplied through Building Logics (see more details in the project profile).
The RD Herbert Roofing Company installed the roof system and provided metal edgings and other custom metal products. And the case study on their website adds that “wall flashings were covered with a soy-based reflective coating for aesthetic and environmental reasons.” Another ecological feature is the pavers, which are made of recycled tires. Landscape architectural services were provided by Lose & Associates.
Landscaped with all native southeastern U.S. plants from GroWild, the peaceful retreat includes American Smoketree, Serviceberry, Blueberry, Prairie Dropseed, Little Bluestem and the federally endangered Tennessee Coneflower. Owned by the husband and wife team of Mike Berkley and Terri Barnes, GroWild is a Tennessee plant nursery specializing in native North American plants. GroWild has over 850 species and cultivars of native perennials, wildflowers, trees, shrubs, vines, and grasses.
The growing media from Mr. Natural contains Permatill, an expanded slate, and other rooftop mixtures, provided by Ernie Higgins of ItSaul Natural, with a depth that ranges from 6” to 30” . The lightweight “Roof Planting Soil” for intensive greenroofs provides the native plantings all they need for sustained health and growth.
Metro Nashville now has many greenroofs in place, with more planned or on the boards. I haven’t been to Nashville in many years, and would love to see this gorgeous vegetated roof, along with several others here, the next time I’m in the area. You’ll be happy to know that this roof is available for occasional viewing, by appointment only. To schedule a tour of the Westview Condos greenroof, please contact Mike Berkley at GroWild, Inc. at: 615.799.1910 or growildtb@aol.com.
The Pacific Northwest in general is known for eco-friendly, sustainable building policies, high-performance green architecture, and local innovative building designs. In fact, Seattle holds the distinct position of being the first U.S. city government committed to Silver LEED™ facilities, adopting its Sustainable Building Policy requiring new city buildings over 5,000 sf to obtain the U.S. Green Building Council’s certification rating in 2000. But the Seattle area also distinguishes itself in that it has an unusually high number of residential greenroof applications.
Our GPW through today is the lovely 280 sf “Private Seattle Green Roof Garage,” built in 2003 by architect Rob Harrison and his wife, Frith Barbat. Located in a geographically diverse southeast Seattle neighborhood, the area is filled with parklands, lakefront, wooded hills, and quiet residential streets and boulevards. Aside from the living roof, construction methods were eco-conscious from the beginning as the homowners capitalized on the property’s existing carport foundation and built the garage mostly with materials salvaged from the previous deck. It’s really not surprising, since Rob Harrison, AIA, is a Certified Passive House™ Consultant and principal of HARRISON architects.
The Seattle, Washington firm has been in business since 1984, with the last 18 years devoted to sustainable design. HARRISON architects’ work is based in “lyrical sustainable design”: conserving energy and resources, using healthier materials and finishes, reducing long-term costs, and making poetic places. By working with consultants, contractors and suppliers who share their values, the experience results in a convivial, collaborative design and construction process. And when you’re the client/architect, and it’s easy to be creative in this environment.
“Since it was our own house (rather than a client’s!), we thought it would be a great opportunity to experiment with a less expensive residential alternative to $15/sf proprietary (and warrantied) green roof systems used on commercial projects, and so promote the use of green roofs in residential applications.” ~ Rob Harrison
And since Rob was a member of the local chapter of the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild, he had plenty of local expertise and volunteers for help. The Northwest EcoBuilding Guild is an alliance of builders, designers, suppliers, homeowners, and partners concerned with ecological building in the Pacific Northwest. Their mission is to provide leadership in education to transform the built environment and build a sustainable society. In those years, hadj design directed the greenroofing efforts for the Guild, and the firm’s principal, Patrick Carey (also our Architecture Editor), was one of the consultants and volunteers on this project, as seen below in the bucket brigade system used to haul the growing media up to the roof.
Originally, Rob designed the space to call his own for a “manly” workshop (the garage is featured on the cover of the book ManSpace: A Primal Guide to Marking Your Territory by Sam Martin, about “dens, caves, lairs, hangouts, hideaways, workshops, studios, drinking sheds and man houses”). The one-car garage housed space for tools, one bicycle, two vintage motorcycles and their Mini Cooper.
But things have changed – at present, the garage now holds just one motorcycle (a new gas-efficient model with a catalytic converter) and the family’s six bicycles. They sold the car seven months ago, and have been giving the car-free life a try – so far, so good!
Originally planted with Eco-Turf (a mixture of baby blue eyes, red clover, yarrow, and fescues) and a variety of drought tolerant sedums, they’ve also added strawberries, nasturtiums and poppies to the greenroof.
Venturing onto YouTube this past February, Rob came across the above advertisement for Pepsi’s new humanitarian/environmental effort, the Pepsi Refresh Project, and was surprised to see his own green-roofed garage! He explains that a couple years ago fashion/rock star photographer Karen Moskovitz came over with a young model family to shoot some stock “lifestyle” photos and video using his garage as the backdrop. He’s quick to point out that it’s not him watering the roof!
“We might do that if we’ve planted new plants up there and need to get them started, but otherwise, not,” Rob says. Actually, maintenance has been really minimal – they only watered the first year during establishment and have only spent about one hour’s worth total weeding and the occasional introduction of new plants during the first three years. He adds, “It’s a bit odd to be shilling Pepsi, even if very indirectly, but I do like the idea that we are clearly living in some one’s idea of a better future!”
By the way, the Pepsi Refresh Project is looking for people, businesses, and non-profits with ideas that will have a positive impact in their communities, and is giving millions of dollars in grants in the categories of Health, Arts & Culture, Food & Shelter, The Planet, Neighborhoods, and Education.
Any lessons learned with a greenroof so close to home that you can see daily? In the more recent photos that Rob sent me, see above and below, it’s obvious the roof has seceded to mostly grasses, so I asked him if is it still that way – Yes.
Rob says now that the roof is seven years old, in retrospect he would not have introduced any grasses on the roof at all, as the area planted in Eco-Turf has spread over the entire roof and overtaken the sedums, which are still there, but are hard to see. But he muses, ”The wavy grass does have its own attractions, especially in the dry summer here, where it reminds me of the Palouse in eastern Washington.”
Does he plan to keep it as it has naturalized or does he have other designs? Rob’s response:
“I’m of two minds on the secession of the roof to mostly grasses. On the one hand I like the look of the grass, and the way the motion of the grass in the wind animates the building, and it’s tempting to let the roof do its own thing and see what develops naturally. On the other hand, grass forms a dense mat of roots that is surprisingly impermeable. We haven’t made a big decision to replant the whole roof yet, but we’ve been pulling out clumps of grass here and there, and planting more sedums as we acquire them from friends and neighbors.”
This beautiful private Seattle vegetated roof is one example of sustainability on a smaller scale in a city full of greening efforts. It has been featured in many publications and tours, both public and private. The photo above resulted from an AIA Seattle seminar on greenroofs held at the architect’s home in 2006, in conjunction with folks from Bohlin Cywinski Jackson.
Visible from the alleyway behind it and, more importantly, from the home’s kitchen window, the Harrison/Barbat family agrees their Seattle garage greenroof is a pleasure to behold every day – in all seasons and all forms.
~ Linda V.
(Note: See Patrick Carey’s article about the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild from June, 2003 here, and my August, 2004 Sky Gardens ~ Travels in Landscape Architecture column about Seattle’s early sustainability leaders and efforts here.)
Our GPW is the Dennis and Judith Jones Variety Wonderland, a delightful children’s playground in historic Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri. One of the largest urban parks in the United States, Forest Park opened in 1876 and is the former site of The World’s Fair of 1904, drawing more than 20 million visitors from around the world. At 1,293 acres (5.2 km²), Forest Park is over 50% larger than New York’s Central Park (843 acres or 3.41 km²)!
Home to the region’s major cultural institutions—the Zoo, Art Museum, History Museum, Science Center and the Muny Opera, today Forest Park attracts more than 12 million visitors a year. It also serves as a sports center for all kinds of activities and the park serves as a natural oasis for the city (see a Visitor’s Guide here).
The Dennis and Judith Jones Variety Wonderland is the City of St. Louis’ first inclusive public playground. Designed in 2005 so that all children, able-bodied children and children with disabilities, could experience playtime together, it all began with feedback from a local organization: the Variety Family Council. Now Variety, the Children’s Charity of St. Louis, they couldn’t find a public playground where their children with disabilities could play with their siblings – and so a saga was born. Variety serves children with physical and mental disabilities in the region from infancy to the age of 21. Variety Week is April 17-24, 2010, and serves as a means to maximize awareness and fund-raising opportunities to benefit community children.
“We wanted this to be a place open to all children,” said Jan Albus, executive director of St. Louis Variety. “The most important thing was that it make it so children with disabilities could play right along with all other children.”
Three years, seven local donors, and a lot of hard work later, the $2 million state-of-the-art playground design includes 29 pieces of equipment on a soft, porous 10,100 sf surface. The Dennis and Judith Jones Variety Wonderland playground is divided into five sections designed according to age, physical strength and abilities.
“First Adventures” is for children ages 2-5 and ”Big Adventures” for children ages 6 to 12. Specialty areas are the “Observation Relaxation Deck,” “Living Shelter,” and the “Secret Garden.” The Secret Garden contains 14 colorful perennials that attract, feed and house butterflies. Learning stones will teach children about the life cycle of Monarchs here amidst the natural habitat.
Constructed to ADA standards for handicap accessibility, equipment includes a slide for children with cochlear implants, Braille and clock panels for the blind, talk phones, surface fountains and 8’ high ramping so children can experience a tree house affect. You’ll also find a spyro slide, double slide, corkscrew climber, swings with bucket seats, spring pods, disc swing monkey bars with a vertical ladder, a pipe barrier with a steering wheel, and more.
This all-inclusive playground is located adjacent to the Dennis and Judith Jones Visitor and Education Center. Formerly the Lindell Pavilion, it was built in 1892 as a shelter for streetcar passengers, and after a $4 million restoration, the facility is now home to Forest Park Forever, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to raising private funds for the restoration of Forest Park.
Kelly Luckett, LEED AP, GRP, and President of Green Roof Blocks (and one of our contributing editors, also known as “The Green Roof Guy“), was responsible for the lovely modular greenroof atop the walkway pavilion that connects from the Visitor and Education Center and greets children to the play area. I asked him how he became involved with Forest Park Forever, and he replied:
“I did a lunch and learn for Powers Bowersox Associates, a St. Louis architectural firm. After lunch, they showed me the preliminary sketches of the project and said they wanted to do a green roof on the structure so that it better fit into the green landscape of Forest Park. They liked the portability of the modular concept that allowed us to pre-grow modules so the plants were more mature for the dedication ceremony.”
The roof is constructed of 60 mil reinforced EPDM fully adhered to poly-isocyanurate over metal deck, and 76 Green Roof Blocks were grown offsite at Jost Greenhouses for approximately 10 weeks allowing the plants to mature to 80% coverage at the time of installation.
Green Roof Blocks are low-maintenance, self contained, portable units consisting of a 24″ x 24″ module fabricated of heavy gauge anodized aluminum. Walk pad material is fastened to the bottom, serving both to protect the roofing surface and to allow drainage under the Green Roof Blocks. The walk pad material used is procured from the manufacturer of the building owner’s roofing system to insure compatibility and warranty integrity.
Powers Bowersox did not like the look of the sides of the aluminum modules and they requested Kelly to design a sheet metal trim piece that could be painted to match the edging of the roof, so a red metal skirt was installed at the Forest Park playground around the perimeter Blocks.
Remarkably, from a survival point of view (let alone plant diversity), the Green Roof Blocks were propagated with a single Sedum floriferum cultivar named ‘Weihenstephaner Gold,’ which performs beautifully in USDA Heat Zones 3-7. Although quite luscious in its profusion of yellow and pink-hued summer blossoms (see above in flower from last spring 2009) as well as being and very effective and successful, it was the company’s last foray into a mono-crop green roof palette. As current policy, Green Roof Blocks since uses multi-species for all projects. Kelly explains:
“The plant species was selected for the evergreen characteristics, though we have since moved away from single species planting strategies for our green roof projects. Only having one plant species planted on a green roof leaves the project vulnerable to weather anomalies or species specific pest that could affect the entire green roof. We now plant at least five different species within each module. This strategy establishes a diverse eco system more closely mimicking what we see in nature. The plants on this project continue to thrive in part because the green roof plants have been included in the hundreds of thousands of plants that are under the constant watchful eye of the Forest Park Forever horticulturists.”
The growing media here is a 4″ deep blend of 80% red lava rock and 20% composted pine bark. The plants were initially fertilized using Scotts Osmocote with a 12 to 14 month release. Kelly says that each year since, he has picked up Vic (of Jost Greenhouses) and driven to each of their St. Louis green roof projects for maintenance and assessment.
“We give each one the spring feeding of slow release fertilizer, the plants get inspected by the trained eye of horticulturist Vic Jost, and I get a chance to get fresh photos of another year of plant growth. We do not provide routine maintenance on our projects in other parts of the country. Our St. Louis customers find this added perk to be a nice touch,” Kelly Luckett adds.
Kelly says he is pleased that some stakeholders even make it a point to be present so they can discuss the project with Vic and himself, and looks forward to their maintenance visit each year. So for almost five years, this simple vegetated roof has not only survived with minimal maintenance, by all accounts it has flourished quite nicely.
Aramis and I had the opportunity to visit the stunning Park Forest grounds and this beautiful playground in late June of 2006 when I was invited by Dr. Bill Retzlaff of Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, IL (SIUE) and Kelly Luckett to speak at the SIUe Green Roof Symposium. By the way, Kelly is also the author of “Green Roof Construction and Maintenance” (GreenSource Books), 2009 from The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. - a great resource, full of detailed, useful information for all of us.
Kelly and his wife Trish played wonderful hosts to us and showed off their lovely city by highlighting the Forest Park Forever playground, where I found a very cool drinking fountain feature, above, and also taking us to many attractions – the iconic image of St. Louis - the Gateway Arch, a Cardinals baseball game, and the awesome and sometimes surreal glass-blown designs of Dale Chihuly at the Missouri Botanical Gardens “Glass in the Garden” exhibition, below.
Forest Park is really a midwestern gem – a peaceful place to relax and reflect in a lush, green space filled with water, trees and sky. As we all know, playtime is one of the strongest teachers and in such a fun and accessible environment, children will learn naturally about various forms of diversity, disability and acceptance while developing increased strength, coordination, confidence and social skills.
I had the pleasure of seeing kids of all ages and abilities benefit while playing in this charming and educational wonderland, and I sure had a good time, too!
An important urban oasis of green within metro St. Louis, Forest Park offers a respite for migrating birds and butterflies, and an integrated ecosystem where humans and nature interact – especially on one albeitly small playground and its simple greenroof.
The invitation-only “Friends Fusion” Open House was attended by over 100 people eager to see the environmentally friendly home. The clean lines, airy design, and careful selection of materials and textures gives this contemporary home a luxurious feel without being fussy. And while it has many green features, the most striking is the living roof!
The corner site allows for great visibility for many of the exterior sustainable features: The 1,500 extensive greenroof wraps almost completely around the four sides and draws a lot of looks from passersby. The eight rain barrels are used as a gravity rain water harvesting and irrigation system, and two are located on the second story roof for direct irrigation of the greenroof. 
Passive cooling is accomplished through a solar thermal canopy, which is also visible from the main street. A convenient ramp way provides accessibility and in fact the entire first floor is wheelchair accessible. The interior is urban chic smart, yet very cozy in a uber-hip way and Environmentally Preferable Products (EPP) were specified throughout.
Due to weight and space limitations, the guest list was very selective, so Aramis and I felt honored to have been included in the couple’s special day. A second marriage for both, it was very touching to see the blended family together. Bill’s son, Roland, was the Best Man, and Beate’s daughter, Nicole, was the Maid of Honor. The bride’s two sons, Chris and Devon, were Groomsmen and both the Mother of the Bride, Mrs. Renate Freter, and the Mother of the Groom, Mrs. Charlotte Larsen, were part of the wedding party.
I did it – I finally took my (GRP) Green Roof Professional exam from 
Developer Ron McClaron of McClaron and Associates chose to replace the previous roof with a greenroof because he considered the Westview a prime location for launching an environmental demonstration project. I met Ron in August, 2003 when he came to visit my first built greenroof project in downtown Atlanta, the 
