Today we have the pleasure to air Terry McGlade’s video presentation titled ”Constructing Gardens in the Sky” from our Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit on greenroofs.tv and our GreenroofsTV channel on YouTube.

Terry is a powerhouse of unending energy, creativity and expertise within the greenroofing industry.  We’ve known him for almost 10 years when he wrote me about the similarity of the names between my then column “Sky Gardens ~ Travels in Landscape Architecture” here on Greenroofs.com (which ran from 2003-2006) and his company Gardens in the Sky – a greenroof design/build, contractor, and installation expert.  He’s a great guy with a deadpan sense of humor whom we respect and enjoy:

Terry McGlade is one of Canada’s best known greenroof experts. Terry is a creative, dynamic forward thinking horticulturalist and landscape designer with 30 years of experience and has been designing and building gardens in the Toronto area since 1982.  He created his first roof garden in 1985, and installed his first green roof in 1999.  Terry is the founder and President of Gardens in the Sky which has built over 50 greenroofs and numerous roof gardens and received many awards.  Now part of Flynn Canada Ltd., Gardens in the Sky has the advantage of being part of Canada’s leading building envelope trade contractor.  They deliver outstanding green roofs & roof gardens for commercial, institutional, & industrial projects.  Terry has been involved in the design and execution of some of Canada’s largest and most complex green roofing projects in the commercial, institutional and residential market areas.

In “Constructing Gardens in the Sky” Terry says that each greenroof has its own design.  Sites that appear similar are not, given wind patterns, sun patterns, slope and drainage issues.

This presentation delves into case studies of three different greenroofs both from an installation perspective and a lessons learned perspective.  Biodiversity of each roof is discussed along with growth habits of the installed greenroofs.  Assumptions in the original design concepts are re-evaluated vis-à-vis the existent greenroof.

Enjoy! Visit greenroofs.tv to see “Constructing Gardens in the Sky” or click below:

Watch earlier videos on our exclusive Virtual Summit greenroofs.tv play list, or see the following Virtual Summit videos now available on our GreenroofsTV channel on YouTube:

Episode 6: “Sky Meadows – Integrating People and Nature: Sustainable Green Roofs and Roof Gardens” by Dr. Nigel Dunnett
Episode #5: “Greenroofs & Walls for Educational & Social Equity in the Bronx” Panel Session with New York State Senator Gustavo Rivera, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., Robert Bieder, Jon Beuttler, Jess Dannhauser, Javier Lopez and Steve Ritz
Episode #4: Keynote Address “CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility – The Who, What, Where, When and How” by Ralph Velasquez
Episode #3: “CDA Leads the Way for Incorporating Green Roof Space in an Airport Environment” by Rosemarie Andolino
Episode #2: “2011 Top 10 List of Hot Trends in Greenroof & Greenwall Design” by Haven Kiers and me
Episode #1: Opening Keynote Address “A New Place” by Charlie Miller

Check back next week on GreenroofsTV for our 8th installment from the Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit 2011!

~ Linda V.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~ Linda V.