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.
- 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.
- 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!
- 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.
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!
- 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.
As I’m sure you know, this year the CitiesAlive: The 9th Annual Green Roof & Wall Conference will be held in Philadelphia on November 30-Dec 2, 2011. And the Awards are a great opportunity for peer recognition of the entire design team.
“The Awards of Excellence continue to draw attention to the tremendous integrated design work being achieved in the green roof and wall profession, and the awards ceremony is a highlight of our annual conference.” Jeffrey L. Bruce, Chair, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities
The Awards are selected by a seven-member, multi-disciplinary judging team which includes architects, landscape architects, engineers and horticulturists. Submissions are evaluated according to a broad range of weighted criteria including aesthetic, economic, functional and ecological components.
There are seven design award categories, three for extensive green roofs, three for intensive green roofs, and one for green walls:
* The Design Awards acknowledge excellence in innovative and integrative green roof and wall design and raise awareness of the multiple benefits that green infrastructure can provide clients and the general public.
* The Research Award honors individuals or groups who have made outstanding contributions to the green roof industry in research.
* The Civic Award honors individuals or groups who have made outstanding contributions to the green roof industry in policy development.
The winner for GRHC’s 2010 Extensive Institutional Green Roof was the stunning Vancouver Convention Centre, above. The Award recipient was PWL Partnership Landscape Architects Inc.
Our co-hosts are the City of Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, two of the key players in the communities planning to spend $2 billion on living green infrastructure technologies to address their stormwater management challenges and revitalize their community.
This year’s theme is Restoring Urban Waters and will have designs, scientific research papers and policies all devoted to exploring how living architecture technologies such as green roofs and walls can play a major role in addressing stormwater challenges.
We’ll also get together and discuss emerging issues and opportunities such as growing media standards, integrated design practices, and the research needed to increase indoor greening.
The CitiesAlive: The 9th Annual Green Roof & Wall Conference is November 30-Dec 2, 2011. Save the date and don’t forget that the deadline for this year’sAwards of Excellence Submissions is July 6.
See you in Philly… SWP
Steven W. Peck, GRP, HASLA, is Founder and President, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and Co-Founder, Green Infrastructure Foundation; visit www.greenroofs.org or call Steven at: 416.971.4494 (233).
Learn more at these links from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities:
Yes, it’s time once again to submit your paper and poster abstracts for the Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) CitiesAlive Green Roof & Wall Conference and Trade Show.
GRHC is pleased to be working with the City of Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society as co-hosts for CitiesAlive, the 9th Annual Green Roof & Wall Conference to be held this year in Philadelphia, PA from November 29 to December 3, 2011.
“Philadelphia is taking a leading green approach to storm water management through the use of green infrastructure, making water the primary theme for this year’s conference. As a secondary theme, for the first time ever, we will be focusing on indoor greening, where the effects of indoor living plants, walls and atria will be discussed with regard to design, and the science of health and productivity among other things. Our third theme for the conference focuses on residential green infrastructure where interesting residential green roof projects and economic models will be highlighted.” ~ Green Roofs for Healthy Cities
GRHC says they are looking for papers that display novel ideas on the above mentioned themes. The abstract content will be evaluated by independent multi-disciplinary volunteers for innovation, new information or description of a new process. The credentials of the authors will be assessed along with the relevance on the paper to the overall conference themes. The paper abstracts must also fall into one of three categories: Programs and Policies to Support Green Roofs and Green Walls, Green Roof / Green Wall Design and Implementation or Research/Technical Papers on Green Roof and Green Wall Performance.
All applications are due by Friday, April 15, 2011. For more information click here for the Word doc or email GRHC’s Luna Ghose at lghose@greenroofs.org.
Greenroofs.com has been an exhibitor at the annual Green Roofs for Healthy Cities conference for 8 years in a row now – from the first Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities in Chicago in 2003 to this year’s CitiesAlive! Green Roof & Green Wall Conference in beautiful Vancouver, B.C. And each year we’ve held a drawing for a free Premium Listing in The Greenroof Directory. How are people eligible? You just have to come by and visit our Greenroofs.com booth and drop off your business card – super easy!
We are pleased to announce that Anjuli Velazquez, host of our “This Week in Review” video (also our daughter and mother of almost 2-year old Nicholas), pulled out the following company for our FREE one year Premium Listing in The Greenroof Directory, a $599 value:
Congratulations to annette environmental inc.! Headed up by two very competent and talented individuals who have been working in this industry for a few years now, we learned this is a new venture for them and that the consulting company will have two headquarters – Washington, D.C. and Toronto. You may remember Sara Loveland, formerly with D.C. Greenworks, and Ashleigh Uiska, formerly with Fishburn Building Sciences Group Inc. (and previously Green Roofs for Healthy Cities). We expect great things from this pair of strong and lively women! If you want to learn more about them, please visit The Greenroof Directory in a few days when we’ll have all the information needed to create their full page color brochure.
By the way, if you were a CitiesAlive! conference exhibitor or attendee, we are extending our 20% offer to you until December 17th for any advertising opportunity that we have on Greenroofs.com – visit Advertise for all the options, from being listed in The Greenroof Directory to Banner Advertising to Sponsorship.
Look for some upcoming coverage of the CitiesAlive! Green Roof & Green Wall Conference from a contributing editor and guest writer and more…I promise to report on this successful Vancouver, B.C. conference with lots of photos of people and places – after I catch up with the International Skyrise Greenery Conference in Singapore and the WGIN World Green Roof Congress in Mexico City – up next! Here are some photos of Vancouver for now:
We hope you enjoyed the Green Roofs for Healthy Cities conference, and look forward to seeing you again next year when it will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania!
As we continue to ring in 2010 we hope you enjoyed warm holidays with family and friends and celebrated the New Year with renewed hope for the future. Can you believe we’ve entered a new decade? Shall we call it 2K10, Twenty Ten, or just good old fashioned 2,010? In any case, we’re finally out of the 0’s, now we’re into the 10’s.
Our world economy has been through a lot in the past few years, yet with a promising light hovering just over the horizon. Although development overall has declined, there is continued desire for green buildings from both the public and private sector, and in general our greenroof & greenwall industry has weathered quite nicely. Many of us are taking time to reflect on this passage of time and make New Year’s resolutions (another topic altogether!), and I was thinking of how far we have come since the German experience entered our architectural radar and into our collective consciousness in the 1990’s. Literally thousands of vegetated roofs and walls have been constructed since then in every continent except for Antarctica, with ever growing support from forward thinking multidisciplinary professionals: designers, government officials, organizations, companies, universities, students and other advocates looking to make Earth a little more sustainable.
Sadly, one of those special, innovative people passed away last November 27, the indomitable architect Malcolm Wells. Regarded as “the father of modern earth-sheltered architecture,” he was a staunch advocate of living architecture, known for his way ahead-of-the-times underground earth designs with living roofs starting in the 1960’s, see just one example below. He leaves a legacy of what he referred to as gentle architecture, design that would, in his own words, “leave the land no worse than you found it.”
The visionary Malcolm Wells' design for an eco-gas station, from MalcolmWells.com.
Many inspirational people and organizations have contributed to our current market, and I want to highlight just a few success stories from the past year, personal and global. So in my review, here are my favorite 2009 Top 10 Milestones and Accomplishments for both Greenroofs.com as a company and our international community as a whole:
10) In 2009 Greenroofs.com celebrated 10 years of being in business! We’ve seen a lot of progress and change for the good here as well as across the greenroof world. The fledgling Greenroofs.com – “exploring the ecology of organic greenroof architecture” started out as 60+ pages in 1999 as the result of an independent research study I did at the University of Georgia.
By 2003 we changed our format and grew into Greenroofs.com – “the international greenroof industry’s resource and online information portal,” and contained 600+ pages at the end of 2009 (not counting the hundreds of .php pages from The Greenroof Directory or The Greenroof Projects Database). At present, each month Greenroofs.com receives more than 160,000 unique visits and about 400,000 page views, and we’ve also expanded our presence in social marketing, too, so now you can stay connected with us on: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, eNewsletter (our monthly eNewsletter consists of 10,000 opt-in subscribers) & YouTube, as well as our Blog.
9) The proliferation of living architecture is greatly spreading and permeating into the areas of design, policy, research and education through numerousworld conferences, congresses, expos, trainings, tours, and other events. For example, the World Green Infrastructure Network (WGIN) – formerly the World Green Roof Infrastructure Network (WGRIN) - held its first CitiesAlive! World Green Roof Congress in Toronto, Canada, with the second scheduled for Mexico City this October, 2010. The International Green Roof Association (IGRA) hosted the 2nd International Green Roof Congress 2009 in Nürtingen, Germany and the 3rd annual Green Roofs Australia Conference 2009 was held at the University of Melbourne. Longevity was evident with the 7th National FBB Green Roof Conference in Ditzingen, Germany and the 7th annual Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference, Awards, and Trade Show in Atlanta, Georgia. By the way, look for the 8th annual GRHC conference to occur in Vancouver, B.C. on November 30 – December 2, 2010, rebranded as ”Cities Alive.” Look for many new 2010 events throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, China, Singapore, India and more under Upcoming Events, where you can also access Past Events.
7)Green walls are firmly becoming entrenched in sustainable design,evidenced by high media attention, as much for their green properties as for their edible gardening possibilities. We’ve had tons of news articles posted in NewsLinks, our huge database of global articles, concerning living walls and green façades! In fact, they were listed as #31 in TIME’s 50 Best Inventions of 2009 and Triple Pundit recently proposed: ”Gardens Grow Up: Are Vertical Landscapes the New Green Roofs?“ - both featuring the works of Patrick Blanc. In our business you’d have to be living under a rock not to know who the renowned French botanist is; his often fantastical “murs végétalisés” designs stretch the limits of horticulture and design. Since 1994, he has created over 140 public vertical gardens as well as many private installations, including his most famous, the Quai Branly Museum in Paris, shown below. Read more about green walls from Treehugger, Daily Telegraph, Daily Commercial News, The New York Times, Times Online and CNN.com, just to name a few.
In 2009 Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, the North American professional association, established greenwall research projects at the British Columbia Institute of Technology and the University of Maryland, and GRHC has included an award category for Green Wall Excellence in Design for a couple of years now. In 2008 Greenroofs.com added our 8th Contributing Editor, George Irwin - aptly titled The Green Wall Editor - to cover this growing vertical gardening field, and new for 2010 we have altered the title of our Greenroof Projects Database to reflect the inclusion of these: The Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database.
6)Investing in green building and infrastructure makes good economic sense by integrating green building policies into wider economic development goals, and creates a new job market. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) has prompted a gigantic increase in federal green spending, providing new money to all levels of government, aimed at stimulating the economy, promoting job growth, and lowering energy costs, providing an unprecedented opportunity for advancing green building and sustainability efforts in the U.S. And last December, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported at least 138 U.S. cities with populations over 50,000 people have green building programs in place (compared to only 92 in 2007). Referring to the economic recession, the AIA said “The downturn has had a devastating effect on construction generally, but sustainable building design continues to maintain and improve its market share.” Read their 2009 in depth study “Green Building Policy in a Changing Economic Environment” to learn more.
American Institute of Architects 2009 Study of Green Building Programs by Cities
U.S. economic stimulus efforts encompass green energy and construction, including greenroofs along with other forms of green building, and just one such example of Recovery Act funds benefit Washington D.C., where the Washington Business Journal says “Nearly $4 million would go toward building more than 100,000 sf of green roofs on city buildings, including libraries, firehouses and a demonstration project atop the parking garage deck at University of the District of Columbia. The stimulus funds would also expand the city’s green roof rebate program to allow residents and small businesses to afford another 20,000 sf of private green roof space.”
And importantly, many green building programs are also creating “green collar” jobs. In late 2009, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Booz Allen Hamilton conducted a study and stated “Green building will support 7.9 million U.S. jobs and pump $554 billion into the American economy – including $396 billion in wages – over the next four years (2009-2013). The study also determined that green construction spending currently supports more than 2 million American jobs and generates more than $100 billion in gross domestic product and wages…The full report can be downloaded at www.usgbc.org/greeneconomy, where one can also find other research, resources, tools and information about green building and its role in the economic recoveries of professionals, businesses and the nation.” According to an analysis by American Rivers and the Alliance for Water Efficiency, the Natural Resources Defense Council reports that a $10 billion nationwide initiative to install greenroofs alone would result in almost 200,000 jobs – the Senate is expected to consider its own version of the bill in early 2010.
5)Green Roofs for Healthy Cities launched the Green Roof Professional (GRP) accreditation for North America. The GRP is a measure of knowledge of established best practices and although a voluntary program, with the designation professionals can distinguish themselves in the marketplace. This association milestone was at least four years in the making! Currently with more than 250 GRP’s in 2009, GRHC hopes to add more professionals in 2010. Check their website for future testing dates, and consider attending one of their Green Roof Boot Camps to refresh and get you ready. See my interview with Jeff Bruce, president of Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company, Chair of GRHC and the GRHC Training and Accreditation Committee, which developed the Green Roof Professional program, to learn why the organization felt this accreditation was needed, how it evolved, and where it’s heading. For more info on the GRP, see “A Video Introduction to the GRP Program” from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities.
4)Within the U.S. industry, major contributions were made in the area to develop best practice wind and fire standards for greenroof design. Since 2007, leaders from various organizations have been working hard on prescriptive standards, and in 2009 standards were inserted into the International Building Code from members of GRHC and Single Ply Roofing Industry (SPRI). Read “Green Roof Wind & Fire Design Guidelines: After Three Years, Half the Battle is Won,” written by one of our Contributing Editors, Kelly Luckett, The Green Roof Guy, to learn about this winding road’s development of RP-14 and VF-1. And stay tuned for updates with his column here on Greenroofs.com.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUe) Wind Tunnel Testing in June, 2009.
3) The global Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database surpassed the 1,000 mark in December! So where are all these greenroofs and greenwalls anyway? Let’s continue to work together to grow, update, and share valuable case studies for our communal benefit, for free. Even in today’s openly transparent society (think Google Earth), some people worry about confidentiality issues, and we only post information that is submitted to us by owners/project principals or that which is openly available through various media channels, and we always list owners as “private” when requested. The Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database is now searchable by 24 fields, including specifically for green walls. After our Home Page, the Projects Database is the next visited page on Greenroofs.com – make sure your projects and valuable experiences are included here.
2) My albeitly biased personal favorite, Greenroofs.com inaugurated our first episode of the Sky Gardens ~ Greenroofs of the World™ WebTV series. Premiering at Boston GreenFest in September, our new venture followed on the GreenroofsTV channel on YouTube, and next on our own greenroofs.tv, where you can now see it in its entirety at just under 37 minutes. By the way, you can also view our video offshoot, ”Greenroofs 101 from Greenroofs.com” (4:50) in Greenroofs 101 or directly below, which is a great way to introduce the concept to newcomers. Coming soon is episode 2, highlighting the gorgeous Cook+Fox Architects corporate offices in Manhattan, NY. Our third episode is in the works, and more are being scheduled, so stay tuned!
1) 2009 saw some serious support for greenroofs, championed by professional organizations and governmental bodies alike. Global industry support has grown over the years, and many advocates continue to actively promote them worldwide. For example, the City of Chicago, certainly the U.S. leader in greenroofs, now has over 7 million square feet of vegetated roofs completed or under development. New support in 2009 includes:
North America: In addition to offering eco-incentives for greenroofs, currently Toronto has the most progressive policy in North America – last May Toronto became the first city here to adopt a bylaw to require and govern the construction of greenroofs. The new bylaw will be required on all new development above 2,000 m² (about 21,530 sf) of gross floor area and have a graduated coverage requirement ranging from 20-60%. Working with a program budget of $800,000/year, owners of industrial and commercial buildings can apply for grants worth up to $100,000 (Canadian) to build a greenroof. Mayor David Miller predicts the rules and incentives will create 50 to 60 green-roofed buildings per year, in addition to their current 135 vegetated roofs. Green Roofs for Healthy Cities supported the by-law against pressure from developers opposed to the policy. See more details under Industry Support and at the City of Toronto website.
Here in the U.S., in late 2009 ASLA, the American Society of Landscape Architects, worked with Congress to include the Green Act into the House-passed climate change legislation. The Act would require the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to employ greenroofs, tree canopy coverage, and other site planning techniques to help reduce heating and cooling costs in certain HUD facilities. Still pending before the Senate Finance Committee, last January Senator Maria Cantwell (WA) introduced the Clean Energy Stimulus and Investment Assurance Act of 2009 (S.320), legislation geared toward creating high-wage green-collar jobs and revitalizing the economy through clean energy investments. ASLA worked with Senator Cantwell’s office to ensure that a section of the bill was dedicated to green roof tax incentives, and GRHC provided technical support. Under section 506 of the bill, residential and commercial property owners will receive a 30% tax credit for qualified greenroof expenditures.
As you may recall, Congress enacted Section 438 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) to require federal agencies to reduce stormwater runoff from federal development projects to protect water resources and in October of 2009, President Obama signed Executive Order 13514 on “Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance” calling upon all federal agencies to lead by example and address a wide range of environmental issues, including stormwater runoff. Federal agencies can comply with Section 438 by using a variety of green infrastructure / low impact development techniques including living roofs. Prepared by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in coordination with other federal agencies, the “Technical Guidance on Implementing the Stormwater Runoff Requirements for Federal Projects under Section 438 of the Energy Independence and Security Act” PDF is highly detailed and instructive.
State and municipal governments also provided policy support: Former Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine signed three bills promoting incentives in 2009: HB 1975 and SB 1058 authorize localities to grant regulatory flexibility and incentives to promote the construction of vegetative roofs on private homes and businesses. The incentives or regulatory flexibility could include a reduction in permit fees, a streamlined process for the approval of building permits, or a reduction in any gross receipts tax on greenroof contractors as defined by the local ordinance. The third bill, HB 1828, allows water authorities to offer rate incentives for vegetative roof construction, based on the percentage of stormwater runoff reduction. In late fall, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA), Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSDGC), and the Office of Environmental Quality created a Green Roof Loan Program utilizing money from the Water Pollution Control Loan Fund. OEPA has made $5,000,000 available for linked deposit, below market rate loans to install green vegetative roofs within the service area of MSDGC on residential, commercial and/or industrial buildings.
Already a city offering several greenroof incentives, in October Portland’s city commission approved a Climate Action Plan which calls for a 40% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 and an 80% reduction by 2050. According to the Portland Business Journal, “The Plan calls for the city and county to take 93 actions over the next three years. City bureaus must immediately begin implementing 15 of the new climate-related initiatives, such as establishing a tax credit for businesses that install ecoroofs and solar panels together.” And last month, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District invited governments, organizations, school districts, and businesses within the 28 communities it serves to participate in their 2010 Regional Green Roof Initiative Program. Among other prerequisites, proposed projects must minimize impervious roof area and maximize the reduction in the rate and/or volume of stormwater runoff.
The World:Singapore is targeting 50 hectares of skyrise greenery by 2030 and its Urban Redevelopment Authority launched the LUSH Programme (Landscaping for Urban Spaces and High-Rises) in April of 2009. Offering financial and planning incentives to developers to provide greenery at the upper levels of high rise buildings, their goal is to make 80% of all buildings in Singapore green by 2030. Quezon City, Phillipines has a new law requiring private and government-owned buildings to green part of their rooftops. New commercial/residential buildings, under the Green Roof Ordinance (Ordinance 1940) signed into law by Mayor Feliciano R. Belmonte, Jr. last September, should allocate at least 30% of their roof area for plants and trees. In Australia, the Queensland Government signed a “Memorandum Of Understanding” with the Singapore National Parks Board late last year to trial vertical gardens and greenroofs in various cities in an effort to benefit from Singapore’s experience with skyrise greenery.
Dubai Municipality launched a greenroof initiative in line with a Dubai law on green building specifications. The Municipality’s strategic goal is to raise per capita green area to 23.4 square meters by the end of 2011, with the green building project coming under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, United Arab Emirate Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. A public awareness campaign for greenroofs was announced last month, committed to the “development of laws and regulations to keep pace with international standards in the field of sustainable development by planting green roofs and facades in the Emirate of Dubai.” Traveling display models and educational publications will circulate residential neighborhoods and shopping centers and markets for a 12-month period. Read more on the Dubai Municipality Portal. One spectacular greening project currently on the boards in Dubai is the self-sustained system “Food City” below, designed by Green Concepts Landscape Architects (GCLA):
The proposed Dubai Food City, conceptualized by landscape architecture firm GCLA.
So here we are at the start of a whole new year – we hope you’re excited and optimistic about it, just as we are! Whatever 2009 offered you, we hope you embraced new friends and opportunities and experienced great personal and professional growth, and we thank you for your readership. What’s in store for our new decade? We’ll see, but as the green building industry continues with positive signs of sustained growth, let’s also continue to collaborate and create a more sustainable world with eco-architecture embracing greenroofs and greenwalls as part of the overall green living architecture strategy.
“I woke up one day to the fact that the earth’s surface was made for living plants, not industrial plants.” ~ Malcolm Wells
Here’s a gentle toast to continued health, love, and prosperity for you, your families, and all of our greenroof associates in 2010!
Aramis and I had a great time in Toronto last week for the inaugural 2009 CitiesAlive! World Green Roof Infrastructure Congress~ what a wonderful city! It’s clean, green, and at the moment has the most progressive greenroof policy in North America. From the airport we rode along the waterfront and were impressed on how green the city really is – we enjoyed the many beautifully landscaped parks with an abundance of trees in full autumn color, swaying grasses and flowering perennials. Tons of people were out enjoying the cool, crisp fall day with strollers, jogging, or just relaxing and taking in the views of Lake Ontario. The prominent Toronto Hydro/WindShare wind turbine, ”North America’s first urban wind turbine,” was truly an impressive sight to see at Toronto’s Exhibition Place, a showcase for sustainability. And the many architectural styles and hustle and bustle of downtown Toronto were a pleasure.
At the Congress we encountered many of the “usual greenroof suspects” we know from Canada, Germany, the U.K., and the U.S. and met some very interesting new people, too, from South Korea and Spain (to name a couple) in the various speaker sessions, on the Toronto Sustainable Bus Tour sponsored by Tremco and Bioroof, and at the CitiesAlive! Closing Gala at the Toronto Botanical Garden where we all enjoyed a lively and tasty Mexican Fiesta celebration.
The theme of the Congress was “Green Roof Infrastructure: A Global Solution to Climate Change” and began on Monday, October 19 with a selection of tours and training sessions and the Canadian launch of the GRP exam, followed by the CitiesAlive! Opening Reception at Toronto City Hall, which we unfortunately missed due to a late flight. Sponsored by The City of Toronto, attendees gathered on the City Hall Rotunda and were treated to a ’sneak peek preview tour’ of the new Toronto City Hall Green Roof, and heard from Mayor of Toronto David Miller, Manfred Köhler, President of the co-host World Green Roof Infrastructure Network (WGRIN), and Steven Peck, Executive Director of co-host Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC). The new greenroof is more expansive than the previous incarnation of the 3,200 sf Toronto City Hall Green Roof Demonstration Project, which was dismantled and replaced with this larger living roof. I’ll update the profile on The Greenroof Projects Database as soon as I get more info.
Tuesday morning, October 20 started bright and early with the CitiesAlive! Opening Plenary, where Steven welcomed everyone and stressed the importance of the bigger picture and how green infrastructure options can secure a more sustainable and prosperous future for us all. He talked about two main themes: Cities can and are leading on major environmental issues such as global warming and how the best solutions are those that are good for the environment and good for the economy. The City of Toronto is leading by example in many areas; for example, it now has a 40% reduction of greenhouse emissions based on 1990 levels and the #1 hybrid electric bus fleet in Canada, which is #2 in North America behind New York City, saving significant operations costs. And through partnering with local businesses and residents, Live Green Toronto has issued grants in excess of $10 million to Torontonians.
Mayor Miller presented the Opening Address “Towards a Green Toronto” spoke about Living Green here with projects such as their ”Transit City” program, whose transit expansion into underserved, poorer areas really equals social justice as light rail encouragesbetter development and will better the lives of many. New programs like Live Green Toronto and city-wide initiatives like Mayor’s Tower Renewal will revitalize communities. For example, plans to add thermal over cladding and insulation (plus greenroofs and other eco- friendly building features) to the numerous city concrete slab highrises will not only reduce energy but will cut citywide gas emissions by 3-5%. These efforts will help create local employment and result in an environmental success story for Toronto. The City’s overall goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by 2050.
Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone spoke about the evolution of the Toronto’s Eco-Roof Incentive Program (formerly the Green Roof Pilot Program). For example, in 2006, 16 projects were funded, 30 in 2007, and 34 projects have been approved in 2009. Approved by City Council in November 2008, the Eco-Roof Incentive Program is based on the successful Green Roof Pilot Program of 2006 and 2007 and includes both cool and eco-roofs. In May, 2009 Toronto became the first City in North America to adopt a bylaw to require and govern the construction of greenroofs on new development. The bylaw will apply to all new building permit applications made after January 31, 2010 (residential, commercial and institutional) and January 31, 2011 for all new industrial development, with a few exceptions. The new bylaw will be required on all new development above 2,000 m² (about 21,530 sf) of Gross Floor Area and have a graduated coverage requirement ranging from 20-60%. (See more details at the City of Toronto website.)
Then the first round of speakers started from each of the four concurrent tracks, which I felt was rather ambitious all in just one day - I think we missed out on a lot of really pertinent info, and there was no conference CD like usual for later reference. I remained for Track 2: Innovative Projects and Design from Around the World, and Aramis headed over to Track 3: Policies and Programmes Supporting Green Infrastructure Development with our Student Editor, Christine Thüring (who should be adding some commentary of her own soon).
Track 2: Don Delaney from Flynn Canada started with details of the “Vancouver Convention Centre: 7 Acres of Green Roof in Downtown Vancouver” and went into detail about the trials and tribulations of Canada’s largest greenroof to date, including solutions to stabilize the growing media on slopes up to 40° and planting the 400,000 indigenous plants and grasses. Innovative features include decorative runnels with perforations on the high side to retain water and runoff collection used for irrigation and in a blackwater system. International Leak Detention was brought on board to test the integrity of the waterproofing membrane before and after the installation of the overburden with their Electric Field Vector Mapping (EFVM®) system. We were all very happy to have Andrea from N.A.T.S. Nursery in the audience to answer a lot of growing media and plant questions! This project will be a highlight to our trip to Vancouver, B.C. next year for the 8th installement of the Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference. The Vancouver Convention Centre will be home of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games media and broadcast centre.
Prof. Dr. Eun-Heui Lee from Women’s University in Seoul, South Korea impressed us with ”Green Roof Policy and Projects to Expand Green Space in Seoul” with some key figures: From 2002 through 2008, 218 greenroofs equalling 104,403 m² were constructed and in 2009 so far, 104 greenroofs totalling 41,000 m² have been built or on the boards! And perhaps more importantly, the Seoul Metro Government plans 600 new roofs to be greened by 2012.
Francois LaSalle of ADIVET in France addressed “Development of Green Roofs and Green Facades in France, and presented a history of greenroofs and walls in France. Starting in the 1970’s, about 1 m² of roofs have been greened here, mostly intensive roof gardens, through the 1980’s. By the end of the 1990’s, about 10 greenroof companies had emerged from the extensive market, and in 1994 Patrick Blanc unveiled his first green wall (Mur Vegetal) at the Garden Festival in Chaumont Sur Loire (although probably most famous for his Musée du quai Branly vegetated wall in Paris, 2006). Francois concluded with various French policies, subsidies, and bills to promote, and believe it not, prohibit opposition to planted roofs. Currently, vegetated façades are in their infancy, but greenroofs have a firm hold in the marketplace.
Ignacio Espoz Babul from LatinGreen in Santiago, Chile, presented “Living Walls for Better Indoor Climate in Subways,” an experimental green wall research program currently being implemented at two underground Metro stations in Santiago. Ignacio believes that indoor air pollutant abatement with an improvement in air quality due to reductions of metals and volatile chemicals is possible along with noise reduction due to plant foliage and the associated natural processes – as long as there is sufficient light, air, and water.
The sessions ran a bit late, and the Networking Break on the Trade Show was only supposed to last 30 minutes, but we stayed through lunch because we kept running into people we just had to talk to! So we skipped the next round of speakers in between (sorry I missed Paul Kephart, Andrew Bowerbank, Dr. Nigel Dunnett, Jeff Bruce, and James Sable!). The Networking Break on the Trade Show was very lively, and packed with people – I hope not too many missed those speakers, either. Lunch was held on the Trade Show Floor, which is always a good thing for the exhibitors, who help foot the bill and provide us with so many varieties of products and services. Here are a few:
Bill Corrigan from Tremco Canada told us about some of their company’s 1 million sf of greenroofs in Canada.
International Leak Detection performs non-destructive integrity tests of waterproofing membranes utilizing their patented Electric Field Vector Mapping technology. Membrane defects are located with pin point accuracy.
Lots of people visited the LiveRoof booth to learn about the modular manufacturer’s Soil Elevator™ and Moisture Portal™ technology.
Marie-Anne Boivin and fellow Soprema colleague told us about their many years of greenroof experience in the harsh Canadian climates.
The Trade Show was a good size and was heavily trafficked by all, especially since the refreshment break and newtworking lunch and cocktail were set here. Other Greenroofs.com exhibitor friends included Xero Flor America and Xero Flor Canada, Motherplants, Hydrotech, Sika Sarnafil, and Nilex, where Janet Faust of JDR Enterprises was present.
After lunch, the next round of speakers in Track 2 included Peter Lowitt from Devens Enterprise Commission who spoke about “Green Infrastructure & Eco-Industrial Parks: Lessons Learned From Devens, Massachusetts,” a former military barracks now a 40-acre eco- industrial park with an International Audubon Certified Sustainable Golf Course. He spoke how green infrastructure must take a holistic approach and asked how can we make these projects sustainable? By promoting social and environmental equity.
João Manuel Linck Feijó of the Associação de Telhados Verdes do Brazil presented “Innovative Projects & Green Roof Progress in Brazil” - introducing us to the relatively new greenroof market in Brazil and explaining a potential tax break for large cities and various state proposals for living roofs. He showed some beautiful greenroof projects throughout Brazil using a modular greenroof system from Ecotelhado.
Dr. Karen Liu of Xero Flor Canada addressed “Special Green Roof Projects in B.C.” Dr. Liu highlighted a couple of projects which presented opportunities for greenroof design and engineering creativity. The Butchart Gardens Carousel Pavilion in Victoria, B.C. has slopes ranging from 14-44% and utilized a 2-ply modified bitumen, standing seam copper roof and the architects needed to capture 36 liters of rainwater. Dr. Liu explained the steel grid system to retain the growing media and cautionary items to consider as well. The second project focused on Canada’s first LEED Gold Community, the 2010 Olympic Village where all of the roofs will be either extensive or intensive greenroofs! The extensive greenroofs will feature Xero Flor roofs with vegetated sports figures. These athletic figures will be planted with red flowering annuals and set in red lava rock.
Michael Krause of Kandiyohi Development talked about “Urban Forests and Energy in Minnesota,” a different and very interesting topic. Biomass energy is included in current U.S. energy legislation, and a biomass fuel energy strategy can be used as a small, community-based local climate change solution. Fallen trees are viewed as a carbon sink and vast supplies of excess biomass are available – Michael believes that biomass can be used as an interim strategy for the next 30 years orso, and sees this as a way to democratize energy and bring energy to the community level, since there would be no importing fossil fuels from afar.
Toby Lennox from the Greater Toronto Airports Authority finished with “Industrial Ecology: Partners in Project Green,” Canada’s largest eco-business zone at 4,000 acres. Toronto Pearson Airport manages one half of Canada’s commercial air traffic and 65,000 trips are made to the airport each day. Project Green is bringing together common strategies in a new eco-model of development in a growing community of businesses working together to green facilities and the bottom line.
Afterwards we all convened for the Cocktail Reception, once again on the Trade Show Floor, with spirits and snacks and an opportunity to unwind a bit, followed by the “Transforming the Face of Buildings” Student Design Challenge Awards, Poster Presentations and Networking Event at the Steam Whistle Brewing Roundhouse, a very funky locale and local brewery. The quality of the student entries was superb and I’m sure that the judges had a hard time selecting the winners. Congratulations to everyone who participated, and especially the First Place winner, “Cliffside Village” from students Dov Feinmesser, Yekaterina Mityuryayeva, Tommy Tso, and Aaron Hendershott form Ryerson University, Architectural Science!
We ended the evening with a spirited dinner compliments of George Irwin, our Green Wall Editor, and Diane DiGregorio of Green Living Technologies. Christine took us to an artsy part of town that’s being refurbished where we had awesome appetizers and organic pizza, incredible wine, and great conversation.
I believe that the 2009 CitiesAlive! has indeed sown future seeds of success as WGRIN continues to bring together the international greenroof community of non-profit organizations to highlight current and planned green infrastructure research, policy and projects. Their first congress had some growing pains but I believe that overall it was important, fruitful, and promising with quite an international flair – set in a perfect international city with a very promising future of its own.
Next up I’ll wrap up our time in Toronto with some photos of our day on the Toronto Sustainable Bus Tour and evening at the lovely Toronto Botanical Garden.
This year’s theme is Restoring Urban Waters and will have designs, scientific research papers and policies all devoted to exploring how living architecture technologies such as green roofs and walls can play a major role in addressing stormwater challenges.
Then the first round of speakers started from each of the four concurrent tracks, which I felt was rather ambitious all in just one day - I think we missed out on a lot of really pertinent info, and there was no conference CD like usual for later reference. I remained for Track 2: Innovative Projects and Design from Around the World, and Aramis headed over to Track 3: Policies and Programmes Supporting Green Infrastructure Development with our 
