Alpharetta, GA. - April 20, 2011 - Two years in the making, Greenroofs.com is pleased to announce the premiere of our Sky Gardens ~ Greenroofs of the World™ WebTV episode featuring the Cook+Fox Architects Office in Manhattan, NY on Friday, April 22, 2011: Earth Day. Cook+Fox Architects is one of New York’s leading sustainable architectural firms, responsible for many environmentally friendly buildings including the new $1 billion Bank of America at One Bryant Park.
New Yorkers have been recreating a bit of nature on their rooftops with roof gardens since before the turn of the 20th century.
"The long-neglected roof space of a variety of buildings, both private and institutional, is being turned to good account. For all the congestion of the cities the most attractive floor, for more than half the year, is the least used. By climbing a few additional feet a change of air and outlook may be gained equal to several degrees of latitude. The roof garden is a welcome oasis to the desert of city roofs." ~ The beginning of an article that appeared in Harpers Weekly in the late 1890's!
And with PlaNYC, Mayor Bloomberg introduced important incentives for rooftop greening. In 2006, Cook+Fox Architects decided to green their own fifth façade on top of their new 8th story corporate penthouse to show leadership and provide a beautiful, refreshing respite for people, flora and fauna alike. Of course, one of vegetated roofs many benefits is just that - to provide cooling relief from the urban heat island effect found in our dense urban centers. While the owners of the building were open to the proposed greenroof, they were concerned about the integrity of their old existing roof membrane and building drainage system. For these reasons, the firm was interested in a flexible system that could be moved later if necessary.
In the dead heat of August 2006, Cook+Fox installed their 3,600 sf greenroof using the modular greenroof system Green Paks from Green Roof Blocks - 880 Green Paks were installed and the result was beautiful in every season. For over two years they enjoyed a cool, flowering greenspace – until previous fears were confirmed and in late summer 2008 the old roof finally did start to leak.
And this is what makes the project truly unique – here’s the first greenroof in the world to have been completely dismantled and replaced – using the same growing media and plants, without having to dig up a single plant, or incurring the cost of a new greenroof system! Join Linda Velazquez, Greenroofs.com Publisher & Editor, as she travels to New York City and St. Louis and interviews the client/owner Cook+Fox's Senior Associate Mark Rusitzky; Rohit T. “Rit” Aggarwala, Former Director, Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability at the Office of the Mayor of the City of New York (2006-2010); Plant Consultant Vic Jost of Jost Greenhouses; and Kelly Luckett, President of Green Roof Blocks. Find out what NYC is doing to promote sustainability and how the Cook+Fox greenroof has fared since the Green Paks reinstallation.
See the Sky Gardens ~ Greenroofs of the World™: Cook+Fox Architects Office trailer here.
Please contact us if you are interested in sponsorship opportunities and having your project and city featured in an upcoming episode of Sky Gardens ~ Greenroofs of the World™.
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About Greenroofs.com
Since 1999, Greenroofs.com has been the international greenroof industry's resource and online information portal. We inform, promote and inspire through the interchange of ideas, projects, news, videos, events, research, people, company and community updates and marketing opportunities; exclusives include the Sky Gardens ~ where cool green meets lofty blue Blog, Contributing Editor Columns, and Guest Features. Greenroofs.com is the publisher of the International Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database, The Greenroof Directory, greenroofs.tv, Greenroofs of the World™ 12-Month Wall Calendar, and the Sky Gardens ~ Greenroofs of the World™ WebTV series. Visit us at www.greenroofs.com.
For more information:
Aramis M. Velazquez
Greenroofs.com, LLC.
(888) 477-1326
media@greenroofs.com
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