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Green Streets Pilot Project Breaks Ground
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The Green Pilot Streetscape in West Union, Iowa, a green infrastructure and complete streets demonstration project that received $7.5 million in public grant awards, broke ground in an October 21st ceremony. One of the most progressive, innovative green infrastructure initiatives in the nation, the project includes the complete renovation of six downtown blocks with leading-edge practices that integrate long-term, durable, artfully crafted materials and systems to provide multiple benefits. The project showcases innovative sustainable design strategies as a model for other Iowa communities including permeable unit pavement, curb extensions with rainwaterplanters, bioretention tree planters, energy-efficient lighting, and a district heating and cooling system that uses renewable, geothermal energy. Metal and local stone extend the character of historic architectural character into seating, signage, and other embellishments. Construction is expected to be completed in 2012.
Read more about the project
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ASLA Headquarters Green Roof receives Green Roofs for Healthy Cities Excellence Award
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 Green Roofs for Healthy Cities announced the 2010 Green Roof and Green Wall Awards of Excellence in the lead-up to the CitiesAlive conference, November 30 to December 3, 2010. The winners will be recognized at an awards luncheon at the conference on December 2nd. The ASLA Green Roof won the excellence award in the intensive institutional category. The project was led by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (lead designer), and included CDF as the landscape architecture consultant and green roof designer.
Read the GRHC Press Release
More about the project
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IEPA Green Infrastructure Grants Program
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 The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency recently announced the $5 million Illinois Green Infrastructure Grant Program for Stormwater Management (IGIG). The program is intended to fund projects that protect or improve water quality in Illinois through the implementation of projects and practices such as green roofs, permeable paving, bioretention, rain water harvesting, and stream restoration.
To learn more about the program and how CDF can help, visit our website or go to the Illinois EPA IGIG main page.
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Omega Center for Sustainable Living Earns 'Living' Status
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The Omega Center for Sustainable Living (OCSL) is one of three projects to earn Living status by achieving the performance requirements of the Living Building Challenge. The OCSL is an environmental education center and natural water reclamation facility built to meet the highest standards currently available in sustainable architecture. It is the first green building in America to achieve both LEEDŽ Platinum and Living Building Challenge™ certification. The OCSL includes a classroom building and wastewater treatment facility that serve as a teaching tool in the Omega Institute's education program, which promotes restorative water and land management practices as an essential part of sustainable living.
Read the press release
More about the OCSL
More about the OCSL design
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Auburn Hills Riverwalk Master Plan Received Michigan APA Award
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The Michigan Chapter of the American Planning Association honored the City of Auburn Hills and CDF with an award for Outstanding Planning project for Best Practice for the Auburn Hills Riverwalk Master Plan. The award was presented at the Michigan Association of Planning annual conference on October 20th, 2010 in Detroit.
Read the press release
More about this project
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Congressional Hearing on the Benefits of Green Infrastructure
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On September 30, 2010 David Yocca testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Water and the Environment Subcommittee regarding the range of benefits green infrastructure can provide. On behalf of the American Society of Landscape Architects, David was one of seven witnesses offering personal experience with green infrastructure applications at the hearing, entitled "Impact of Green Infrastructure and Low Impact Development on the Nation's Water Quality, Economy, and Communities," which was held to provide information to legislators considering green infrastructure legislation.
Read the ASLA's press release
Watch a video of the hearing
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More News...
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The Sustainable Sites Initiative and David Yocca featured in ASLA's The Dirt
David Yocca elected FASLA
"What is Integrated Design?" David Yocca writes for the Living Architecture Monitor
Kresge Foundation Headquarters Featured in ASLA's "Designing Our Future: Sustainable Landscapes"
Chicago City Hall Green Roof Featured in National Geographic Traveler magazine
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Detroit Sustainability Center
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Image credit: inForm Studio The Detroit Sustainability Center is a component of a larger project called Build Up Detroit initiated by Detroiters for Environmental Justice. The vision for the Center is to provide an inspirational physical headquarters for green job training and coordination for residents of Detroit and Southeastern Michigan. The anticipated LEED Platinum Center will demonstrate sustainable technologies and practices for innovative retrofitting of existing buildings, and will include on site implementation, educational displays, and programming / training. CDF is leading the planning effort for the Center with funding support from the Kresge Foundation. The process has identified a number of project priorities including sustainable site development practices, high performance buildings, the integration of local talent and craftsmanship, and adaptability. Location: Detroit, Michigan Client: Detroiters for Environmental Justice Team: Conservation Design Forum, lead, landscape architecture and planning inForm Studio, architecture URS, engineering
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Park West and Hawk Prairie Improvements, Oregon Park District
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Image credit: Conservation Design Forum
CDF is working with the Oregon Park District to design and implement enhancements to the existing Park West and Hawk Prairie Parks, in Oregon, Illinois. The design includes active play components, bike trail connections, and a sculptural skate park. Passive design components include a boardwalk through the restored Hawk Prairie and a terraced outdoor amphitheater. A walkway will meander along a restored creek and swale replanted with native prairie grasses and forbs. The restoration will connect two existing prairies creating a wildlife corridor and greatly improving water quality downstream. A natural water play area in Park West designed to create a unique play space is set into a slope and surrounded by a matrix of native grasses and flowering perennials. Water features such as water jets and spray loops allow kids to control the movement of water, and a natural stone channel carries water from the top of the park to the bottom, reenacting the natural water cycle. Location: Oregon, Illinois Client: Oregon Park District Team: Conservation Design Forum, lead, landscape architecture and planning
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Chicago City Hall - 10th Anniversary
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Image credit: Conservation Design Forum
In 1999, CDF led the design process to convert the Chicago City Hall rooftop into a green roof pilot project. As a component of the Chicago Department of Environment's Urban Heat Island Initiative, the Chicago City Hall green roof was one of three national pilot projects sponsored by the USEPA to study the effectiveness of green roof technologies. The green roof research demonstration project tests over 100 species of native, cultivated and non-native plants, and utilizes water harvesting and recycling for irrigation. Chicago was the first city in the United States to undertake an initiative of this nature and scope, which stands as a highly visible example of the incorporation of green roof technologies in North America.
This year, the Chicago City Hall green roof is celebrating its 10th anniversary!
Learn more about the Chicago City Hall Green Roof
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City of Milwaukee Planning Projects
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Near North Area Plan, Image credit: Conservation Design Forum
In 2010, CDF completed three very different projects for the City of Milwaukee Department of City Development. The first was a stormwater policy, planning, and engineering analysis for the 30th Street Industrial Corridor on the northwest side of the city, which examined the ability of a suite of green infrastructure practices to meet state water quality standards. CDF led a planning team to prepare the comprehensive land use plan for the Near North Area, which includes the 30th Street Corridor, intended to guide new development that builds upon the neighborhood's strengths, history, and resources, and integrates sustainable planning and design strategies into the neighborhood fabric. The Near North Area Plan, one of 13 Milwaukee neighborhood plans, is complimented and driven by the Milwaukee Citywide Policy Plan, a unified policy framework for creating a sound and sustainable future for the City of Milwaukee, which was also written by a CDF-led team. The Policy Plan is based on four core principles grounded in the need for the City of Milwaukee to consider development choices with respect to the relationship between and impact on the economy, environment, and equity of the community, while allowing for full citizen engagement in the process to determine the future of the City. Learn more: Milwaukee 30th Street Industrial Corridor
Near North Area Plan Milwaukee Citywide Policy Plan Back to top
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November 23, 2010
The Corridor General Membership Meeting
Jason Navota, Urban and Regional Planner, CDF
November 30 - December 3, 2010
Vancouver Cities Alive 2010
David Yocca, Principal Landscape Architect/Planner, CDF
February 17, 2011
Midwest Ecological Landscape Association (MELA) Conference
James Patchett, President and Founder, CDF
April 2011
University of Arkansas Department of Landscape Architecture
James Patchett, President and Founder, CDF
More eventsBack to top
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