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Greenroofs.com News
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Green Walls & Trends in Atlanta: Our Green Wall Editor, George Irwin, and I had the pleasure of speaking to the Georgia Chapter of the USGBC recently about greenroofs and greenwalls at Atlanta City Hall - see my blog post at right. As you might imagine, we had an extremely sophisticated, and I'm glad to say, packed-to-capacity audience. George talked about the multitude of systems available plus his own experiences with urban farming and I presented my favorite categories of the last 3 years of our Top 10 List of Hot Trends in Greenroof Design, plus some of the emerging trends and projects for 2010 - by the way, if you want to submit any suggestions or projects to Haven Kiers, our Design Editor, and me, please do so: linda@greenroofs.com.
And City of Atlanta Landscape Architect Bill Brigham, ASLA, gave tours of the greenroof - the first municipal greenroof in the U.S. southeast and the first non-irrigated greenroof, too! We've been having a bit of a heat wave here, so the plants were a little fried, but that's the point of a test greenroof, right? It still looks great, just a little ragged.
Upcoming Events: We're entering the second half of 2010 with a ton of domestic and international greenroof-related conferences, congresses, and festivals. Although it's great that we have many options, in today's economy choosing which to attend is very challenging. We're planning on attending many - are you?
Expect to read all about them, from London to Mexico City to Singapore, Adelaide, Vancouver and beyond, in a series of Guest Feature articles highlighting each, starting with the Boston GreenFest, see right.
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Greenroofs of the World™ Calendar
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 The 2010 Greenroofs of the World™ 12-Month Wall Calendar:
July features the Frances Bunzl Administration Center of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, GA, a 6,680 sf Modular Institutional Non-Profit Extensive Greenroof by Saul Nurseries. Viewed atop the Savannah College of Art and Design Dormitory (2009), the Bunzl Administration Center is one of three greenroofs at the Woodruff Arts Center complex. Set within a sculpture garden below, Magnolias are flourishing on the huge overstructure greenroof (2004). The Woodruff Arts Center is dedicated to promoting sustainability; the Bunzl living roof retains about 62,000 gallons of stormwater/yr. Saul Nurseries and ItSaul Natural provided the plants and growing media for all of the projects.
August features the Haworth Corporate Headquarters in Holland, MI, a 45,000 sf Extensive Greenroof by LiveRoof. The new One Haworth Center is a 300,000 sf testament to adaptable, user-focused, sustainable design. The living laboratory of innovative organic workspace solutions is registered for LEED®-NC Gold certification. The LiveRoof® Standard 4" modules were chosen because LiveRoof® came fully vegetated at installation, and its patent-pending soil elevation technology allows sharing of water, nutrients and beneficial organisms across the entire rooftop for natural function & natural beauty.
Do you want your project included in the upcoming 2011 Greenroofs of the World™
12-Month Wall Calendar? Click here for more information. |
| Industry News |
CitiesAlive 2010 Green Roof and Wall Conference Announces Agenda and Launches Online Registration: Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) and the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) are pleased to announce the release of the conference agenda and online registration for the 8th Annual CitiesAlive Green Roof and Wall Conference in Vancouver B.C., Nov. 30 - Dec. 3, 2010. [7.15.10]
 The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) announced support for new Senate legislation designed to encourage green infrastructure - a novel, sustainable approach that uses natural systems of trees, plants and soils to manage rainwater instead of the overburdened and outdated infrastructure that currently exists in cities. In most instances, rainwater picks up pollutants as it flows from driveways, parking lots, roofs and roadways before pouring untreated through the sewer system into the nearest watershed or drinking water supply. Introduced by U.S. Senator Tom Udall, the Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act (S 3561) offers grants and technical assistance for communities to use green roofs, rain gardens and other sustainable approaches that naturally capture and clean the rainwater - often preventing the water from ever entering the sewer system. Learn more about the issue here. [7.7.10]
 Green Roof Incentive Scheme for Singapore: National Parks continues to offer their Green Roof Incentive Scheme to encourage owners of existing buildings to green their rooftops. Under the scheme, NParks will fund up to 50% of installation costs of green roofs or a maximum of $75 per m2, whichever is lower to boost the level of skyrise greenery and enhance the city's image in high activity corridors. The scheme is open to all existing buildings in Downtown Core, Orchard Road, Rochor, Museum, Singapore River and Outram planning areas. [7.1.10]
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LiveRoof has a position for a Grower in Spring
Lake, MI.
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| NewsLinks |
The challenge of rooftop gardens
Shanghai Daily, by Zhang Qian
Green walls, green spaces around buildings, green elevated road edges, as well as green roofs have improved the city, making it more attractive and healthy. Green rooftops help during frequent storms in Shanghai's summer. Studies show they can retain up to 75 percent of the rainwater in given storm, gradually releasing it back into the atmosphere through condensation and transpiration, while retaining air pollutants in the soil. [7.26.10]
A shade cooler: Tree cover and green spaces can help cities beat the heat
Boston Globe, by Aaron Bernstein
The study found that just one shade tree could trim 7 percent from the annual cost of cooling a well-insulated home. Another worthy cooling intervention, particularly for cities, are roofs covered with vegetation. These green roofs provide benefits year-round; they are cooler in summer and hold in heat better in the winter. They also absorb water, thus reducing storm run off and help to reduce the chances for bacterial contamination of beaches. [7.20.10]
Rare birds raise secret brood in Birmingham
Treeehugger, by Jennifer Hattam
Once a popular home for the birds, Sheffield is now the center of an effort to bring the nationally rare species back by creating a network of green roofs on new and redeveloped buildings, imitating the sparse, wild vegetation the birds favor. According to The Guardian, the black redstarts have become a high-profile indicator of green roof success in London, where the bird's bombsite toehold has expanded thanks to the new, high-rise form of urban greenery. [7.9.10]
Bold public-private venture aims to make Ore. city an 'Icon of Sustainability'
New York Times, by Michael Burnham
GE plans to use Portland as a model for sustainable development deals with other U.S. cities. The feasibility study (pdf) envisions a 10- to 15-story building with 60,300 square feet of photovoltaic panels spread across its exterior. The rooftop will capture rainwater for use in sinks and showers, and the resultant gray water will be treated naturally on-site and reused in toilets, mechanical systems and planted ecoroofs. [7.7.10]
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| Upcoming Events |
August 12: GRHC - Green Roof Professional (GRP) Accreditation Exam in Toronto, Canada
August 15-18: GovEnergy 2010 - The Premier Energy Training Workshop & Trade Show, Dallas, TX
August 17-19: Ag Progress Days, Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, Rock Springs, PA
August 19-21: Boston GreenFest 2010, Boston, MA
August 26-28: Farwest Show, Portland, OR
September 10-13: ASLA 2010 Annual Meeting & EXPO, Washington, D.C.
September 15-16: World Green Roof Congress 2010, London, UK
September 15-17: 21st Century Building Expo & Conference, Charlotte, NC
September 16-19: GRHC - Green Roof Boot Camp in Portland, OR
September 22: Extensive Green Roof Professional Meeting, Rochefort/Mer, France
October 7-9: World Green Roof Congress - WGRIN, Mexico City, Mexico
October 20-23: Green Roofs Conference, Adelaide Zoo, Australia
November 1-3: International Skyrise Greenery Conference 2010, Singapore
Nov. 30 - Dec. 2: 2010 Green Roof and Green Wall Conference - CitiesAlive! Conference, Vancouver, Canada
For a complete listing, visit Upcoming Events. |
| Featured Sponsor
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| Exclusives |  | Linda S. Velazquez
Editor & Publisher, GRP
Publisher:
Read what I've been blogging about in my latest Sky Gardens posts:
Beautiful & Green Eden House for Sale
Also known as 901 Moreland Avenue, this modern single family Atlanta home is Gold LEED certified and stunning in its design aesthetics and use of environmentally friendly products. The 1,500 sf greenroof wraps the abode almost completely on four sides, and other green features include the use of eight rain barrels, Environmentally Preferable Products, solar canopy shading, extensive daylighting, and much more.
A Living, Woolly Even, "Outdoor Room with Jamie Durie"
Have you seen HGTV's first season of "The Outdoor Room with Jamie Durie" yet? I love it! 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.
Learn About Green Walls with Linda & George in Atlanta
I was asked to present on the subject last November for the USGBC GA Chapter and of course I proposed our Green Wall Editor, George Irwin, too. Atlanta City Hall was suggested as a possible location, and I knew it was perfect because of their beautiful greenroof and the willingness of its resident landscape architect and greenroof guru, Bill Brigham, ASLA, to share his experiences.
Take a S.W.I.M. Coalition Green Roof Tax Credit Survey
Kate Zidar, from the Stormwater Infrastructure Matters (S.W.I.M.) Coalition in New York City, collected 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.
Contributing Editors:
Energy Editor: Continuing with his 7-part series "Cooler than Cool Roofs: How Heat Doesn't Move Through a Green Roof," read Part 3: Keeping Drought-Resistant Plants Cool, by Chris Wark. By the way, we've been getting some inquiries - although it's Chris' 4th installment of this highly popular series, it's titled Part 3 because the first was an Intro!
Plant Editor: Do You Speak "Green Roofs" with an Accent? by Ed Snodgrass. In cooking, isn't it amazing what just a small amount of the right spice can do for the taste of a dish? Ed feels the same is true for a green roof. If the right accents are used, you can dramatically increase the aesthetics and diversity of a green roof while not affecting the cost or reliability. With that in mind, he shares some of his favorite "accent" plants. Also, see his speaking schedule.
Guest Feature Articles:
Coupling Rainwater Collection with Living Roofs: A Water Quality Review, by David Williams and Jon Kinder. The pair from Prairie Designs in Austin discusses a recent report from the Texas Water Development Board which evaluated the "Effect of Roof Material on Water Quality for Rainwater Harvesting Systems." The study centered on the effect that different roof treatments have on the water quality of collected rainwater - see how greenroofs fared.
Green Roofs at Boston GreenFest 2010, by Demetria Spinrad. For the third consecutive year, the non-profit Foundation for a Green Future, Inc. will run Boston GreenFest on August 19-21, a 3-day multicultural environmental festival located at Boston City Hall plaza. This year over 100,000 visitors are expected and greenroofs will be a featured topic again through presentations and exhibitors - read on.
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Just send your content to our Editor and it will be reviewed for publishing on www.greenroofs.com. Email your info to linda@greenroofs.com.
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