This week the brand new
ASLA Green Roof Education site launched at ASLA.org. The site is targeted mainly to middle school students and educators, and offers a host of resources, lesson plans, Flash tours, and 360 degree immersive video. The site focuses on four major ecological benefits of green roof technology: reducing the urban heat island effect, stormwater retention, air purification, and increasing habitat.
Poke around the new site and let us know what you think!
This week Chicago Public Radio's program "Worldview" interviewed Marcus De La Fleur, ASLA, about how he convinced his landlord to improve his rental home's stormwater management. De La Fleur's design hits all the major stormwater management points: removal of old pavement and turf lawn and replacement with rain gardens, gravel grass, porous pavement and rooftop gardens. The story also provides a good answer to the question of "what is a landscape architect?”
Listen to the interview online here.
January 25, 2008 3:18 PM
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From the
Style Saves the World blog, here's a company called
Sustainable Pet Design that makes dog houses with green roofs. Their custom-built "Dog Dens" are constructed of zero-VOC wood, treated with beeswax water-proofing, and the plants used on each roof are tailored to be native to the customer's bioregion. The dens are cute, but they are not cheap!
Check the catalog to scope out the prices; has your dog been extra good to you lately?
December 11, 2007 12:10 PM
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"And down through the chimney with good Saint Nick..."
In what's becoming
a December tradition, a jolly, inflatable Santa is holding court up on the green roof. You can watch his antics live on the
green roof webcam. While you are there online be sure to check out the latest data released this fall about the environmental benefits of the green roof. The full briefing report can be found
here. The comprehensive water monitoring report can be found
here.
August 27, 2007 11:27 AM
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The Dirt loves green roofs, and likes to see them doing their good environmental work everywhere. So even though it's not the most glamorous place for a green roof,
here's a story out of Michigan about the city of Grand Haven's recently installed green roofs overtop their new dumpster enclosures downtown. The two new roofs, which measure more than 450 square feet, use a modular system from a division of Hortech Inc., the same company that covered a Ford Motor Co. facility with a 10-acre green roof.
Click through for more information, and to read the best green roof lead in a while:
"The dumpster enclosure roofs in the downtown parking lots are alive!" [Photo by Tribune photo/Mark Brooky]
August 1, 2007 11:44 AM
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Last Sunday's
New York Times covered the growing green roof movement, this time focusing on urban New Jersey.
Tom Bauer, ASLA, served as guide.
"It is the right thing to do, for so many reasons,” [Bauer] said. He cited “aesthetic improvement,” meaning that people living and working up high get to look down on garden greenery as opposed to black tar and gravel, and “environmental improvement” — the natural cooling effect of “green” roofs and their efficient use of rainwater.The
Times piece has a great quote from a happy customer:
“Size is not the important part,” Mr. Miles said emphatically.... “You just need a little place to drink your beverage in the morning or at night, and to take a breath outside, and get a feel for the day.”Read the full article
here.
Early this morning, the ASLA green roof was
the star of the local WUSA news channel. ASLA staffer Keith Swann took reporter Howard Bernstein and his camera crew on a tour of the roof and highlighted all the benefits of green roof technology. WUSA is the metro Washington, D.C., CBS news channel.
Click here to read the channel's article online, and
here to launch the media player to see the interview.
Monday's Minneapolis Star Tribune covered tentative plans to cover the 144,000-square-foot roof of the Target Center with a green roof. The Target Center is a multiuse arena where the Timberwolves (NBA) and Lynx (WNBA) teams play.
No one is quite sure yet whether the existing roof will be able to support the additional weight of a green roof, but folks in city government seem pretty keen on the idea already. From the article:
If installed, Target Center would become the largest building in Minnesota with a green roof surface. What's more, it could be among the 10 largest green projects in the world. "Bragging rights," said Minneapolis Finance Officer Patrick Born."A priceless branding tool for a city," said Mark Andrew, an environmental consultant to sports teams and facilities.
Attention, Minnesotans! Do you like green roofs? What about ice cream and music? Well, tomorrow you can get your fill of all three as
Macalester College in St. Paul
dedicates its second green roof on their Kagin Commons building. The roof was constructed last fall and has been planted for the spring. The dedication is part of the college's weekly "EnviroThursdays" events.
By the way,
The Dirt would want to stay for the weekend and check out the Theater and Dance Department's production of
The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Now that's a cool title for a play.
April 19, 2007 12:01 PM
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Last week, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities
announced the results of their industry survey on green roofs. The results show the amazing growth of and interest in green roofs.
From the announcement:
The Survey indicates a growth rate of more than 25% over 2005, representing more than 3 million square feet installed in 2006. For intensive
green roofs that typically incorporate larger plants, the growth rate was 110% in 2006.Click through to the Green Roofs site where you can download a full report on the survey and the results.
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