30 Nov
Professor Manfred Köhler’s visit to Australia has been confirmed from February 24 to March 8, 2008.
His visit will include opportunities for Green Roof Australia Inc members to hear his talks about both:
The importance of green roofs and walls against climate change.
The importance of combining green roofs with photo-voltaics (solar energy collectors) on rooftops so that [...]
29 Nov
Greener Buildings.com reports that a Michigan State University study has found that the area covered by green roofs increased by 80 per cent in 2006 from the previous year. The report continues:
The study found that while growing, cost is a barrier to the spread of green roofs, which can cost twice as much as a [...]
28 Nov
The place for some exotic weeds in urban environments has been debated by urban ecologists and permaculturists. Now, Eat The Suburbs researcher Adam Grubb has told The Age’s Katherine Kizilos that some exotic weeds can help us respond to climate change and subsequent food supply issues. While he acknowledges the need for ‘pure’ indigenous habitat, [...]
26 Nov
Eco-geek reports that low-maintenance grass blankets on rooftops can insulate buildings with pitched roofs. A US manufacturer now makes it easy and practical with grass tiles. The tiles have rubber bases that allow rainwater to drain properly. However, those considering grass roofs must check with their local council. Also, always call in a structural engineer [...]
19 Nov
London may soon be a city of ‘Living Roofs’ if the findings of a research study are adopted as part of the Mayor’s London Plan.
The Mayor’s architectural adviser Richard Rogers began to argue the case for Living Roofs in 2003, but this has been given new support in a report commissioned by Design for London [...]
18 Nov
The Green Building Council of Australia has just announced the Green Cities Conference 08. The program is yet to be finalised, but GRA will update you about our involvement with this important event.
16 Nov
Succulents are known to thrive on low profile roofscapes with minimal water, low fertility mediums, high heat and windy conditions. But they can also survive on rooftops at below freezing temperatures, reports the New York Times.
Sedums and other hardy succulents can survive winter temperatures of 10, 20, even 30 degrees below zero. They are the [...]
16 Nov
Arkansas’s KTHV reports:
Over the past two weeks, workers in Little Rock have been using a crane to hoist 90 species of plants and more than four truckloads of soil atop the former president’s library and museum. They are transforming what had been a plain looking roof into a garden surrounding Clinton’s penthouse apartment.
Instead of an [...]
15 Nov
Anyone who coveted the Baggins hobbit house (above) in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy would be impressed with Andrew Maynard Architects’ contemporary take on this theme, below. The firm’s residential project in Mount Macedon, Victoria, features a full green roof, incorporating the environment to such an extent that the house appears to be [...]
15 Nov
Some hotel foyers in north Queensland boast indoor plant structures, but Edward Warburton believes his company, Greenwall Australia, has built the first modular indoor green wall in Australia.
The bar wall at Sydney’s Gazebo Wine Garden, says Warburton, is made up of 36 greenwall modules that fit to the curve of the bar.
“There are 324 plants [...]
8 Nov
On the ABC’s Difference of Opinion, CEO of Environment Business Australia Fiona Wain (pictured) said jobs in carbon-offset industries are crucial for Australia to maintain competetive in world markets.
And this morning, AXcess News reports that green roofs are an important part of the US’s $341 billion green collar industry:
Cities across the country are training and [...]
8 Nov
The November 2007 issue of the peer-reviewed journal BioScience has published ‘Green Roofs as Urban Ecosystems: Ecological Structures, Functions, and Services’, by Erica Oberndorfer, Jeremy Lundholm, Brad Bass, Reid R. Coffman, Hitesh Doshi, Nigel Dunnett, Stuart Gaffin, Manfred Köhler, Karen K. Y. Liu, and Bradley Rowe.
The article gives a history of green roofs and [...]
7 Nov
The US Environmental Protection Authority is encouraging cities to start roof garden programs, reports the Washington Post.
The EPA’s goal is decreasing the heat-island effect found in cities, which raises temperatures in urban and suburban areas by several degrees. The agency estimates that increasing an urban area’s acreage of planted space by just a few percentage [...]
7 Nov
A domestic green roof in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has cost around US$10 a square foot, or A$35 a square metre, reports the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. This is because the plants chosen, growing in a mineral-based growth medium, do not require expensive irrigation.
“The best quality of the [succulent] plant is that it lives on existing rainfall. If [...]
5 Nov
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
1 Nov
Sydney-based Jim Osborne, principal of Material Landscape Architecture, has been appointed a NSW representative of the Green Roofs Australia Inc.
Mr Osborne is currently active in green roof developments in Sydney.
A registered landscape architect, he is environment chair and a member of the executive committee, NSW Chapter, Australian Institute of Landscape Architects; and a committee member [...]
1 Nov
Ten months after Green Roofs Australia president Geoff Wilson campaigned to replace the iconic Parliament House roof lawn with more sustainable plant varieties, the Secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services, Hillary Penfold, said authorities are looking at more drought-friendly alternatives for the great roof expanse.
But Parliament House architect Romaldo Giurgola (pictured) says grass is [...]
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