A survey has found that New York is among the US cities where the practice of putting green roofs on buildings is growing fastest.
The survey was by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, a non-profit North American group based in Toronto, which is a founding member of the World Green Roof Infrastructure Network (WGRIN).
Such roofs are [...]
Archive for the ‘Around the world’ Category
13 Nov
New York is fastest US green roofer
21 Aug
Patrick Blanc’s vertical gardens
Recently in Melbourne for the International Design Festival and to celebrate his latest installation at Melbourne Central, French botanist and artist Patrick Blanc continues to wow people around the world with his vertical gardens.
Unlike many Australian green walls, Blanc’s gardens are not made with engineered panels. Instead Blanc uses plants that will grow on felt [...]
9 May
WGRIN starts climate change response
Seven countries have set up a non-profit international association to run the World Green Roof Infrastructure Network (WGRIN) to promote sensible climate change responses around the world.
The seven countries met at the April 30 to May 2 sixth annual international greening rooftops conference in Baltimore in the United States. The WGRIN headquarters office will be [...]
28 Apr
Sky vegetables could change world food business
By GEOFF WILSON
Building and operating commercial greenhouses on supermarket rooftops in the United States is the award-winning idea for a new business named Sky Vegetables.
It is an idea expected to be widely adopted around the world as peak oil cost increases and climate change problems seriously challenge traditional agricultural production.
Last month the Sky Vegetables’ business [...]
17 Mar
Roofing contractor aims to put himself out of business
Green Roofs Australia (GRA) has been very fortunate to receive this photo documentation from a roofing contractor who is hoping green roofs will put more traditional roofs out of business.
Washington roofing contractor Troy Wagner replaced his own roof with greenery after he observed that green roofs last much longer than “clean roofs”.
He sent GRA a [...]
14 Jan
New York district sets example
The three greenest residential towers in the US, each with solar energy, recycled water and a green roof, are in the same district of New York, reports the Daily News. Treehugger also reports that this area of New York is leading the country in green roofs:
Battery Park City is a neighborhood in New York City, [...]
5 Jan
Fukuoka building leaves green footprint
Above: ACROS Fukuoka building, Japan, via Metaefficient website.
One of the world’s most inspiring green roofs is the ACROS Fukuoka building in Fukuoka City, Japan. It houses offices, retail space, a 2,000 seat theatre and a museum.
Designed by Emilio Ambasz & Associates, it was built on the last available green space in the city. The design [...]
4 Jan
Green roofs can take root on almost any structure
This US video explains the benefits of green roofs in a nutshell.
Architects are now thinking beyond retail and residential buildings for their green roofs:
Above: The Hundertwasser toilet block, photo kindly provided by Karl Wooton, New Zealand. Below: Another Hundertwasser creation in Vienna Photo via Utrecht School of Art & Design.
And [...]
30 Nov
Manfred Köhler to help kick-start new direction in Australian green roofs
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
Green roof coverage rapidly expands
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 [...]
26 Nov
Grass tiles ideal for pitched roofs
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
‘City of living roofs’ proposed for London
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 [...]
16 Nov
Succulents tolerate extreme conditions
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
Clinton builds green roof
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 [...]
8 Nov
Green-collar workers crucial to growing industry
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
Journal calls for more green roof studies
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
EPA pushes for green roofs
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
Herbs and sedums make cheap option for domestic green roofs
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 [...]
14 Oct
ABC Radio National podcast
Listen this Wednesday at 9am for a repeat of a Radio National interview about green roofs. Or download the podcast here.
Alan Saunders interviews Christian Werthmann, Associate Professor in Landscape Architetecture, Graduate School of Design, Harvard University. Wertmann is also author of Green Roof – A Case Study (Princeton Architectural Press), left, which we will seek [...]
12 Oct
Retrofit a cheap, effective option
AJC reports that a building first constructed in 1946 recently received the highest level accreditation by the U.S. Green Building Council.
It is the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, platinum building in the city of Atlanta and only one of four in the Southeast.
Half the building houses the Dynamic Dish vegetarian [...]
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