Green Roof Design Awards 08

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, a not-for-profit industry association that promotes the construction of green roofs throughout North America, has announced the winners of its 2008 design awards.

All of this year's winners are quite spectacular -- whether they are intensive or extensive green roofs. If you're not clear on the difference, intensive green roofs are roof gardens with a soil depth anywhere from one to 15 feet that can support many types of plants, including trees and shrubs, and require irrigation and maintenance.  Extensive green roofs are self-sustaining, planted with low-lying groundcovers up to six inches high that can be supported in just two to four inches of soil.

This Chicago roof garden on Michigan Avenue -- The Residences at 900 -- won an "Intensive Residential" award for Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects LLC, also of Chicago. Ornamental grasses, perennials and annuals bloom at different times and offer seasonal color and winter interest while evoking a natural Midwestern landscape.  Residents can enjoy the roofscape year-round, under a shady pergola or out in the open on a sizeable deck with barbeque grills, tables and chairs.  A grove of Japanese tree lilacs helps block the views of office workers in taller surrounding buildings.

This extensive green roof has been installed atop an eight-story parking garage that connects the tallest apartment building in Kansas City, Missouri, and another building under refurbishment next door. In just six inches of soil, award winner Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company included lawn and lush plantings in a 17 thousand square foot garden that includes a special area for dogs, and cabanas where residents can socialize with their neighbors.  According to Green Roofs, the design concept provided tenants with "the same amenities you would find in a luxury European hotel or resort with small spaces for privacy and relaxation."  No wonder the building has a 90% occupancy rate -- almost 20 percentage points higher than buildings in the rest of the city. 

And well, who says all green roof projects have to be horizontal? This award for green wall design went to Sharp & Diamond Landscape Architecture Inc for its "living wall" at the Vancouver Aquarium. It was designed to educate the public about the benefits of a sustainable landscape by replicating native cliff ecology.  The wall covers 500 square feet and screens visitors from a noisy street and a parking area.  All the plants on the wall are native, and hardy enough to withstand Vancouver winters.  A drip irrigation system using rainwater collected on the roof -- along with fertilizers -- supplies the plants with nutrients and water they need to survive.

The living wall attracts birds, bees, butterflies, and other insects that pollinate some of the plants or feed from them.

And just a mention of a couple of other winners -- this award goes to Rana Creek Living Architecture for its extensive institutional green roof atop the California Academy of Sciences museum in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. The 2.5 acre roof is planted with vegetation that both insulates and cools the building. Nine native plant species also provide habitat that links to an ecological corridor for the city's wildlife.

And how about a big cheer for the nation's capital for a change?  The DC government won the civic award of excellence for its leadership role in promoting green roofs throughout the city. Mayor Adrian Fenty has established a goal of 20 percent green roof coverage on all city-owned buildings by 2020.  Shown here is the green roof on the Franklin D. Reeves Center in downtown DC.

Images:click to enlarge.
Credits:
all: Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (www.greenroofs.org) AND:

1) Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects and Scott Shigley
2) Jeffrey L. Bruce & Company
3) Sharp & Diamond Landscape Architecture
4) Rana Creek
5) DC Government

Comments

[Dinflux Ed]

Wow the winner did that in 6 inches of soil? I need to hire him to do my garden because in south florida after about 6 inches you hit solid limestone