GardenDesignOnline

Design: Parking Lot to Garden

 

OLIN Studio

 A brand-new garden in one of DC's poorest areas, Anacostia, opens to the public on Friday, November 16.  Designed by The OLIN Studio, Canal Park was once part of the city's historic Washington City Canal, which connected the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers. It was paved over more than 100 years ago and in recent years was a parking lot for school buses.

Located on the Capitol Riverfront, the three-block site is near the Washington Nationals baseball stadium, the Washington Navy Yard, the US Dept of Transportation, and much new development in the mixed-use community.

Canal Park features a linear rain garden that recalls the old canal and its floating barges.  It includes an interactive fountain, performance areas, sculptures, a cafe with outdoor seating, an ice rink in winter.  The park will host numerous events each year, including farmers' markets, festivals, movies and concerts, art shows and eductional programs.

The park was designed with sustainable features, including native plants, reclaimed or sustainably harvested wood, geothermal heating and cooling, green roofs, low-flush toilets and fixtures, and much more. Steve Benz, OLIN partner & Director of Green Infrastructure, says "Canal Park is a unique place that delivers an artful assembly of social, economic and environmental performance.  As a successful social space, people can enjoy the re-established natural systems previously lost to development while providing an economic stimulus for the surrounding area."

Seems like the park will be extremely popular.  For more on its development, see the video here.

 

 

Books: All About Green Roofs

It's probably the handiest little guide you'll find on the basics of installing a green roof ... and if you already have a project in mind, it'll let you know whether it's a good idea or not.

The book you want is the latest Guide from the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Green Roofs and Rooftop Gardens (BBG Guides for a Greener Planet) by Beth Hanson and Sarah Schmidt, Editors.

As editor Beth Hanson notes in the introduction, green roofs are a very good idea:  they lower roof temperature and extend roof life, absorb rainfall, and attract wildlife.  In 2010 alone, 4.3 million square feet of green roofs were installed by members of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, double the footage of the previous year.

The books answers basic questions about green roofs and how they work and case studies of more than 10 different roofs in New York City.  There are also chapters on the basics of green roof construction, plants that work in green roof systems, and yes! even a chapter on rooftop container gardening for those that don't want to go for an entire re-do. 

Plus, a very useful list of green roof resources, including several books that go into far more detail.  If you're interested in "green," you want this book on your shelf.

 

 

 

A Very Cool Tool

I first stumbled across this on the blog Inhabitat, and it's a "must know about" for every gardener and landscape designer.

Yes, it's an electric composter by NatureMill, made right here in the USA.  You plug it in, feed it kitchen waste (and either "brown" material like chopped up leaves or sawdust pellets, which the company sells) ... and a couple of weeks later, a little light comes on and tells you that your compost is ready to use.

It takes 5 pounds of waste material a day or 120 lb. a month, and it will even take meat and fish.  If you live in an apartment, or have room in your kitchen, it can be installed inside a cabinet.

I think I'd prefer using it outdoors, and I think the perfect place would be just outside the kitchen door if you have an outlet there.  (If you don't it would be worth installing one).  With more and more cities requiring homeowners to compost kitchen waste, this machine is the perfect answer for almost everyone.

For years, I had a back yard composter that was almost more trouble than it was worth.  It worked, but it was rather unsightly, so it was way at the back of the garden, a long way in cold winter weather.  According to the manufacturer, the electric composter uses just 5 kwh per month and costs an average of 50 cents per month to run.  Two models -- $199 and $299 for the deluxe model ... seems like a grand bargain to me.

(photo: NatureMill)

Green Roof Revolution

Despite the economic climate, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) reports that the green roof industry grew by a healthy 28.5 percent last year, up significantly from 16 percent growth in 2009.

For the seventh straight year, Chicago (its Millennium Park pictured above) led all other cities in the country, installing more than 500 thousand square feet of green roofs. Washington DC came in second, with more than 400 thousand square feet, followed by New York; Philadelphia;  Norfolk, VA; Milwaukee;  Baltimore; Atlanta; and Seattle/Tacoma.

Steven Peck, founder and president of GRHC, said that the top cities in the survey "continue to lead the way with incentives and regulations that recognize the many benefits from green roofs, including much needed green jobs in their communities." He said the federal government is also leading the way on green roof development, citing in particular the Environmental Protection Agency and the General Services Administration.

In Chicago, chief environmental commissioner Suzanne Malec-McKenna noted that green roofs help capture stormwater, insulate buildings, reduce the effects of heat islands and create new green spaces for people and wildlife.

GRHC also reported that there are now more than 425 accredited green roof professionals around the country, and the organization hopes to accredit many more in coming years with its program of courses that are offered across the country.

 

Green Roofs / Green Walls: Learn How

I can't think of a garden designer I know who isn't interested in knowing the basics about installing green roofs and green walls.  If you haven't yet designed one, (or even if you have) you might want to check out the new learning center at Green Roofs for Healthy Cities.

At the organization's Living Architecture Academy, you can now download the proceedings of past annual conferences, along with slides and research papers that accompanied the presentations.

GRHC is also offering recordings of past webinars and other educational sessions -- for which you can earn CEU's if you're an accredited Green Roof Professional.  If you prefer, you can download audio files onto your iPOD if you want to listen wherever you like. 

There's also a monthly green infrastructure webinar series featuring subjects like wind guidelines for green roofs, principles of integrated design, and much more.

 

 

 

Green Roof Awards 2010

I'm a little late this year with coverage of the annual awards of excellence by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, but their conference was held late last year, and it more or less got buried in the holiday madness. So here goes:

Extensive Residential Award

 

From even a short distance away, you'd be hard pressed to know that a sizeable family compound lies underneath this lovely hillside landscape.  Designed by McGlashan Architecture of Berkeley, CA, there are two separate residences sculpted into the hillside under one extensive green roof housing three generations.  Extensive green roofs are planted in shallow soil with low-lying plants, usually no more than six inches high, that provide maximum water retention and ground cover and resistance to erosion.  According to Scott McGlashan, president of the firm, "it just felt right to compensate for disturbing the site with a living roof. Birds, bees and butterflies are regular visitors."  McGlashen added that in just two years, the roof was "a thriving ecosystem."

The judges noted that the project was "beautifully integrated into environment and landscape" and they cited in particular its success in restoring the natural ecology.

Intensive Residential Award

I have to admit I love the urban life, and if I lived in Portland, OR, I'd do my best to have a place in the ASA Flats and Lofts, designed by GGLO of Seattle.  Atop the building's retail and parking facilities, there's a five thousand-plus square foot green roof on the 4th level that includes a community vegetable garden, a sitting terrace, and expansive open space.  There's no irrigation, but there are a number of recycled whiskey barrels used for collecting rainwater.

This is an intensive green roof, ie, one that can support a more natural landscape with trees and shrubs as well as sitting areas, terraces and the like. On the 16th level, there's a sunset terrace with a common recreation area, a sitting lounge and fire pit.

GGLO Associate Marieke Lacasse said the design is "programmed for gathering and human interaction -- to instill a sense of community in a very urban location." 

Intensive Institutional

I first saw this green roof back in 2006, right after it was installed.  What a difference from several years ago!  It sits stop the headquarters of ASLA in downtown Washington DC, about six or seven floors or so above street level.

Designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates,  it features two planted and elevated "waves" separated by a spacious patio area. I particularly like the paths made of aluminum grating elevated three inches above the soil surface.  As people walk over them, the plants are "pruned" naturally as they grow up through the grating. Make sure to visit if you're in the DC area, and if not, there's more on the green roof here.

(photos: Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and (top) McGlashan Architecture; (middle) GGLO; and (bottom) ASLA and Conservation Design Forum)

 

 

USA's Largest Green Wall

Longwood Gardens opens its new East Conservatory Plaza thie weekend -- October 9th -- with the first terraced lawn in the US designed by British landscape architect Kim Wilkie -- and the largest green wall in North America.

Longwood Director Paul Redman says the design is "deeply rooted in tradition, while also embracing innovative landscape design."  He added that the plaza is to serve as a place for quiet contemplation and a site where visitors can experience creative new programs. 

The green wall covers an area of 3590 square feet -- twice as large as the green wall at PNC Bank in Pittsburgh -- and it supports more than 47,000 plants, most of them ferns.  They include holly, rabbit's foot and button ferns as well as maidenhair and asparagus ferns.

The terraced plaza is composed of five tiers covered with grass in a sweeping form.  Landscape architect Wilkie says the main idea was to create "a gentle environment of light and shade that would be transformed by the changing hours of the day, a place where people could relax in the morning sunshine, enjoy views out onto the rest of the gardens, take in a special event, or perhaps even attend a sparkling party at night."

The plaza is grounded in the surrounding woodland landscape, which includes a 200-year-old English yew, red maples, sweetgum, bald cypress and tulip trees, as well as southern bush honeysuckle, Virginia sweetspire, and other shrubs.

Well worth a visit to Pennsylvania.

(drawings: courtesy Longwood Gardens)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Design: Sustainable Landscapes

Everyone seems to be into sustainable design and sustainable landscapes ... and ASLA has just put up a sustainable design feature on their website featuring 20 projects across the country ...  parks, residential properties, schools, corporate projects, green roofs.

It's a great overview of what's going on in the sustainable design arena.  Check it out here.

Garden Trends 2011

The big news in gardening for 2011 is not really a surprise ... gardeners are into growing their own food and participating in projects to make their urban and suburban communities "greener" in coming years.

The latest Garden Trends Report from the Garden Media Group says that "gardening with a purpose" is taking hold ...whether it's creating "green" sanctuaries, growing fruits and vegetables, or promoting gardening projects in city schools. 

As the group's outdoor living and garden expert Susan McCoy puts it, "We had trouble trouble wrapping our heads around saving the rain forests, but we clearly can wrap our arms around saving our own back yards."

According to GMG, vegetable gardening is up 20 percent and community gardening up 60 percent over the last year.  Moreover, gardeners are choosing eco-friendly products instead of toxic chemicals, using organic soils, and transforming their lawns into sustainable landscapes.  In addition, more people are planting fruit-bearing shrubs and trees; using perennials and long-blooming shrubs instead of annuals; and are taking steps to plant natives and drought-tolerant species that can survive in a variety of conditions. Vertical walls are also popular ... along with farmers' markets and CSA's (Community Sponsored Associations) that provide homeowners with weekly deliveries of fresh produce.

Finally, GMG says a new kind of urban lifestyle is emerging, offering more green space for everyone.  Parking lots are being converted into "parklets" and more cities are installing outdoor plazas where people can socialize or simply enjoy the outdoors.

Good trends for everyone.

Sustainable Gardening Survey

A new survey by the American Society of Landscape Architects has found that most American households are taking action to adopt practices to promote energy efficiency within their homes -- but not outside in the garden.

The survey indicates that 90+ percent of Americans turn off light bulbs more often, 55 percent have decreased the use of air conditioning and heating, and 38 percent unplug appliances when not in use, but the percentages drop drastically when people move outdoors.

Only 29 percent of respondents plant shade trees to lower energy costs; 23 percent use tools like hand mowers or hand rakes instead of power mowers and leaf blowers; and only 15 percent recycle water or collect rainwater for watering plants.   Most people said they would institute sustainable techniques in the garden if they knew more about them, and most agreed that such methods would save them money.

ASLA Executive Vice President and CEO Nancy Somerville said the survey results "clearly show a desire and willingness to use techniques that reduce utility bills at home, but few know what can be accomplished outside their homes."  She added that the space between buildings is "just as important -- perhaps more so -- to not only reducing energy costs ,but addressing a broad range of environmental issues."

ASLA, along with the US Botanic Garden and the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, are soon expected to release voluntary guidelines and a rating system for sustainable landcape design, covering back yard gardens as well as major urban developments.  A recent case study comparing a conventional and a sustainable garden found that the sustainable garden cost $4300 more to install, but it uses 77 percent less water, produces 66 percent less green waste, and costs 68 percent less annually to maintain.  Holly Shimizu, Executive Director of the US Botanic Garden, said once the new standards are in place, they can "change not only the landscape and gardening industry, but also raise public expectations about the health and quality of the built environment."