Native Americans & Others Go Green

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities has announced its 2006 green roof award winners, and the roof pictured at left is certainly a winner!  It's atop a museum and research center at the Mashantucket Pequot Reservation in southeastern Connecticut. The architect was Polshek Partnership Architects of New York City.

The facility is located at the edge of the Great Cedar Swamp, and the tribe wanted a perfect transition between the museum roof and the adjacent swamp, a 500 acre wetland of historical significance and cultural importance to the community.  The roof is used for educational and cultural events and the roof garden will eventually supply the museum kitchen with seasonal foods traditionally used by Native Americans. Among the original plantings were low bush blueberry, daylily, strawberry, wormwood, spearmint, tansy, and sage.

A special recognition award went to Koch Landscape Architecture in Portland, Oregon, for the courtyard roof at the 10th at Hoyt Apartments. It was planned to comply with the City of Portland's guidelines for on-site stormwater runoff.  This inspiring design is reminiscent of Persian water features:  water channels, cascades, and fountains are activated for about 30 hours after a rainstorm.  The water is cycled into and through shallow detention basins, cisterns, and lighted boxes, and then it's slowly released into the city water system.  This enclosed courtyard roof garden is 8500 square feet and it's open to the street on one side.

(top photo: Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center;
bottom photo:  Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and Koch Landscape Architecture) 

The awards were presented in May at the 4th Annual Green Roofs Conference in Boston, and appropriately enough, one award winner was from the Boston area.  Sasaki Associates, Inc. of Watertown, MA was honored for the green roof atop 601 Congress Street in the Seaport District of Boston.  This green roof is about 11 thousand square feet and it's on the 12th floor terrace of a 14 story building. For safety reasons, the planted area is restricted to maintenance  personnel, but there is seating space on the terrace with views to the city and to the water beyond.

Plantings are mainly low-growing, flowering sedums and low natural grasses with drifts of taller varieties of Miscanthus. A glass railing has been installed along the paved terrace, allowing views through to the plantings and to views far in the distance.  This project was cited for its multiple benefits, including energy savings, noise reduction, biodiversity restoration and enhanced amenities for building occupants.

For more information on all the green roof winners, visit the green roofs website, www.greenroofs.org.

(photo: Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and Sasaki Associates, Inc)

Comments

[Green Roofing]

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