December 31, 2004

Local Business Briefs
Santa Cruz Sentinel - Santa Cruz,CA,USA
Green Roof Innovations of Carmel and Hadj Design Group of Seattle will offer a Living Roof Workshop -- Level One 9 am to 1:30 pm Jan. ...

December 30, 2004

Wanted: More Living Roofs
Style Weekly - Richmond,VA,USA
... accessible to the public. The winner gets $28,000 toward the cost of building a green, or "living," roof. The idea, according ...

December 23, 2004

Roof in a Garden' Design Wins Paris Competition
Dexigner - USA
French firm Seura, headed by architect David Mangin, has been selected to redesign the Les Halles quarter in Paris. Seura beat three ...

December 18, 2004

Star Jones In Roof Garden Flap
The Smoking Gun - USA
... In 2002, Gatanas's company built a garden on the roof above Jones's Upper East Side penthouse duplex, which the TV personality dubbed the "girlfriends's garden ...

Pupils win top prize for garden
Glasgow Evening Times - Glasgow,Scotland,UK
GREEN-fingered pupils are celebrating after winning a top environmental award for a garden on the roof of their Glasgow school. ...

UW-Extension consumer horticulture agent
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Milwaukee,WI,USA
Q: Mike of Cudahy - Hi Sharon, I have an interest in putting rooftop garden over a flat ... "Green roofs consist of a layered snadwich of roof deck, waterproof ...

December 14, 2004

Rooftop gardens in Japan
The Malaysia Star - Malaysia
... Being one of the pioneers in rooftop gardens, garden manager Hisafumi Oyama, 65, said government officials studied the Komat'su garden as a model when ...

Third R+T building will have accelerator centre and green roof
UW Student - Waterloo,Ontario,Canada
The third building in UW's research and technology park will have a green roof and will house a business accelerator centre as well as providing office space ...

A Penny For Your Thoughts
Falls Church News Press - Falls Church,VA,USA
... include a stormwater retrofit featuring three LID best management practices: a bio-retention basin, also known as a rain garden; a green roof, and permeable ...

Washington knows its domes.
Washington Post - Washington,DC,USA
... the light. Earlier this year, he did a dome of wood and stone in the roof garden at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He previously ...

December 7, 2004

Ford museums on a roll
Concord Monitor - Concord,NH,USA
... walls. The roof, also covered with plants, is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest living roof. Cisterns ...

More development coming to Dulles Corner
Loudoun Times-Mirror - Leesburg,VA,USA
... in the office buildings. A "green roof" will be used on either the hotel support or retail building. This technique incorporates ...

Takenaka Develops Shallow Planting Rooftop Gardening System
Earth Vision - Arlington,VA,USA
... newly developed rooftop gardening system at the Shizuoka International Garden and Horticulture ... possible to plant ornamental flowers and shrubs on the roof of a ...

December 6, 2004

Houses of the future attract thousands in Sydney
Infolink Architecture & Building - Australia
... concrete pipes to create a flowing series of rooms between two flat concrete slabs. The roof garden was used to filter recycled water. ...

December 3, 2004

It's not just pretty plants
Beloit Daily News - Beloit,WI,USA
... When they are seeking a TIF we will be talking to them about the prospect of having a green roof and waste water reduction techniques," Barrett said. ...

December 1, 2004

Notes on the State of American Architecture #2
Archinect - USA
... For Smith, 185 plastic rocks + 7 tons crushed glass + 4 tons rubber mulch + 560 artificial boxwoods equals MoMA's new roof garden. What a guy. ...

Last Cleaned May 2006

November 30, 2004

Sky's the limit for 'green roof' advocate
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Milwaukee,WI,USA(Must sign form)
... market. Monnat's firm has installed a green roof over the parking garage at its Gaslight Lofts apartments in the Third Ward. "It ...

It's good to think green
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Milwaukee,WI,USA(Must sign form)
... One example Marcoux uses to make his point is the so-called "green roof" atop the city's revamped Highland Gardens housing project at 1818 W. Juneau Ave. ...

November 28, 2004

Bureaucrats 'make disabled girl a prisoner in her home'
Telegraph.co.uk - London,England,UK
... Katie Smith's parents say that she has become a prisoner in her home after the council banned the use of safety railings on a roof garden built specially for ...

November 25, 2004

Victor Yool
San Francisco Chronicle - San Francisco,CA,USA
... is the stuff of dreams and a second-floor apartment with no garden whatsoever. Rick does, however, have access to the sunny, flat tar-and-gravel roof of his ...

LA Demonstration Garden grows, diversifies
Los Alamos Monitor - Los Alamos,NM,USA
... "Roof gutters collect water, and then it spills down through spouts into a rain barrel on the ground and into perforated pipes buried in the garden," Valdez ...

November 15, 2004

Modernist icons usher in new design era
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Milwaukee,WI,USA
... Its many environmentally friendly features, including plentiful natural light and a "green" roof, should give the building long-term sustainability. ...

Landscaped Roofs Have Chicago Mayor Seeing Green
National Geographic - USA
... Ford Motor Company created a 10.4-acre (4.2-hectare) living roof, the world's largest, atop its Dearborn, Michigan, truck plant final-assembly building. ...

November 13, 2004

Greener, literally: Ford's better ideas for newest plant include ...
Pittsburgh Post Gazette - Pittsburgh,PA,USA
... The roof of Ford Motor Company's new Dearborn Truck Plant is designated by Guinness World Records as "the world's largest living roof," and includes skylights ...

November 3, 2004

Using rain barrel saving water
... What are Rain Barrels? They're systems designed to capture and store rainwater coming off a roof, usually attached to a downspout. They consist of a storage ...

Observatory Building rose to new height
DesMoinesRegister.com - Des Moines,IA,United States
... The main roof served as a roof garden complete with a stage for theatrical shows and a view unlike any other in Des Moines. Lights

November 2, 2004

Cool beans
Professional Roofing - USA
... upgraded with fastener and seam repairs, followed by a single-coat application of ELMS 150 liquid membrane designed for restoration and waterproofing of aged ...

Last cleaned May 2006

October 30, 2004

Rolls-Royce Wins Architecture Award
CARkeys - UK
... Partly below ground level, the building is famous for its specially planted "living roof", and the grounds are landscaped with more than 400,000 trees and ...

Ideas on cutting water use.
The Age (subscription) - Melbourne,Victoria,Australia
... other environmentally friendly additions, such as the solar panels lining their roof. ... that recycles water to flush their toilets and water their small garden. ...

October 23, 2004

Resident hits the roof over terrace garden
Richmond and Twickenham Times - UK
FORMAL action has been launched against Richmond upon Thames Council after a terrace garden was permitted on top of a flat roof. ...

October 22, 2004

Our Man in Arlington
Falls Church News Press - Falls Church,VA,USA
... capture runoff from the roofs of the pavilions, and a system of pipes on the roof of one of the small buildings that constantly drips water into the garden. .

Burpee goes green
Rockford Register Star - Rockford,IL,USA
... A focal point of Burpee's green campaign is Rockford's first roof garden, a 750-square-foot rooftop over the west entry. The garden ...

Planting memories
Seattle Times - Seattle,WA,USA
... The Issaquah-based Pomegranate Center is seeking volunteers to learn how to plant a "green roof," similar to roofs atop Chicago's City Hall, the Seattle ...

Keith Building reopens after renovations
New Bedford Standard - New Bedford,MA,USA
... region.". The most noticeable renovation is the expansion behind the building, but what goes unseen is the new green roof. "This ...

October 18, 2004

Terminal Building on East Carson Street, South Side: $55,000
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh,PA,USA
... nitrates. Tenants of a five-story apartment complex planned near the grocery store will be able to take in the view of the green roof. ...

Turns of Phrase: Green roof
By fitting a 'green roof' to your house, you will do your bit for both
energy and wildlife conservation. ... GREEN ROOF. It's also ...

Building a better house
Lihue Garden Island - Lihue,HI,USA
By Phil Hayworth - The Garden Island. ... Today, along with shorter roof overhangs, the combination of new hurricane-resistent building innovations and technology ...

October 16, 2004

Time for mellow fruitfulness
The Scotsman - Edinburgh,Scotland,UK
... A cocoa-shell mulch was in place at the war memorial garden at Edinburgh Castle, but it kept blowing off what is, effectively, a roof garden. ...

MPSC head sees green future
Traverse City Record Eagle - Traverse City,MI,USA
... Saturday workshops include developing local food systems and getting locally-grown products into schools, ecology education, "green" roof construction and home ...

October 15, 2004

'Green roof' projects funded to aid stormwater management
Pittsburgh Business Times - Pittsburgh,PA,USA
... As part of the construction of a rooftop garden, structural roof support, a waterproof membrane, drainage and two to six inches of soil must be installed. ...

New Student Centre opens at U of T at Scarborough
CNW Telbec (Communiqués de presse) - Canada
... The three-storey, 4,350-gross-square-metre (48,000-square-foot) building, which features a green roof, water conservation technologies and sustainable ...

October 14, 2004

A garden grows up Surprise! Sunflowers and tomatoes can be grown ...
San Francisco Chronicle - San Francisco,CA,USA
... She was referring to the roof garden, the Food department's green space and experiment in supplying herbs to The Chronicle test kitchen and Cooking School. ...

Rooftop harvest
San Francisco Chronicle - San Francisco,CA,USA
... This summer's roof garden is three times the size of last year's experimental garden. ... Of nurture. The roof garden drew us to it and perhaps to each other. ...

October 12, 2004

Sustainable Students seeks continued success
The Tartan - Pittsburgh,PA,USA
... three years ago. A small group of students met to discuss the construction of a green roof for Hamerschlag Hall. Green roofs are

October 10, 2004

You can cut your water bill to just R1
Independent Online - South Africa
... For the rest, he uses rainwater collected from his roof and channelled through a ... baths, showers and the washing machine, which is used to water his garden. ...

Last Cleaned May 2006

September 30, 2004

BROADWAY housing building opens
Daily Vanguard - Portland,OR,USA
... The building boasts a 15,000-square foot eco-roof, largest in Multnomah county. The roof combines soil, gravel, grasses and cacti.

BURPEE exhibit examines wildlife
Rockford Register Star - Rockford,IL,USA
... Green Roof: Sit at a bench looking out the window bay to check out the green roof. The roof used to catch rain that would flood the park- ing lot. ...

September 14, 2004

IS that a Garden on Your Roof?
Newsweek - New York,NY,USA... There is no such thing as a completely maintenance-free garden, roof or whatever you have any time you're dealing with plants. ...

September 6, 2004

ROOF gardens: looking good, saving money
Boston Globe - Boston,MA,USA... For example, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel & Towers off Boston Common has a green roof that's part garden, part sponge, and part insulation.

''DISABLED garden set for living roof
Wandsworth Borough Guardian - Wandsworth,England,UK A living roof of plants on top of a new environmentally-friendly building could be the centrepiece of a revamped garden in Battersea Park, run by and for ...

September 2, 2004

LIVING roof to cap centre for 'eco city'
New Zealand Herald - Auckland,New Zealand ... Reductions in pollution and flooding from stormwater runoff are also claimed due to the roof garden holding rain and filtering it. ...(Note: I think all flat roofed buildings should be constructed with roof gardens.)

HOW green is your roof? Landscaping is rising to a new level
Seattle Post Intelligencer - Seattle,WA,USA... Alexander's roof can be seen by neighbors, who have responded positively, and by people driving down to Golden Gardens, who can see the west end of the garden ...

THE sky's the limit: Roof collection system harvests water from ...
Billings Gazette - Billings,MT,USA ... version of the old rain barrels - depends on a metal roof, sloping gutters ... mention, the dishwasher, clothes washer, the hot tub and the drip-irrigated garden. ...(Note: Another extremely cool idea of using the water that falls from the sky.)

Last Cleaned May 2006

Welcome to our archives for 2004.

Be sure to check out our previous months stories on Green Top Roofs.(GTN)

Wanted: More Living Roofs
December 29, 2004 If Mayor-elect L. Douglas Wilder really wants to reshape City Hall, he now has a chance to do so literally — by changing the way it looks on the outside. No tense meetings, shouting matches or litigation is required. Only an application to the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, which is sponsoring a "Green Roofs Contest" for nonresidential buildings accessible to the public. The winner gets $28,000 toward the cost of building a green, or "living," roof. The idea, according to Jessica Blackburn, an alliance associate, is to "educate people about green roofs by letting them actually see and experience one." She says, "Any public or municipal building would be perfect."
A living roof is composed of a series of layers of drainage and filtering materials topped with soil and plants. While traditional roofs repel and redirect rainfall in concentrated torrents, living roofs mimic the natural world. They absorb up to 70 percent of any given rainfall and then filter the excess.

As a result, unlike the rainfall deposited by, say, Tropical Storm Gaston, water doesn't bounce off and contribute to flooding. It flows gradually into rivers and streams instead. Green roofs also provide superior insulation, mitigate noise and retard fire. Plus they look nice.

Richmond City Hall, in contrast, was recently described as "Stalinesque" in the London-based magazine "The Economist." But its Soviet ambience is the least of the building's problems. Since 1972, when it was built, thousands of marble slabs attached to the exterior of the 450-foot-high edifice have cracked, cupped and bowed.

In order to prevent these slabs from falling onto the heads of the citizens the building was meant to serve, the city installed fiberglass straps and corner supports. Then in 2002, a $19.5 million renovation project began. The project will leave the building looking pretty much the same. It is scheduled for completion in April.

Chicago's City Hall has a living roof. And architects on the Richmond project initially thought about green roofs for each of the four quadrants extending from the building's second floor, says Fred Ortiz, of the Richmond-based firm Scribner, Messer, Brady and Wade. But city officials nixed the idea because of cost.

A $28,000 award, however, might be just the thing to inspire reconsideration. And if not, Ortiz says, his firm is working on two other municipal possibilities: the Richmond Coliseum and Main Street Station Phase II. But in the world of municipal building renovations, the architect concedes, money is always an issue.

"You're free to think as wild as you can, and you get all these ideas," Ortiz says. "But then the client says, 'We only have this much money.'"

In addition to municipal buildings, the alliance's Green Roofs Contest will consider applications for buildings that are multiresidential, mixed-use, commercial, industrial or recreational. Any such building in Richmond or Petersburg, or in the counties of Chesterfield, Goochland, James City, Henrico, New Kent or Powhatan is eligible.

So even if Wilder decides to confine his ax-wielding activities to the indoors, somebody somewhere will get a green roof.

Feb. 14 is the deadline for applications, which can be found online at www. acb-online.org. — Laura LaFay
http://www.styleweekly.com/article.asp?idarticle=9615