green roofs

Austrian art collective Gelitin has created an installation titled “Normally, Proceeding and Unrestricted With Without Title”.  You can row around this four feet deep artificial rooftop lake in boats made from from reclaimed timber and junk-store furniture with oars assembled from old chair legs.

Chicago, driven by the vision of Mayor Richard Daley, has become a national leader in promoting green buildings.

Green buildings "tread lightly on the earth," says Chicago environmental commissioner Suzanne Malec-McKenna. Not only are they constructed in part from recycled materials, but they are also water- and energy-efficient and healthier for people to live and work in.

It is a spring day, maybe 50 or a 100 years from now, and New York and Los Angeles are very different places from the ones you knew back in 2008.

A new trend is beginning ... the concept of a living green roof. While its mostly used in commercial properties at the moment, it does show promise, and hopefully will migrate to residential properties as well. Very interesting!

Speakers discuss national green infrastructure initiatives, local environmental programs underway in Alexandria, Va., including smart growth and transportation alternatives, as well as the growing involvement of religious organizations and members in the issues of environment and climate change.

Green roofs reduce heating and cooling loads on a building, reduce stormwater run off, filter pollutants and heavy metals out of rainwater, and filter pollutants and CO2 out of the air. And they can be beautiful too! Check out these pictures of mega-greenroofs from around the world! 

For any UK Hugg members that are free on 8th November. I have a number of free places for a full day seminar programme that will have leading international and local experts in green roof systems and technologies. The programme of speakers is relevant to anyone interested in small or large scale building projects.

Click the link to read more about the day and the speakers. If you want to come along, you MUST book a place - BUT DON'T BOOK IT ON THE SITE'S LINK!!!

Every time it rained, Majora Carter cringed. "I lived in mortal terror whenever I thought it was going to rain," Dr. Carter says, remembering how the rainwater seeped from the street into her Bronx brownstone. Then she and her husband, James Burling Chase, realized that the source of the problem wasn't on the ground, but on the roof.

A project began in a southern china bamboo forest and finishes in Tribeca New York. A bamboo small house/large party bed was created in china and shipped to USA flat pack(Round Pack) The house was surrounded by green roof modules 2 by 1 feet which absorb rain runoff and protect a new membrane roof. The project also utilizes recycle tire tiles for walking space. The project was commisioned by a former race car driver hoping to offset his lifestyle choices.

Timothy Ivory http://bamboofurniture.com

Thought of by many as a “new” technology, green roofs have actually existed for hundreds of years, yet are now making a significant impact on the building industry worldwide. In its simplest form, a “green roof” is a roof structure supports and allows for the growth of flora, or plant life, within itself. Green roofs originated in Iceland, where buildings were created with sod roofs as a result of the lack of natural building materials found there. Green Roofs are typically divided into two categories - intensive and extensive.

A great introduction about green roofs--everything from what they're good for, different types, how to get one, maintenance, and how much they might cost you. And with pretty pictures!