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Green Roof Design and Installation Instructors: Meaghan Pierce-Delaney, Thandi Rosenbaum Course Description: "The idea of greening a roof is not a new one and, in fact, dates back thousands of years. Civilizations in Mesopotamia originated the concept (Dunnett and Kingsbury 2004), and Greeks, Romans, Persians, and other cultures had some form of roof gardens to green and cool their often brutally hot landscapes. The famed "hanging gardens of Babylon," for example, were actually planted on rooftops. At the other climatic extreme, sod roofs have long graced homes in Scandinavia, providing extra warmth and insulation in cold, wet climates. Nature itself is the inspiration for green roofs, depositing seeds that germinate in leaf, dirt, and rock piles on garden sheds, in gutters, and on seemingly inhospitable, often flat, stretches of roof. Green roofs did not attain widespread use until more recent times, and then only in parts of northern Europe, where the scarcity of land for new buildings, combined with the development of new roofing materials like concrete, were driving forces behind their modern adaptation. When Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and other countries embarked on a post-World War II building campaign, they utilized green roofs for practical, environmental, and aesthetic purposes. As cities expanded to the edges of the countryside, green roofs represented an innovative way to preserve green space, reduce the impact of development, and help filter and purify the air. Planted roofs increased oxygen output, softened urban streetscapes, reduced impervious surfaces, and contained storm water runoff to vital tributaries and major bodies of water that supplied drinking water to millions of people." This course will have three components. First, we will look at precedents through published case studies and visiting a few regional examples. In the second part of the course will review the technical components and the layering of the green roof and wall systems. In the final part of the course, we will construct a green roof and green wall and then plant them with our selected vegetation. What to bring: images of a site, if any, information on pitch of existing roof, location relative to watershed, major open spaces around them. A brief synopsis of why they are interested in green roofs. Course Objectives: Students will explore the history of Green Roofs and Green Walls throughout time to the modern day. Understanding the economic, environmental and social forces that are driving the boom in green roofs and walls will be our goal, as well as learning roofing and walling systems and plant types. Hands on construction of our project roof and wall will give participants the opportunity to understand the ease with which a simple roof can be assembled.
Recommended Readings: Snodgrass, Edmund and Lucy Green Roof Plants Timber Press Birkeland, J (2002) Design for Sustainability Earthscan London Braungart, M & McDonough, W (2002) Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things Northpoint Press Earth Pledge (2005) Green Roofs: Ecological Design and Construction. Schiffer, Atglen, PA. Givoni, B (1998) Climate Considerations in Building and Urban Design Wiley London L ovejoy, T & Hannah L eds. (2005) Climate Change and Biodiversity Yale University Press, New Haven McHarg, I (1971) Design with Nature Natural History Press, Garden City, NY Roaf, S. (2004) Closing the Loop Benchmarks for Sustainable Buildings RIBA Enterprises London Todd, John and Nancy Jack (1994) From Eco Cities to Living Machines North Atlantic Books
DRAFT Schedule:
Movies
Design Outlaws Manufactured Landscapes Rivers and Tides
Readings….
Ecological Design, intro 1-18 Chap 3 ‘design with nature Chap 5 ‘make nature visible
Cradle to Cradle Chap 4 waste = food
John Todd Ch. 10 ocean arks, restoring the water
John Todd: From Ecocities to Living Machines – Epilogue: Living machines and the years ahead.
Rainwater harvesting – Brad Lancaster Rain Gardens Green roofs – Earth Pledge Planting green roofs and living walls
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