Green roof neWS

International Green Roof Association Global Networking for Green Roofs

Issue 1|2016

Green roof neWS

Main Theme: Productivity and Healing – Benefits of Green Roofs

Green Roofs Worldwide

Spotlight

Research and Development

Events

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Dear Reader,

In a knowledge work economy, people are the engine that keeps companies growing, adapting, improving and innovating. A University of Melbourne study shows that glancing at a grassy Green Roof for only 40 seconds markedly boosts concentration.

Other studies of the designs of green space and Green Roofs in working environments and healthcare have shown that effective and innovative landscape design can be a powerful tool for supporting employee perfor-mance and patients' recovery by significantly improving productivity, health and wellbeing.

Hospitals constantly struggle to balance ever-tightening financial positions with quality medical services. Green Roofs are gaining more recognition as an innovative solution to managing costs and serving patients. Better access to the outdoors, reduced impact on the environment, and economic savings all add up to better patient care.

You can find information about the benefits of Green Roofs on productivity and recovery as well as news from the new remote sensing technology and further reports from Green Roofs worldwide in the UK, Poland, Netherlands, Greece, Portugal and Denmark on the following pages.

Have fun reading!

Sabine Frueh Public Relations IGRA

Editorial

Main Theme: Productivity and Healing – Benefits of Green Roofs 3 Introduction to the Topic: Benefits of Green Roofs on Human Productivity and Healing

4 Green Roofs Could Improve Productivity: Just a Moment of Green Can Provide a Boost for Tired Workers

6 Researchers Quantified Human's Innate Need for Natural Concepts: Interview with Kate E. Lee, Researcher at the University of Melbourne

8 A Roof Designed for Work and Play: Facebook Headquarters in Menlo Park

10 Office Complex “Green Place” in Milan, Italy: Haven of Tranquility for Employees

12 Innovative Solution to Managing Costs and Serving Patients: Hospitals Adding Rooftop Gardens to Improve Patient Care

14 The Rancagua Regional Hospital in Chile: More than just a Healing Environment

15 Senior Residence Südpark in Basel: Green Oasis on an Underground Carpark

Green Roofs Worldwide16 Barbican Beech Gardens in London: Intensive Roof Garden with Reduced Maintenance

17 Katowice International Conference Centre: A Green Passage across a Roof in Poland

19 Water Buffer Location and Green Lounge: Kellebeek College – an Innovative Education Center

21 Copenhagen City Project: The BLOX – New Dynamo for City Life

22 Urban Architecture and Quality of Life in Trofa, Portugal: Municipal Building Fits Perfectly into the Surroundings

23 Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center: The “Green” Buildings of the Municipal Sports and Leisure Park of Kallithea

Spotlight24 Find us on facebook: IGRA´s Green Roof Content up to the Minute

24 New Dimensions in Green Roof Research: Remote Sensing – Green Roof Inventory and Potential Analysis


27 Introducing Productive Green Roofs to Imbaba, Cairo, Egypt: Retrofitting Green Roofs to the Urban Morphology of Informal Settlements

Events (Review and Forecast)28 14–16 October 2015, Nagoya, Japan: World Green Infrastructure Congress – Vegetation Makes It Possible

29 23–24 November 2015, Vienna, Austria: 1st European Urban Green Infrastructure Conference

30 17–19 November 2015, Bonn, Germany: European Conference on “Nature-based Solutions to Climate Change in Urban Areas and their Rural Surroundings – Linkages between Science, Policy and Practice”

31 20–22 April 2016, 53rd IFLA World Congress in Turin, Italy: Tasting the Landscape

32 27–28 April 2016, IX International Conference Moscow: Waterproofing and Roofing Materials “AquaStop”

33 October 2016, Bogotá, World Green Infrastructure Congress: Ecoservices and Well-being: The Next Green City

34 13 April – 15 October 2017 International Garden Exhibition Berlin: An OCEAN of Colours

Title image: Shop & Trade office building in Athen, Greece – a spectacular view on the pitched Green Roof from ground floor one. © H. Pangalou

PublisherInternational Green Roof Association (IGRA)Office NuertingenPO Box 20 2572610 Nuertingen – Germanye-mail: [email protected]: +49 (0)7022 7191980web: www.igra-world.com

EditorsSabine Frueh, Wolfgang [email protected]

The International Green Roof Association (IGRA) is a global network for the promotion and dissemination of Green Roof topics and Green Roof technology.

The contents of these pages are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without the written approval of IGRA. All images, unless otherwise noted, are copyrighted by the International Green Roof Association – IGRA.

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The International Green Roof Association (IGRA) cares about including nature in building design for many reasons. One of them is because it is becoming increasingly well demonstrated that nature elements such as Green Roofs have real, measurable benefits for such human perfor-mance metrics as productivity, emotional well-being, stress reduction, learning, and healing.

Nature encounters help alleviate mental fatigue by relaxing and restoring the mind. Having green spaces and vegetation in and around the places where people work and study or try to get back to health is a good investment. Both visual access to and being in green spaces helps to restore the mind´s ability to focus. This can improve job and school performance, and alleviate mental stress and illness.

In everything we do, IGRA´s goal is to inspire people to design spaces and buildings that are prepared for the future – designs that aid the healing process, enhance the workplace, accelerate scientific discovery, support the learning process, and preserve the natural environ-ment.

The measurable benefits of Green Roofs on physical and mental health and well-being, employee´s perfor-mance and creativity are discussed in greater detail on the following pages of this issue of Green Roof News.

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MAIN THEME Introduction to the Topic:

Benefits of Green Roofs on Human Productivity and Healing

Main Theme

Seniors residence Südpark, Basel – An oasis of well-being on top of an underground parking garage within one of the most densely populated areas in Switzerland. © ZinCo AG

A University of Melbourne study shows that glan-cing at a grassy Green Roof for only 40 seconds markedly boosts concentration. The Green Roof provided a restorative experience that boosted those mental resources that control attention.

In the study “40-second Green Roof views sustain attention: The role of micro-breaks in attention restoration” published in the Journal of Environmental Psy-chology [1], people who took 40 seconds to focus on an image of a Green Roof had improved performance for attention-oriented tasks.

The study gave 150 students a boring, attention-sap-ping task. They were asked to press a key as a series of numbers repeatedly flashed on a computer screen, unless that number was three.

The students were given a 40-second break midway through the task to view a city rooftop scene. Half the group viewed a flowering meadow Green Roof, the other half looked out onto a bare concrete roof.

[1] (Lee, K.E., Williams, K.J.H., Sargent, L.D., Williams, N.S.W., & John-

son, K.A. (2015). 40-second Green Roof views sustain attention: The

role of micro-breaks in attention restoration. Journal of Environmental

Psychology, 42, 182–189.)

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MAIN THEME Green Roofs Could Improve Productivity:

Just a Moment of Green Can Provide a Boost for Tired Workers

Main Theme

These are the images shown to study participants, one with a green flowering meadow on the city roof and the other of a stark concrete view. © University of Melbourne

Bishops Square, London: The headquarters for Allen and Overy with three landscaped Green Roof terraces provide an area where staff can relax during breaks and also help to reduce urban heating. © ZinCo UK

After the break, students who glanced at the greener vista made significantly less errors and demonstrated superior concentration on the second half of the task, compared to those who viewed the concrete roof.

What accounts for these differences? The researchers term this period of viewing nature a “green micro-break”, those short and informal breaks, which happen spontaneously throughout the day. This effect was observed even though viewers only saw an image of a city Green Roof scene.

Thus, the authors state, Green Roofs could have similar attention boosting benefits as other forms of nature, that nature may not need to be perceived as highly restorative to boost attention, and that boosts to attention can occur in much shorter timeframes than pre- viously demonstrated. For more details about the research please read the interview with Kate. E. Lee on the next page.

Progressive companies like Facebook, with their new headquarters in Menlo Park (see page 9) and Google´s California headquarters named Bay View already have introduced Green Roofs, living walls and host of other features into their offices as well as the Central Bank of Lebanon in Beirut and Allen and Overy with their headquarters in London.

The thinking is these features are good both for the environment and for employees' mental health, productivity and innovation.

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Karela Office Park in Greece – The roof of the entire complex is vegetated with indigenous plants and incorporates a running track, turning it into an immense (8,000 m²) recreational space for the 1,800 employees. © Kokkinou Kourkoulas Architects

Even in a cityscape reinvigorating properties of natural images might be possible – the Central Bank of Lebanon in Beirut. © Green Studios

Kate E. Lee is a member of the Green Infrastruc-ture Research Group, a collaboration of scien-tists at the University of Melbourne studying how to maximise the benefits plants provide to urban environments. Kate Lee, Kathryn Williams, Leisa Sargent, Nicholas Williams, and Katherine John-son are examining how vegetated “Green” Roofs can boost the mental health of employees and improve workplace productivity.

Why did you choose a picture of a Green Roof instead of a landscape image? Do you have a special preference for Green Roofs? Why?

Previous research has shown that viewing nature for minutes-to-hours is associated with a range of well-being benefits. Our research shows that concentration boosts can occur within seconds of viewing a Green Roof city scene, in what we term a green micro-break. We rely on concentration to perform many common tasks, for example reading, writing, driving, and planning, to name a few. Employees working in tall buildings may not be able to see nearby street level vege-tation, but instead, may be able to see a Green Roof through the window. This suggests that Green Roofs have the potential to benefit thousands of employees working in nearby offices. With more people living and working in increasingly dense cities, Green Roofs may be a novel solution for incorporating city nature, and along with micro-breaks, for boosting our well-being and overall quality of life.

Can you tell me more about the Green Infrastructure Group? What are your targets?

I have been a member of this group since 2010 when I began my PhD. Please see our website for more information: http://ecosystemforest.unimelb.edu.au/research/research-themes/ecosystem-and-landscape-management/green-infrastructure-re-search/research.

The picture which you used was static. Do you think that the view on living roofs with swaying grass vegetation, insects and birds would improve the effect?

Our study uses a Green Roof image, but we have conducted follow up research showing that a real Green Roof view can also boost performance. Previous research has shown benefits from both images and real nature and recent research suggests that bird calls may have a role to play in restoring concentration and boosting well-being. It is possible that vegetation move- ment, insects, and birds may contribute to creating a fascinating nature experience, a crucial component for attracting and restoring concentration, but this has not been fully examined. We are currently conducting research to better understand the characteristics of Green Roof vegetation that may have a role in restoring concentration, so watch this space.

There are a number of companies who used landscaped roofs as leisure areas for their staff. How do you evaluate the direct contact with nature in comparison to the visual effect?

It is worth keeping in mind that are different ways of experiencing nature and that these may be associated with different kinds of benefits for people. For example direct contact with nature may be associated improve-ments with air quality that views alone may not. There is more research needed, however, before we can evaluate the comparative benefits of direct versus visual contact with nature. We are currently conducting addi-tional research alongside ecologists, urban planners, architects, public health experts, and local and federal government to more fully examine the types of benefits provided by direct contact with nature and the qualities of nature that are associated with benefits for people, the environment, and our cities.

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MAIN THEME Researchers Quantified Human's Innate Need for Natural Concepts:

Interview with Kate E. Lee, Researcher at the University of Melbourne

Main Theme

http://ecosystemforest.unimelb.edu.au/research/research-themes/ecosystem-and-landscape-management/green-infrastructure-research/research




Studies in Spain and North America showed that the preference for the aesthetic value of a Green Roof can be quite subjective. Did you made the same experience in your study? What Green Roof Design is most attractive in Australia?

We have conducted research examining 274 city office workers' preferences for Green Roof vegetation by asking them to rate a city scene with different digitally manipulated Green Roofs in the foreground. These 40 images systematically varied vegetation characteristics according to plant life-form, foliage colour, height, diversity and flowering. The most preferred Green Roof consisted of taller flowering grassy green vegetation, while the least preferred Green Roof consisted of lower-growing red succulents. Diversity in Green Roof vegeta-tion improved preferences for the least preferred Green Roofs. We observed similar patterns of preference for Green Roof vegetation as observed with traditional forms of nature which suggests that preferences ob-served in Australia could apply across different natural contexts.

What advice do you give to investors, companies and planners of company buildings worldwide?

It is important to consider the possible people bene-fits of Green Roofs, alongside the environmental and building benefits usually considered. Our results sug-gest that incorporating Green Roof views are a simple way of enhancing concentration in the workplace, often drained through modern work. Providing access to Green Roofs, and incorporating green micro-breaks, have broader implications for contexts outside the workplace for enhancing peoples' quality of life, and for contributing to healthier and more liveable cities. It is important that investors, companies and planners select plants and designs that provide people, environmental, and building benefits, that are preferred and publicly acceptable, and to ensure that the Green Roofs are visually accessible.

Interviewer: Sabine Frueh, IGRA

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Surrounded by high-rise buildings, the roof garden of the office building Pardo y Aliaga in Lima/Peru invites the staff to linger during the breaks. © Paisaje VIVO S.A.

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MAIN THEME A Roof Designed for Work and Play:

Facebook Headquarters in Menlo Park

Facebook employees looking for a break from sitting huddled over a computer don't have to go far from the company's new headquarters. They just need to walk upstairs – to the roof.

Facebook's new 40,000 m² headquarters in Menlo Park, California, known as MPK20, was designed by the renowned architect Frank Gehry and features a single, massive room – “the largest open floor plan in the world,” as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg describes it – covered by a 9-acre (3.6 ha) rooftop park. The park is filled with a plethora of native trees and flowers, lawn furniture, white boards, viewing decks and a half-mile walking trail overlooking the city's marshlands. It's more like a real park than the top of an office and is big enough to accommodate a large number of the 2,800 employees at one time, even on a warm summer's day.

Walking meetings are a tradition for the social networ-king company and a common sight on Silicon Valley tech campuses, including LinkedIn, Apple and Oracle, where a simple conversation could spark the next big idea. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the late Apple founder Steve Jobs and other tech titans are known for holding meetings on foot. Apart from the health be-nefits, a 2014 study by Stanford University researchers found that walking – especially in green surroundings – also boosts creative thinking.

But this Green Rooftop above the three-level Facebook building takes open space to new heights – literally.

“Work has become more mobile and fluid so you can actually step away from your desk and have a small conversation with people,” said Chris Guillard, a foun-ding partner of CMG Landscape Architecture, which helped design Facebook's Green Roof.

Helping to foster Facebook's work culture isn't the only benefit that the Green Roof brings. The roof absorbs heat and rainfall, helping the company cut energy use and runoff. In these drought-plagued times, many of the plants atop the roof can survive in dry weather, Facebook said.

Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park from the air. © Facebook

Employees can walk and work al fresco. © Facebook


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Located along the Pacific Flyway, the roof will also provide a place for birds to land during their migra-tions, and Facebook has partnered with the Santa Clara Valley and the Sequoia Audubon societies to help study what birds take refuge on the roof. They are also using the space to hold events with the community, city officials and employees.

Other tech firms have looked at incorporating Green Roofs in the design of their buildings to make the spaces more eco-friendly. But Facebook's new space is different in that it isn't just a basic garden.

“It's taking it beyond the traditional Green Roof, which is often just grass and succulents and not made to be used. This is really an area that is made to be used,” said Lauren Swezey, Facebook's sustainability and community outreach manager.

“It was more about creating an environment that our employees would thrive in than anything else”.

Project Data

Location: Menlo Park, California, USA

Year of Construction: 2015

Architect/Design: Frank Gehry

Landscape Design: CMG Landscape Architecture

Green Roof Area: approx. 36,000 m²

Evan Shivley's “Camp Out” tree stumps on the roof of Building 20 is one of 15 art installations throughout the building. © Facebook

The roof of Building 20 features 400 trees and a half-mile walking loop. © Facebook


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MAIN THEME Office Complex “Green Place” in Milan, Italy:

Haven of Tranquility for Employees

The contemporary office complex “Green Place” is in the heart of Viale Certosa, the most impor-tant business district in the north of Milan in Italy. Milan's renowned architectural practice, Goring & Straja Studio, designed “Green Place” for the international real estate investment com-pany, STAM Europe. The “Green Place” is particularly appealing due to its roof garden, approx. 1,100 m² in size, around which the three office buildings are situated.

Laid out in a strict geometric pattern, the garden is a constant eye catcher and a haven of tranquillity from the surrounding office buildings. At the same time, it is a vibrant venue for work breaks and meetings and for larger events held by the occupant companies. A superb work of art has been created with this garden, with great attention given to light, colour and form, providing a coherent element within the overall archi-tecture of the complex.

The building complex was completed in 2014. Approx. 7,300 m² of underground garage and more than 10,000 m² of office space are spread across the three buildings A, B and C. The lowest of the three building components has an extensive Green Roof of almost 400 m², the higher roofs are equipped with photovol-taic systems. Behind the large, glazed façades on the

ground floor, each building has its own individual lobby and a car showroom. The entire layout emphasises the roof garden as a common focal point. Because the new building complex connects seamlessly to the existing buildings, a courtyard is created that is typical of the traditional style of residential building found in Milan. However, instead of a rustic courtyard atmosphere, a clearly structured garden with specially selected plant beds and varying geometric shapes can be found. In addition, the linear, slatted bamboo structure of the façade fits in perfectly in the overall concept and, to an extent, lends structure to the building and plays with light and shadow. This concept, carefully planned and designed by the architects, requires the right technology if it is to be properly implemented.

Diversity in a checkerboard pattern

The different types of plants used, the light and dark materials for the pathways and the planter edgings create a fabulous frenzy of diverse colours, forms, heights and functions, in the middle of which the checkerboard pattern always re-establishes order. 21 Chinese Wild Pear trees, planted as individual trees in the planters shape the overall picture. Wide cover panels adorn the planter edgings and at the same time provide seating on which comfortable cushions can be placed.

Each of the offices allows for a fantastic view of the modern design rooftop garden. © Stefano Gusmeroli – MilanoFoto.it


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Planters positioned irregularly across the roof gar-den alternate both with pavements made with slabs, paving stones and black gravel, and with numerous large, rectangular, similar-size monoculture plant beds that are laid out in groups to resemble a checker-board. The beds contain very different plants for this reason: here we have the evergreen shrubs Japane-se Mock Orange, over there Golden Bamboo and Leatherleaf Sedge, here again we have Lilyturf Monroe White, over there scented Star Jasmine, always in an alternating pattern, which is what creates the special texture. Using a dark fleece covering for the plant beds creates optic clarity and at the same time reduces water evaporation at the surface. Regular irrigation of the plants is ensured thanks to the drip-line irrigati-on system installed in the substrate. At night-time, an ingenious lighting system provides for atmospheric illu-mination on the elaborate roof garden, as numerous meter-high rod-shaped lamps create a bizarre light pattern.

Project Data

Location: Viale Certosa 144, Milan

Site Area: approx. 1,500 m²

Construction Year: 2014

Architect: Goring & Straja Studio, Milan

Client: STAM Europe, Paris

Contractor: Percassi S.p.A

Looking outwards between the bamboo slats that are used as a sun shade, the haven of tranquillity garden catches the eye. © ZinCo GmbH


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Roof Garden for the Maternity Unit at the Civil Hospital Frankfurt. © ZinCo GmbH

MAIN THEME Innovative Solution to Managing Costs and Serving Patients:

Hospitals Adding Rooftop Gardens to Improve Patient Care

As hospitals around the world are increasingly adopting a patient-centered care model, they are also finding new ways to incorporate care into the built environment. One of the fastest growing trends is the installation of Green Roofs, or roof gardens, to create tranquil oases on otherwise barren rooftop spaces.

Doctors and nurses have long been aware of the fact, and numerous studies have also shown, that green vistas, natural sunlight and access to natural surroun-dings can improve patient psychological and physical wellbeing, reduce the duration of their stay and even reduce their need for pain medication. Access to green space is also helpful for friends and relatives who are understandably stressed at having a loved one inca- pacitated. Hospitals are not nice places at the best of times. Researchers have also shown that well-designed external spaces benefit hospital staff by providing them with rest and retreat opportunities, leading to increased job satisfaction, reduced absenteeism, lower staff turn- over and operating costs, and ultimately, improved patient care.

But what about hospitals where space is limited and high-rise wards are the norm? The insets on the next page show some practical examples from architects who see the potential of incorporating nature in the middle of their high tech medical buildings: on the roofs!

Beyond the direct medical and mental health benefits for patients and their families and the cost benefits for the hospital from lower medical treatment, Green Roofs also provide many environmental and economic benefits that ultimately serve both patients and entire communities. Environmental and economic benefits include, amongst other things, decreased storm water runoff. It is estimated that a Green Roof will retain 70 to 90 percent of the precipitation that falls on it during summer, and 35 to 40 percent during winter.

Green Roofs also save on heating and cooling costs, reducing in turn greenhouse gas emissions and pollu- tants. A roof garden will not only absorb heat, but also improves local air quality by filtering the air moving across it and exchanging carbon dioxide for oxygen through the process of photosynthesis. In addition to cutting energy costs, Green Roofs also protect the roof membrane, resulting in a longer roof lifespan.

Hospitals constantly struggle to balance ever-tightening financial budgets with quality medical services. Green Roofs are gaining more recognition as an innovative solution to managing costs and serving patients. Better access to the outdoors, reduced impact on the environment, and economic savings all add up to better patient care.

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The hospital building is designed around a landscaped central courtyard. Beneath it a two-level underground parking garage. © Onduline Avrasya

Therapeutic Garden on the roof of Schwabs' Rehabilitation Hospital. © ZinCo USA

Green Areas on different levels of Maasstad Hospital. © Van de Tol

Mesa Hospital Ankara, Turkey

Stepping out of a door into a healing garden is probably not possible due to illness, but in Turkey's Mesa Hospital in Ankara a Green Roof courtyard has been created so that patients can at least have a green view, even if they're not able to physically access the garden. The 1,000 m² intensive Green Roof was established on the top of the underground garage. The design of the Green Roof includes different flower beds, walkaways and benches. The Green Roof area is visible and accessible to mobile patients and thus provides a healing atmosphere.

Maasstad Hospital Rotterdam, Netherlands

Maasstad Hospital in Rotterdam is a progressive healthcare institution where the quality of patient care is of paramount importance. A great deal of attention has been given to design and customer experience at the building. The main structure of the monolithic hospital comprises squares and streets, six courts and the central axis of the hospital. The top floors open up the monolith, creating roof gardens beautiful to look at for patients who are rehabilitating after an accident or sur-gery and for patients with a chronic physical disability.

Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital, Chicago, USA

On Chicago's West side, the Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital decided on a Green Roof to provide horticul-tural therapy benefits and to allow its patients to prac-tice real life skills, all within the secure confines of the facility. Schwab's goal was to create a useful outdoor space that serves as an extension to the care that takes place inside the hospital. The hospital believes that access to beautiful outdoor spaces relieves tension and provides the restorative properties of nature. The Green Roof also works well for staff to conduct special therapy programmes, where patients can heal without feeling trapped inside a medical institution.

Can strategic design create environments that enhance wellbeing and healing? The Rancagua Regional Hospital in Chile can. The hospital is an exceptional example of sustainable design that uses architecture as a medium to help the healing process, both for its patients as well as for the environment around it.

Rancagua is both a city and a commune in central Chile and part of the Rancagua conurbation, located 87 km south of the national capital Santiago. In recent years the city has become one of the most attractive cultural and tourist centers in the O'Higgins Region, mainly due to the vineyards in the area.

The new Rancagua Regional Hospital was designed to the highest standards in clinical management, environ-mental comfort, energy efficiency and safety. As a full-service hospital, it covers the entire range of modern medicine providing hospital services for a population of 800,000 people.

It is set in nearly 9 hectares of land within the city limits to the west of the city, on the “Avanue Bernardo O'Higgins”, the most important road in Rancagua.

The 90,000 m2 horizontal rectangular hospital rises 6 stories high, with two-thirds of the medical architectural program being developed on the first 3 levels.

The project has been designed to be a sustainable building throughout its cycle of design, project exe-cution, operation and future demolition.

Greenery is prevalent throughout the hospital. Its extensive and intensive Green Roofs not only reduce air-conditioner loading, but also offer a landscape that both the patients and hospital staff can enjoy. The external landscape integrates seamlessly and har- moniously with the interior, creating a stress-free experience for the patients.

The Green Roof areas, which cover over 10,750 m², demonstrate an exceptional example of the integration of well-being and sustainable design with healthcare.

Project Data

Location: Alameda Bernardo O'Higgins, Rancagua. 34°9´18.15´´S 70°46´1.34´´W

Site Area: 90,000 m²

Construction Year: 2013–2015

Architect: Jaime Sáez Rojas – SWARQ Architects

Client: Health Service O'Higgins

Constructor Company: Rancagua Hospital CONSORTIUM SA


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The new Rancagua Hospital © Hábitat Sustentable ltda

MAIN THEME The Rancagua Regional Hospital in Chile:

More than just a Healing Environment

Greenery is prevalent throughout the hospital. © Hábitat Sustentable ltda

The Senior Residenz Südpark in Basel, Switzerland provides living space for the elderly, including 103 apartments as well as a 26-room elderly care unit. The arrangement of the apartments in the north and east wings of the building is ideal with regard to access, lighting, views and noise emissions. The view from the high-rise building sweeps across the city to the hills of the Black Forest to the north and the Bruderholz neighborhood to the south. The main entrance on Meret Oppenheim-Strasse provides access to the reception desk, lobby, restaurant and cafeteria, all of which are grouped around a spacious inner courtyard planted with maple trees on top of an underground parking garage.

With its approximate 1,200 m², the courtyard is an inviting place to meet and relax for both Südpark residents and employees.

The garden was designed to give patients and visitors choices of surroundings, especially with regard to seating. People may select to sit in the shade under a pergola, near a water feature, at movable tables and chairs, or in a separate meditation area. Plants in flowerbeds at different heights allow both pedestrians and wheelchair users direct contact with nature and create a safe, tranquil, and accessible outdoor environ-ment.

The Südpark ensemble has become a dynamic area of diverse use, with a pulsating street life and thriving construction in Switzerland's most densely populated city.

The design for its expansion in 2002 was a simple perimeter block which has now been developed into a hybrid complex with an underground computer center, large-scale retail stores and the seniors' residence which is housed in a 10-story high rise.

Project Data

Location: Meret Oppenheim-Strasse, Basel



Architects: Herzog & de Meuron, Basel

Landscape Design: Vogt Landschaftsarchitekten, Zurich

Client: SBB (Schweizerische Bundesbahnen), Bern


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Being out in fresh air is important for relieving tension, frustration and aggression and thereby reducing the need for medication. © ZinCo AG

MAIN THEME Senior Residence Südpark in Basel:

Green Oasis on an Underground Carpark

The residence not only offers a garden for its own seniors but also for the remaining Südpark employees and residents. © ZinCo AG

An exemplary refurbishment makes Barbican Beech Gardens a unique recreational area in the city of London.

“A dynamic new roof garden ... that sets new standards for urban planting” or “a garden for the future” are only two of the key descriptions used in a recent “The Telegraph” article to characterize the retrofitted roof gardens at the Barbican Centre highlighting them as the new “London's City Gardens”. Read complete article

Beech Gardens, as part of the Barbican Estate in the City of London was laid out in the 1970 and required a refurbishment and replanting in 2015. Based on a new design concept the requirements to meet were the reduction of maintenance needs and the removal of the permanent irrigation system to decrease water consumption significantly. So the landscape architects opted for a naturalistic meadow-like flower-rich vegeta-tion, however, robust and drought-resistant enough to tolerate low water availability and requiring only little maintenance throughout the year.

A drainage element forms the heart of the build-up providing for a balanced water-air supply in addition to draining off excess water and at the same time storing enough water given the absence of any additional irrigation. A root barrier was laid out on top of the waterproofing to avoid any roof penetration and covered by a high grade protection mat to protect the surfaces underneath from any mechanical damage.

A filter sheet was installed on top of the drainage ele-ment to separate it from the subsequent substrate layer and ensure permanent reliability and performance. The build-up was completed by a special blended intensive Green Roof growing medium which perfectly suits the planting scheme. The substrate depth varies from approx. 200 mm beneath the perennials to approx. 900 mm in areas where trees are planted.

Project Data

Location: Barbican Estate,London, UK 51°31‘14.06“N 0°5‘47.52“W


Year of Refurbishment: 2015

Landscape Architect: Nigel Dunnett, University of Sheffield, The Landscape Agency, York

Contractor: Pritchard & Pritchard Ltd., Richmond


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Barbican Beech Gardens in London:

Intensive Roof Garden with Reduced Maintenance

Beech Gardens as part of the Barbican Estate provide recreational green space in the City of London © ZinCo UK

A naturalistic meadow-like wildflower vegetation was chosen tolerating low water availability and requiring little maintenance throughout the year. © ZinCo UK

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardens-to-visit/the-garden-at-the-barbican/

The International Conference Centre (MCK) = Międzynarodowe Centrum Kongresowe) in Katowice is a large complex service facility. It is located in the city centre near the icon of Katowice – the “Spodek” Sport and Entertain-ment Arena – and near another world-class facility – the new seat of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice. Also in the vicinity is the new Silesian Museum with its distinguished architectural design.

The main idea of the project was to create a functio-nal complex which blends with the city's public space. The MCK Center is divided into two main parts. One for guests who take part in the various events such as congresses, conferences, exhibitions and fairs (the first event took place on 12–15 March 2015). The second is for the public.


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Katowice International Conference Centre:

A Green Passage across a Roof in Poland

The Green Valley – a public passageway across the main hall and foyer of the Centre. © GCL Sp. z o.o.

The green passage, connecting the “honorary” square in front of Spodek and the city's oldest historic district of Bogucice. © GCL Sp. z o.o.


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This philosophy moulded the shape of the building whose core composition elements are the roof, which is integrated in a system of slopes and a natural diversity of terrain, and the hall/foyer space below, which takes advantage of the ceiling deformation as a unique fea-ture, a negative of the “green valley” form.

A green passage called “Green Valley” goes diagonally through the building's roof between the two parts of the centre and is fully available to the public with an observation point at the top and a café. The “Green Valley” connects the square near the sport arena called Spodek (meaning “Saucer”) and the Olimpijska Street. It is a path between the system of terrain escarpments and Green Roofs of the buildings. It fits in well with the dominant structure on this area, the Spodek building.

The author of the design work for MCK was JEMS Architekci Company. This well-known architectural office was established in 1988. At the moment it has almost 60 people on board. They are authors of many recognizable objects and winners of many awards in architectural competitions and are specialists for Green Roofs.

Green Roof Details

The complicated shapes of the roof required using top class materials. Three systems are connected: flat roof, pitched roofs and steep pitched roofs. The flat roof covers about 2,700 m2. Above the Green Roof system there are lawns, mineral water permeable pavements and a fire road. Special emphasis should be given to the fact that the fire road was made as a grass surface stabilized by polymeric mesh elements. This surface is 100 % biologically active and it does not differ from the other lawns visually. The pitched Green Roof with 25–30 degrees slopes occupies most of the area. The steep pitched Green Roof, despite its small area (around 300 m2), was one of the most difficult tasks in the project. Due to its inclines of than 30 degrees it was a challenge to install the system and the lawn. Georaster elements have proven perfect for this role.

Project Data

Location: Spodek, Katowice, Poland



Green Roof Area: 7,000 m2

Architect/Design: JEMS Architekci, Poland

Client: Municipality of Katowice

The shape of the Congress Center blends in with its surroundings and creates new public space. © GCL Sp. z o.o.

The sloping surface of the structure, a system of Green Roofs, stairs and terraces can host outdoor events and happenings. © GCL Sp. z o.o.

From now on, when the students of the ROC Kellebeek College in Roosendaal start a new school year, they do so in a beautiful new building on the edge of the old town. The Kellebeek College is a Regional Training Center for health care and well-being. Besides the educational facilities, a number of external services related to this sector – such as a pharmacy, a nursery and a centre for the elderly – are housed in the building. The new ROC is part of the ambitious “Stadsoevers” district development plan that should result in a beautiful, watery and green district with 900 homes within walking distance of the city center and the railway station.

The municipality wants interaction and integration with the college. The residents can, for example, have their hair cut by Kellebeek College hairdressing students and the care students can do an internship at the district nursery. The green on and around the school will be maintained by local residents.

The district is energy efficient and emits minimal CO2, something which Kellebeek College also has to comply with. The investment is being used to create a green, ecological and user-friendly school building, and envi-ronmentally friendly materials and Green Roofs are an important part of the design.

Design

The school building was designed by Jeanne Dekkers Architecture. The limited ground space available for Kellebeek College meant that outdoor space for the students had to be incorporated on the roof. The school is located in a green setting which has led to the surrounding green elements being replicated inside the building itself.

The goal of the architect was to give what the construc-tion took away from nature back to nature using the available outdoor space. This was done by exploiting the roof and the facade of the building as effectively and efficiently as possible using a maximum amount of green and environmentally friendly materials.


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Water Buffer Location and Green Lounge:

Kellebeek College – an Innovative Education Center

A fine combination of wooden elements and Green Roof. © Van der Tol


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Waterbuffering the Green Roof

The government set special rules for storm water run-off for the new building. The maximum run-off flow had to be below 60 litres/sec/hectare instead of 300 litres/sec/hectare, which is a normal run-off number for the Netherlands. Part of this was fulfilled by the roof. The roofs were created by Van der Tol bv in partnership with “Leven op Daken” a Netherland-based organisation within the roofing and cladding industry that develops, promotes and implements projects for multiple use of space. This partnership involves the entire process spanning advice, specification and maintenance as well as the management of all types of roof use.

The roof on the new Kellebeek College is a “triple pur-pose roof” because it is a roof, a water buffer location and a green lounge at the same time. The highest roof is the “technical” roof, the water buffer. A special drai-nage element which can store up to 17 litres of water per square meter was chosen to reduce the siphonic roof drainage. The whole Green Roof system (including the substrate) can take up to 30 litres per square meter of water buffering.

In times of prolonged drought the drainage element gives the buffered water back to the substrate. The green remains green, even in periods of drought. Should the water in the drainage element also be evaporated, it can be supplemented by a computer-controlled irrigation system with tap water.

The two lower roofs are recreational areas for both the teachers and the students. Space has been created for both work and leisure activities with benches and lunch spots and also with work spaces and meeting locations. The planting plan uses bold colours and a lot of winter green. That means that the roof is very intensive and can be used throughout the year. The roof has been laid with hardwood durability class 1 wooden planking.

This is a very robust seal which provides roof structure protection.

The “Leven op Daken” partnership has gained signifi-cant expertise in the constrution of vegetated roofs over the years. Projects carried out by this partnership are delivered with a single, all-inclusive guarantee for the entire roof structure with a warranty period of 10 years.

This particular application of a multiple used roof is a fine example of how a roof can play a role in both the ecological and the social cohesion of a new housing development.

Project Data

Location: Roosendaal, Netherlands


Architect/Design: Jeanne Dekkers Architecture, Delft

Main contractor: Slokker Bouwgroep Huizen

Landscape/Gardener: Van der Tol bv, Amsterdam

Roofer: Mastum Roof Systems, De Meern

Client: District Roosendaal


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BLOX is one of Copenhagen's major construction and development projects. It is a mixed use buil-ding in Bryghusgrunden, one of the few remaining undeveloped areas of Copenhagen, Denmark with a potential to link the city to the waterfront. It has been ongoing since 2006 – and is sched- uled to open in 2018.

The vision of BLOX is to create a building of exceptional architectural quality which is also sustainable in all its aspects: environmentally (release to the environment), socially, economically and resourcefully (consumption).

BLOX occupies the so-called Brewery Site on the water-front in Copenhagen´s busy central location and has created new connections in a part of the city where it is otherwise difficult to stroll today. The idea of the center is to revitalize the waterfront and strengthen the link between the inner city and the harbour.

The name BLOX matches the building's form and function. The architecture of the building is defined by blocks stacked on top of each other in a staggered for- mation and the building houses a wide variety of func-tions that build on and support each other, like bricks.

The building will house the new Danish Architecture Center (DAC) with exhibition facilities, a bookstore and a café. BLOX is going to form the setting of an innovation and growth hub for architecture, construction, urban development and design.

The top floors feature 22 apartments with large Green Roof terraces. The top of a fully automated car park will host outdoor seating and playgrounds and other outdoor attractions.

The BLOX project also includes more than 5,000 m2 of outdoor seating, large playgrounds, a promenade on the harbour side, and other outdoor attractions.

With several new bridges creating new connections and tying the city and the harbour together, BLOX is going to be an extraordinary place and an active asset for Copenhagen and for Denmark. A place that will bring thousands of people to the area every day. A place that embraces both popular and professional activities. A shared place for creative professions involved in urban development, construction, architecture and design.

And with its location, BLOX will be the starting point of a new possible culture route connecting with Slots- holmen, the site of the Danish Parliament, as well as with a range of cultural institutions including the National Museum of Denmark, the Royal Danish Arsenal Museum, The Royal Library and Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek.

For more information see http://www.blox.dk/english

Project Data

Location: Copenhagen, Denmark


Construction Year: Under Construction, 2013 Breaking Ground

Architect/Design: Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA)

Landscape Design: Kragh & Berglund and 1:1 Landskab

Client: Realdania Byg

The design for BLOX is a linear display of the tenets of Danish Modernism: monumentality, simplicity and politeness. © OMA

Copenhagen City Project:

The BLOX – New Dynamo for City Life

http://www.blox.dk/english


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Trofa is a municipality in the metropolitan area of Oporto in Portugal. The urban park Nossa Senhora das Dores/Dr. Lima Carneiro is located in the center of Trofa, surrounding a unique and beautiful chapel. Recent urban renewal involved the construction of a municipal building for the social support department which was more central and easily accessible for resi-dents. In order to mitigate the building's visual impact in the park an intensive Green Roof was installed. The aim was to give continuous greenery over the park area and the building. The choice of vegetation includes lawns and small shrubs like Rosmarinus offici- nalis prostratus.

Due to its size, location and contribution to the city, Nossa Senhora das Dores/Dr. Lima Carneiro will be one of the most representative examples of Green Roofs in Portugal.

Project Data

Location: Trofa, Oporto, Portugal 41° 19' 48.000" N 8° 33' 0.000" W


Construction type: Municipal Building

Site Area: 1,600 m2

Architect/Design: Câmara Municipal da Trofa

Landscape Contractor: Neoturf Espaços Verdes, lda

Urban Architecture and Quality of Life in Trofa, Portugal:

Municipal Building Fits Perfectly into the Surroundings

Thanks to the Green Roof the chapel is still the most striking building of the park, not the new municipal building. © Neoturf Espaços Verdes

Lawns and small shrubs grow on the roof surfaces. © Neoturf Espaços Verdes


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Kallithea is the 8th largest municipality in Greece and the 4th biggest in the Athens urban area. Ad-ditionally, it is the most densely populated munici-pality in Greece with 21,192 inhabitants / km².

The Municipal Sports and Leisure Park of Kallithea was built to enrich the everyday lives of the city dwellers. The “Stavros Niarchos Foundation” grant is a complete and multifunctional park on a 28,000 m2 site. The project was delivered fully operational to the municipality of Kallithea in September 2013 and already constitutes a landmark for residents and visitors.

The Municipal Park facilities include an open air Olympic size swimming pool, a children's pool, a foot-ball pitch, and a playground, as well as three auxiliary buildings spanning a total of 1,000 m2, including a cafeteria and a multi-purpose hall for the requirements of the municipality of Kallithea.

The Municipal Sports and Leisure Park of Kallithea is connected, in terms of both location and design, with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC), which is currently under construction on the Park's north eastern side. Italian architect Renzo Piano, the architect of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cul-tural Centre SNFCC, is also responsible for the design of the Municipal Park in collaboration with international and Greek consulting firms. Deborah Nevins and Asso-ciates are the landscape designers of the Park.

The Municipal Park of Kallithea is a contemporary pro-ject developed in accordance with the highest quality, environmental and technical specifications. All building structures have Green Roofs, consistent with the prin-ciples green environmental design.

The Green Roofs are constructed in accordance with the internationally acknowledged German standard “Guidelines for the planning, execution and upkeep of Green Roof sites” FLL guidelines. The Green Roof system build-up guaranties both environmental and energy-saving benefits in accordance with the two most widely recognized European and international environ-mental assessment methodologies (BREEAM & LEED).

egreen is the pioneer company in Greece for Green Roof state-of-the-art technology and provides a complete series of specialized products and know-how for the construction and maintenance of Green Roofs, according to international standards and specifications (CE Marking, FLL Guidelines).

Project Data

Location: Kallithea, Athen region, Greece



Architect: Renzo Piano

Landscape Design: Deborah Nevins and Associates

Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center:

The “Green” Buildings of the Municipal Sports and Leisure Park of Kallithea

One of three building structures housing supporting facilities located next to the new football pitch. © egreen

The building right next to the open air Olympic-sized swimming pool. © egreen

All building structures have Green Roofs, consistent with the principles green environmental design. © egreen


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Spotlight

Find us on facebook:

IGRA´s Green Roof Content up to the Minute

IGRA is now on Facebook. Searchable under Interna-tional Green Roof Association, the 2015-launched site features links to cutting-edge academic and professio-nal articles on the theme of Green Roofs, articles and photographs from the international world of Green Roofs, as well as original content not found anywhere else.

Follow this link, https://www.facebook.com/International-Green-Roof-Associati-on-336535663196143/35663196143/, and “Like” our page to show your support and to receive new content, keeping you informed and up-to-date on all matters Green Roof.

Be welcome in the Green Roof Community!

New Dimensions in Green Roof Research:

Remote Sensing – Green Roof Inventory and Potential Analysis

Green Roofs can help to adapt cities for climate change, through the provision of cooler microclimates and reduced stormwater run-off. They also enhance biodiversity in urban ecosystems. In order to evaluate these positive effects in a quantitative way, information about the already existing Green Roofs and potential Green Roof sites is needed. In a current research pro-ject the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the German Roof Gardener Association (Deutscher Dachgaertner Verband) and different German partner cities developed a method with which already existing Green Roofs and potential roof areas can be identified and inventoried from a “birds-eye view”. The new database can make a valuable contribution to the application of Green Roofs in sustainable urban plan-ning. The software has the potential to be used on a national or international scale, if the necessary input data are available.

Introduction

Green Roofs, also known as “vegetated roofs” or “living roofs”, involve growing plants on rooftops. To a certain extent they can compensate for lost green areas at ground level. The most relevant Green Roof ecosystem services related to the challenges of climate change include an improvement of the city climate (e.g. reduction of the urban heat island effect), storm water retention issues and opportunities for biodiversity.

Despite the long tradition of Green Roof installation in Germany only a handful of municipalities have detailed information about the number of Green Roofs on urban rooftops, their location and potential Green Roof sites on already existing buildings. It is therefore not surprising that Green Roofs are often mentioned in environmental reports as important measure for climate change adaptation but do not enter into urban climate modelling due to the lack of reliable data.

Green Roofs offer various ecosystem services. © Deutscher Dachgaertner Verband

https://www.facebook.com/International-Green-Roof-Association-336535663196143/35663196143/




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Spotlight

This knowledge deficit provided the background for the development of a new remote sensing method for the identification of Green Roofs and potential Green Roof sites. The interdisciplinary research project which was initiated by the German Roof Gardener Association and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) brings together partners from the municipal (Hamburg, Karls- ruhe, Stuttgart, Nuertingen, Munich, Municipal Gar-dens and Parks Heads Conference), industrial (Green Roof Company ZinCo GmbH) and scientific (HafenCity University Hamburg) fields. The project is funded by the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU).

Method

Green Roof Inventory: The Green Roof detection tool uses high resolution satellite or airborne optical imagery (visible and infrared), Digital Surface Models and existing building outlines maps (footprints), to estimate the percentage of vegetated areas on building roofs.

Green Roof Potential Analysis: In addition to the Green Roof detection tool the remote sensing technology can also identify potential Green Roof sites by combining Digital Surface Models with mapped buil-ding outlines. Flat roofs are most suitable to be converted into Green Roofs. A second criterion is the presence of gravel layers. Buildings with gravel roofs have a higher load bearing capacity. On most of these roofs, once the gravel has been removed, extensive Green Roof system build-ups can be installed without increasing the assumed load.

A map of potential Green Roofs helps model how and to what degree stormwater runoff, urban heat island effects and biodiversity networks are modified in case a certain number of roofs are converted to Green Roofs. This would be highly supportive to green urban plan-ning policies and might help municipalities to target Green Roof subsidies in areas which would particularly benefit from this change.

Results

The following table provides an overview of the Green Roof inventory and Green Roof potential analysis for the City of Munich in Germany.

21 % of all buildings in Munich are already covered with a Green Roof. The total Green Roof area in Munich exceeds 4 million square meters. However, there are still large areas of flat roofs (13.2 million square meters) that offer potential for the installation of Green Roofs.

Summary

The new remote sensing technology for the identification of already existing Green Roofs and potential Green Roof sites provides municipalities with the op-portunity to use this data for sustainable urban plan-ning decisions in the field of urban climate modelling, drainage system calculation and biodiversity networks. Furthermore, this technology is carried out automati-cally – which is a great asset with respect to current ap-proaches based on photointerpretation or even in situ surveys by experts – once provided with new suitable imagery, it allows easy and straightforward updates.

IGRA and the remote sensing company EFTAS offer this service on an international level.

For more information about the method and the data requirements please contact the IGRA Office: phone: +49 7022 7191980 e-mail: [email protected]

Parameter Result Number of buildings with Green Roofs

63,142

Percentage share of buildings with Green Roofs

21 %

Total Green Roof Area 4,577,622 m²

Total roof aera of potential Green Roof sites* *Building roof size >100 m²

13,233,965 m²

The Green Roof detection tool combines high resolution airborne infrared imagery (false color, vegetation in red) and building outlines (purple frame). © City of Nuertingen

High resolution airborne imagery of a detected gravel roof. © City of Munich

mailto:info%40igra-world.com?subject=

your partner for geoinformation

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EFTAS Remote Sensing Transfer of TechnologyOststr. 2-18 | 48145 Münster | GermanyTel: (+) 49 251 13307-0 [email protected] | www.eftas.com

As a GeoIT provider we unlock location-based value. For industry, research and administration - worldwide.Through individual, one-stop and high quality services.EFTAS from Münster. Since 1988. Owner-managed. ISO 9001-certified. ÖKOPROFIT-attested.

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EFTAS. Partner of the International Green Roof Association

copyright: aerial picture Karlsruhe / DLR

http://www.eftas.com/html_E/indexb_stat.htm


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Introducing Productive Green Roofs to Imbaba, Cairo, Egypt:

Retrofitting Green Roofs to the Urban Morphology of Informal Settlements

Author: Abdallah Tawfic, HafenCity Universität Hamburg

The urban growth of Cairo over the last few de-cades has resulted in a deteriorated and defective urban fabric. Cairo has experienced a tremendous urbanization in the form of informal settlements in the past 5 decades. A recent study showed that more than half of Cairo's built up area is unplan-ned construction [1]. Complemented by a massive population growth, informal settlements is one of the most environmentally degraded urban areas in Cairo. Those areas have expanded over a huge portion of agriculture land resulting in the loss of valuable production opportunities. Additionally, this unplanned transformation that follows the agricultural basin subdivision resulted in a com-pact construction pattern that lack open or green spaces.

Urban agriculture is increasingly spreading in towns and cities. Cities have shifted the use of existing parks, vacant lots and building rooftops to urban agriculture practices, in an attempt to serve the enormous de-mands of urban food supply. Urban Agriculture (UA) has been presented in many literatures as a resilient strategy that provides multidimensional benefits for urban dwellers. UA has proved to impact food security in urban areas, stimulate local economies through generating jobs, and positively impact the environ-ment through introduced green spaces.

This thesis investigates the urban morphology of one of Cairo's densely populated informal settlement in Imbaba, presenting an attempt to utilize urban agriculture concept as a tool to redefine open spaces, generate income and provide healthy food for the locals through rooftop farming practices. However, the dissemination of rooftop farming in informal areas would require further research due to the lack of strate-gic guidelines and instruments that could manage and formalize rooftop food production on a district scale.

[1] El Gendy , N. (2013). “The Parallel City: A Proposal For The Recon-necting the Formal and informal Cities – The Case Of Greater Cairo”, Polytechnic of Milan University, Architectural and Urban Design Doctoral Program-DiAP, 2013. Milan, Italy.

Importance of this study

Covering more than 60 % of Cairo's overall built up areas and accommodating between 12–17 million in-habitants, Informal settlements have shifted from being an exceptional phenomenon to the normal trend [1]. This requires developing resilient strategies that ensure its adaptation with the contemporary changes espe-cially that informal settlements are no longer serving only the urban poor, but various demographic layers of the Egyptian society.

Research objectives

The main objective of this research is to study and analyze the urban morphology of informal settlements, addressing the problems and investigating smart and sustainable strategies that can mitigate the environ-mental, social and economic challenges facing it.

This research intends to find a retrofitted Green Roof system, that integrates roof top agriculture with the urban context of Imbaba, Cairo. The expected impacts could be multidimensional, connected together under the umbrella of improving the livelihood of the tenants. It could also serve as a guide for diversified stakehol-ders working in the informal settlements' development sector and aiming to disseminate the concept.

Download the study: http://hcu-hamburg.academia.edu/AbdallahTawfic

http://hcu-hamburg.academia.edu/AbdallahTawfic

WGIC2015 was held under the theme of “Vegeta-tion Makes It Possible” in Nagoya, Japan. The con-gress included approx. 400 participants and the series of the presentations for the research papers, designs and policies. The topics were focused on Green Roofs, green walls and urban greening.

“The Japanese policies of urban greening activity invol-ve not only public facilities but also private. The green promotion area policy sets a minimum green-area for new building constructions. In addition, enhancing public consciousness and knowledge about urban greening area assumed to be effective for its promo-tion in the long run. One example of this approach is the National Urban Greening Fair, held every year by private companies alongside local public organiza- tions. With this effort, enlightenment of the public about urban greening is advancing continuously,” said Hajime Koshimizu, Chairperson, WGIN NAGOYA, executive committee of WGIC2015. “WGIC2015 was held in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. There, the demands for the Green Roofs and walls should have major roles in urban greening. Also, at the conference, Nago-ya City's various new urban greening projects were presented to the world,” he added.

Keynote lectures at WGIC2015 were directed toward the current situation of the world about wellness life, green policy, urban agriculture, and biodiversity. Technical sessions at WGIC2015 were directed toward research and case studies and focused on the latest scientific research, products, technologies and commu-nity activities.

At the excursion of WGIC2015, the participants saw many projects of Green Roofs and walls in Nagoya. The OASIS 21 has a thin veil of water flows on the glass surface that draws a pattern of uncountable ripples of light. A walking path surrounds the glass roof allows people to enjoy a stroll in the air, 14 meter high above ground (http://www.sakaepark.co.jp/en/). Chikusa Culture Small Theater, Chikusa-za's façade was covered almost all by English Ivy. The other vines used are Hedera helix, H. canariensis, Camsis grandiflora, Passiflora caerulea, etc. This green wall technique was able to cover the entire surfaces in just 22 months after construction. It is a Japanese unique technique that achieved the fast greening, low-mainte-nance and longevity of the green wall.

Next Congress, WGIC2016, will be held at Bogota, Columbia. See page 33.

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14–16 October 2015, Nagoya, Japan:

World Green Infrastructure Congress – Vegetation Makes It Possible

Events

Japanese green wall technique at Chikusa Culture Small Theater, Chikusa-za. © WGIN

http://www.sakaepark.co.jp/en/

http://www.sakaepark.co.jp/en/

In November 2015 the 1st European Urban Green Infrastructure Conference took place at the city hall in Vienna, Austria. The aim of the conference was to celebrate the implementation of green infrastructure in Europe. With representatives from a number of major European cities, a conference theme was where cities are presently in terms of green infrastructure and how cities can better deliver green infrastructure in the future. Due to its interdisciplinary and participatory approach, the first edition of the conference was a great success. 300 participants came from across Europe and from a diverse range of disciplines and organisations: city administrations, research institutions, companies etc. More detailed information, conference outputs as well as video feed- backs of selected participants can be found on the webpage (http://urbangreeninfrastructure.org/).

The second conference will be designed as a follow-up to the first, bringing together Europe's Green Infrastructure stakeholders, to promote Urban Green Infrastructure in Europe. The focus of the EUGIC Con-ferences is on how the European Comission's Green Infrastructure and Ecosystem Services Strategy, released in 2014 is being delivered.

The graphics below shows the outputs of the final World Café Session of the conference in Vienna 2015 and it represents the basic elements and structure of EUGIC 2017: an active platform for cities in Europe to share their knowledge.

Please keep yourself informed about content, partici-pation opportunities and registration for the 2nd edition on the conference website and signed up to the EUGIC newsletter.

Author: Dusty Gedge, European Federation Green Roofs & Walls

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23–24 November 2015, Vienna, Austria:

1st European Urban Green Infrastructure Conference

Events

Mapping cities for Green Roof potential – Wolfgang Ansel, Director of the IGRA shared the latest insights and research at the 1st European Urban Green Infrastructure Conference in Vienna. © IGRA

http://urbangreeninfrastructure.org/




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Events

17–19 November 2015, Bonn, Germany:

European Conference on “Nature-based Solutions to Climate Change in Urban Areas and their Rural Surroundings – Linkages between Science, Policy and Practice”

Climate change has significant impact on society and biodiversity in Europe. Urban inhabitants are most likely to experience climate change effects directly because currently 73 per cent of Euro-peans live in urban areas. Here, management of urban ecosystems can offer sustainable and cost-effective solutions to climate change mitigation and adaptation while contributing to hu-man well-being.

The European conference in Bonn was held by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) and the European Network of Heads of Nature Conservation Agencies (ENCA) in co-operation with the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) / German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv). It brought together experts from science, policy and practice to highlight and discuss the importance of nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation in urban areas and their rural sur-roundings. The aim of the conference was to increase knowledge and to foster linkages between science, policy and practice regarding nature-based solutions to meet the challenge of climate change in urban areas. In addition, emphasize was given to the potential of nature-based approaches to create multiple-benefits.

The conference was divided into three main areas (day 1: science, day 2: practice and implementation, day 3: policy and business), each of which was ope-ned by keynote speakers including: Hans Bruyninckx (Executive Director European Environmental Agency, EEA), Wilhelm Krull (Chair of the H2020 expert group on nature-based solutions and re-naturing cities, Secretary General Volkswagen Foundation), Georgina Mace (University College London – UCL, Director of Centre for Biodiversity and Environment Research), Christine Wamsler (Lund University, Centre for Sustainability Studies), Kristina Ina Novak (Department for Environmental Protection City of Ljubljana, Green Capital 2016), Wolfgang Teubner (ICLEI Regional Director for Europe), Kurt Vandenberghe (Director for Climate action and resource efficiency at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Research and Innovation), Stefan Leiner (Director for Natural Capital at the European Commission's Directorate-General for the Environment), Chantal van Ham (IUCN – EU Programme Manager Nature Based Solutions) as well as Luise Noring (Copenhagen Business School).

Keynote speeches were complemented by plenary presentations given by leading experts in the fields of urban biodiversity, climate change, and socio-eco-nomic effects of nature-based solutions, interactive sessions and a poster exhibition.

Interactive sessions took place on day 2 of the con-ference and addressed eight specific themes ranging from “The role of biodiversity conservation for nature-based solutions for climate change”, to “Integrating grey, blue and green solutions” and “Rural-urban linkages” as well as “The role of social cohesion”, “Nature-based solutions from a transitions' perspec-tive” and “Economic aspects”. In addition, “Urban gardening and urban agriculture” were addressed. A special session was dedicated to “Municipalities adapt to climate change”, where emphasis was given to good practice examples and the sharing of experience among community level actors.

Results of conference discussions are supposed to feed recommendations for creating synergies between ongoing policy processes, scientific programmes and practical implementation of climate change and nature conservation measures in European urban areas.

The conference documentation as well as further related information is available online at http://www.bfn.de/23056+M52087573ab0.html

Welcome Speech by Prof. Dr. Beate Jessel, President of the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation. © BfN

http://www.bfn.de/23056+M52087573ab0.html


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Events

20–22 April 2016, 53rd IFLA World Congress in Turin, Italy:

Tasting the Landscape

The 53rd IFLA World Congress will be held in Turin, Italy, from April 20th to 22nd 2016, organized by the Italian Association of Landscape Architecture (AIAPP).

Tasting the Landscape, the title chosen for the 53rd International IFLA (International Federation of Land- scape Architects) Congress, calls for the interpretation of the landscape project as an expression of a greater consciousness of the transformation processes and as an opportunity to improve the places where popu- lations carry out their life.

The expression “Tasting”, according to its meaning of savoring, experiencing, trying applied to the landscape, implies an attention given to the sensorial dimension of a place, a consideration of slowness as a value: it urges us to not forget the emotional and perceptive aspects as creative agents for the project. Furthermore, it refers to the experience of discovery, to an inventive attitude that leads to in depth investigating, seeking to understand, to evaluating and re-elaborating images, practices, and signs that can orient the inevitable change of regions and landscapes according to a shared and communal feeling.

Thus, Tasting the Landscape intends to emphasize the landscape project as an instrument that produces quality, wellness, resources, the common good, as well as the central role of the landscape professional in the processes of regeneration and reconfiguration of places and regions.

For participants, the Congress will constitute a privi- leged field for confrontation and discussion of the dimension of the peri-urban landscape, areas where different practices, lifestyles and forms of change meet and collide. Here, the tensions of transformation of human settlements express themselves with greater intensity and agricultural space tends to lose its productive traditional role: the relationship between city and countryside is destined to recombine itself in re- newed multifunctional and heterogeneous layouts.

These instable, hybrid, ambiguous areas, exactly so because they tend to be unresolved, constitute a fertile terrain for research and the application of landscape planning and design: indeed, it would seem that a good part of the sustainability challenge is playing out for the city of the new millennium in these peri-urban spaces. A challenge that calls together administrators, engineers, the citizenry, and farmers to collaborate and that makes the contribution of the landscape professional indispensable.

Starting from this platform of general direction, the 53rd International IFLA Congress will be structured according to four specific lines of thematic investiga- tion, identified with the objective of investigating some emerging questions in the practice of Landscape archi-tecture.

For more information please visit http://www.ifla2016.com/

http://www.ifla2016.com/


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Events

27–28 April 2016, IX International Conference Moscow:

Waterproofing and Roofing Materials “AquaStop”

IX International Conference Waterproofing and Roofing Materials “AquaStop” will be held on April 27–28 at Holiday Inn Suschevsky Hotel, Moscow, Russia. The organizers of the conference are ALIT Academic Scientific and Technical Center, the Mos-cow Metro, the Russian Union of Builders, Inter-national Metro Association and National Roofing-trade Union of Russia. The official languages of the Conference are Russian and English.

AquaStop conference has been held since 2001 and is known to be the most significant event in the field of waterproofing and roofing technologies and materials in Russia. Over 1500 leading experts in waterproofing, roofing and drymix mortars from Russia, the USA, China, CIS and EU countries have already participated in AquaStop conference for 15 years.

The conference covers a wide range of topics:

· Modern trends in improving of waterproofing technologies and roofing works;

· The market of waterproofing and roofing materials;

· Waterproofing and roofing materials on the base of bituminous, polymeric and mineral substances;

· Waterproof membranes and metal insulation;

· Modern technologies, equipment and instruments for roofing and waterproofing;

· Sealing of underground and buried structures;

· Primary and secondary waterproof systems;

· Regulatory database for waterproof and roofing materials;

· Methods and equipment for testing of waterproof and roofing materials and quality control.

This year at the “AquaStop” conference the outstanding business program for the participants is provided:

· More than 20 scientific and analytical reports from the leading waterproofing and roofing specialists and experts from all over the world;

· Working trip to one of the Moscow Metro construc-tion sites, where the participants will have a chance to get acquainted with one of the implemented waterproofing projects;

· Meetings of the Heads of Metro Tunnel Construction Services of the former Soviet Republics.

Traditionally the business program is followed by the social event. This year a boat trip and a gala-dinner on the Moskva River will be organized for the par-ticipants of the conference, during which the guests will have a chance to enjoy the views of the Russian capital from the water.

In order to apply for the conference and exhibition participation, as well as to find more information about the advertisement services, please, visit the official web site of the IX International Conference Waterproofing and Roofing Materials “AquaStop”: www.aquastop.ru/en.

http://www.aquastop.ru/en


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Events

October 2016, Bogotá, World Green Infrastructure Congress:

Ecoservices and Well-being: The Next Green City

After years of accumulated experience and learning alongside WGIN, our capital city Bogotá is ready to host the World Green Infrastructure Congress 2016, with the theme: “Ecoservices and Well-being: The Next Green City”. This topic pushes Green Infrastructure forward to meet the aspirations of Bogotá's planning policy (POT), but also addresses the future global development aspirations (MEA), a concern shared by all the world cities. We are pleased to welcome over-seas experts and institutions and honor them with the best infrastructure, warm people, eco-nomic opportunities and cultural richness of one of the leading hubs in Latin America.

Five years ago, modern building-greening technolo-gies were little known in Colombia. Today, the coun-try is a leader of Green Infrastructure in the region and has one of the fastest-growing markets in the world. We enjoy the benefits of nearly 100,000 square meters of living systems installed on infrastructure over the last half decade and our city is home to 10,000 urban agriculture enthusiasts. This progress was made possible thanks to many local entrepre-neurs, academics and government authorities, who believed that bringing nature to buildings could be a reality in our cities. They all contributed to make this dream come true.

Our purpose is to promote the development of Vege- tated infrastructure in Colombia as a responsible practice that will make city environment and well-being a lot better. We are working on a sustainable market with viable and durable technologies. Our multidisciplinary group of experts is constantly wor-king on promotion, education, technical assistance, research and development, evaluation, certification and project registry.

Further information soon available on http://www.wgicbogota2016.com/

Author: Luis Alberto Suárez

http://www.wgicbogota2016.com/


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Events

13 April – 15 October 2017 International Garden Exhibition Berlin:

An OCEAN of Colours

From the 13th April to 15th October 2017, Berlin will become the venue of the Inter- national Garden Exhibition (IGA) – the largest garden festival in Germany. The first IGA in the capital city, to which more than two million guests from Berlin, Ger- many and all over the world are expected, surprises with an unexpectedly im-pressive natural experience in the midst of the popular metropolis. For the first time, there will be a cable car in Berlin on the occasion of the IGA.

The emerging new parkland in the Marzahn-Hellersdorf district is in a charming landscape

zone around the “Gardens of the World”, the wooded Kienberg and parts of the water-rich Wuhletal. Against the silhouette of one of the largest prefab settlements in Europe, Berlin celebrates a Festival of international garden art for 186 days. Under the motto “An OCEAN of colours” the IGA Berlin 2017 picks up the fascinating contradictions of the capital: from intercultural theme gardens, through sunny hillside terraces to large open-air concerts. In a breathtaking landscape, guests of the IGA will experience both traditional gardening art and inspiring exhibition contributions for a green lifestyle. A cable car will float over the site and open up an impressive birds-eye view panorama.

Sustainable development of a growing city

The IGA will be a unique Garden Festival, which the Senate Department for Urban Development and the Environment will take as an opportunity to highlight “Berlin's Green Places” from 2016 in all districts of Berlin. At the same time, the exhibition is a power-ful motor for sustainable urban development in the growing capital. Suburbs are increasingly gaining importance in light of the influx to Berlin. Living close to nature in combination with a fast connection to the city centre are sought after qualities which the IGA is creating with its forward-looking project in the Mar-zahn-Hellersdorf district.

Most structural and landscape architectural innovations on the IGA site with its extended Gardens of the World (from less than 25 to around 40 hectares) and the newly created Kienbergpark (approx. 60 hectares) will also remain permanently after the time of the IGA. The Kienbergpark will become a green park area, acces-sible free of charge, after the IGA. Together with the extended “Gardens of the World”, this park landscape will become a new unique tourist attraction with inter-national profile.

Author: Sabine Wacker, IGA Berlin 2017 GmbH

For more information, please contact:

IGA Berlin 2017 GmbH T: +49 30 700906-318 M: [email protected] www.iga-berlin-2017.de/en/

Ropeway station “Blumberger Damm”: For the first time, there will be a cable car in Berlin on the occasion of the IGA. © LEITNER ropeways, Kolb Ripke Architekten

A spectacular view point, the so called “Wolkenhain”, in the form of a cloud will float over the treetops of the Kienberg summit. © geskes.hack Landschaftsarchitekten, VIC Brücken und Ingenieurbau, Kolb Ripke Architekten

http://www.iga-berlin-2017.de/en/

Green Roofs have become a very important component of sustainable urban development within the last 30 years. At present, Green Roofs can be found in nearly all big cities around the world, benefiting the urban environment and their inhabitants. In order to guarantee lasting function, Green Roofs are all based on the same principles: high quality materials, professional planning and installation, state-of-the-art technology and acknowledged guidelines.

International Green Roof Association (IGRA) PO Box 2025 ∙ 72610 Nuertingen ∙ Germany Phone: +49 70 22 7191 980 ∙ E-mail: [email protected] www.igra-world.com ∙ www.greenroofworld.com

IGRA´s targets are:• Worldwide promotion of the

ecological Green Roof idea• International knowledge transfer

in the field of Green Roofs• Sensitisation of the population

and political decision makers• Stimulation of international standards

for Green Roof technology and Green Roof policies

IGRA´s services include:• Consultation • Networking • Newsletters • Research Database• Conferences• Public relation material

Global Networking for Green RoofsThe International Green Roof Association IGRA

http://www.igra-world.com

Green roof neWS

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