ASLA’s 3,000 square feet green roof will be honoured by GRHC in the ‘Institutional Intensive’ category, which honours innovative green roof design in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Completed in 2006, the ASLA headquarters green roof by landscape architecture consultant Conservation Design Forum, was undertaken to demonstrate the environmental and aesthetic benefits of green roofs and to encourage more widespread use of green roofs. Undertaken as a retrofit project, the green roof replaced the original membrane roof on the 12-year-old headquarters building.
One of the signature elements of the design is the use of two 25ft-wide elevated ‘waves’ formed by a structural skeleton filled with rigid insulation and covered with a green roof system. The waves rise to 6ft 2-inch and 5ft 4-inch above the walking surface, which positions flowering plants at eye level and creates an intimate, semi-enclosed space. The waves also effectively block the view and noise from the building’s HVAC units, which were relocated as part of the project. The north wave cantilevers over one of the larger HVAC units.
Another innovative feature of the design is the use of an aluminium grating walking surface over an extensive green roof system, which provides usable space and easy maintenance access while maximising environmental benefits. Use of the grating increases the total greened area of the roof by 30%. As the plants mature, they grow up through the grating.
In addition to this being a retrofit and unusual design, judges commented on the amount of research done on the plant palette and the fact that the roof is not only accessible, but is actually in frequent use for everything from yoga classes to tours to the public.
The award ceremony will take place at CitiesAlive: 8th Annual Green Roof and Wall Conference and Tradeshow in Vancouver, Canada on 2 December 2010.
Founded in 1899, ASLA is the national professional association for landscape architects. The society’s mission is to lead, to educate, and to participate in the careful stewardship, wise planning, and artful design of cultural and natural environments.
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, a small network consisting of public and private organizations, was founded in 1999. Its mission is to increase the awareness of the economic, social and environmental benefits of green roofs and green walls, and other forms of living architecture through education, advocacy, professional development and celebrations of excellence.
