Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Fall 2010 - (Page 19)

SPECS CATEGORY: Extensive Residential PROJECT: Mill Valley Hillside, Mill Valley, California; 5,500-square-foot green roof AWARD RECIPIENT: McGlashan Architecture (architecture & lead green roof designer) Images courtesy of Scott McGlashan Architecture and CJ Chapman CLIENT: Private DESIGN TEAM: Design Consultation, Plants Installation Rana Creek Waterprooﬁng/Drainage Division 7 Rooﬁng Landscape Architect Calandra Design COST: USD $19.09 per square foot/$105,000 total STEEPED IN ECOLOGICAL DESIGN SCULPTED INTO A HILLSIDE, THIS GREEN ROOF HELPED CREATE A THRIVING FAMILY COMPOUND THAT NEIGHBORS AND NATURE CAN ALSO CELEBRATE T he Mill Valley Hillside project shelters three generations, in two separate dwellings, under one green roof. From within each of the three levels, generous openings to the outside offer views of the constantly changing rooftop plantings. From the outside, the house appears as if the living surface of the hillside was peeled up to create naturally conditioned living space below. Although generous in size, the site presented some challenges that thwarted previous development. A sensitive hillside ecology, a steep slope, development limits, and a passionate and organized coalition of neighbors complicated the clients’ dream. When a green roof was proposed, neighborhood opposition to prior projects turned to enthusiastic support and everyone loved the idea of “lifting” instead of wiping out the living hillside ecology. From the perspective of the clients, the green roof provided a solution to the greatest design challenge: planning conditions required that the two homes be attached. Stepping the dwellings down the hill would preserve each generation’s privacy and access to views, light and the ground. In tune with the surroundings, the rooftop landscape embraces periods of quiet dormancy as well as vibrant flowering and growth. Drought-tolerant plantings alternate between shows of colorful wildflowers and herbs, and a display of graceful dry grasses. The green roof helps the home contribute zero stormwater runoff to municipal gutters or sewers. It also provides acoustic and visual buffering between the units; the grandkids’ drum set is below the roof immediately outside the grandparents’ bedroom window, an intolerable arrangement without the green roof. Of this project, the judges noted that the green roof was “beautifully integrated into environment and landscape” and especially appreciated the “ecological restoration angle” of its design. “ THE LIVING SKIN OF THE EARTH IS A PRECIOUS RESOURCE AND A BEAUTIFUL THING. IT JUST FELT RIGHT TO COMPENSATE FOR DISTURBING THE SITE WITH A LIVING ROOF. BIRDS, BUTTERFLIES AND BEES ARE REGULAR VISITORS. AFTER TWO YEARS, THE ROOF IS ALREADY A THRIVING ECOSYSTEM, A CARPET OF LIFE. Scott McGlashan, principal, McGlashan Architecture FALL 2010 19 LIVING ARCHITECTURE MONITOR

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Fall 2010

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Fall 2010
From the Founder - Urban Agriculture
Strata - T.O.’s New Green Roof Construction Standard
On the Roof With…Richard Conlin
Project - Farming for the City
Beekeeping - Diary of an Urban Apiarist
Exemplary Design - GRHC’s 2010 Awards of Excellence Winners
A Green Roof That Moves
Steeped in Ecological Design
Creating Community
A Model of Municipal Leadership
A Green Roof That Works
Like a Grassland Stream
Prairie in the City
Recycling Rainwater
Research - Increasing Urban Food Security With Extensive Green Roofs
Economic Valuation of a Rooftop Food Garden
Grhc Update - Macro-Scale Food Production
New Corporate Members
New GRPs
On Spec - Urban Agriculture — Hero or Hype?

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Fall 2010