Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Summer 2010 - (Page 2)

STRATA MY LIFE AS A LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT REFLECTIONS OF SIX DECADES DESIGNING NATURAL SITES By Cornelia Hahn Oberlander Image courtesy of Cornelia Hahn Oberlander F 2 rom my 11th year onward I had only one goal, to become a landscape architect to design outdoor spaces for the enjoyment of all in our urban environment. Growing up in a garden with large trees and flowers, I learned to love and tend plants under the guidance of my mother, a horticulturist. In order to prepare for my chosen profession I went to Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, to learn about history, art, architecture and nature. A few years later I received the professional degree of Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Harvard University Graduate School of Design. In 1953 I came to Vancouver from the United States with Peter, my husband, fellow Harvard student and graduate of McGill School of Architecture, Class of 1945. Canada was a new and beautiful country with untouched open spaces, limitless potential and challenges for my profesLIVING ARCHITECTURE MONITOR sion. Over the past 60 years, I have been involved as a landscape architect in a wide range of projects with noted internationally acclaimed architects and public agencies in Canada and the U.S. All projects are based on design concepts and studies of social cultural and physical features of a given site. To each project I attempt to bring the mastery of the art and the science of sustainable development, as well as the ability to work creatively as a member of the team with architects and engineers in relating the finite form of the building to the site My career began in Philadelphia, working for architects Louis I. Kahn, Oscar Stonorov, and landscape architect Dan Kiley. Since 1974, I have worked with Arthur Erickson (graduate of McGill School of Architecture), beginning with the three-block Provincial Government Office and Courthouse Complex called Robson Square in Vancouver, an accessible rooftop garden called an oasis in the city. Other Arthur Erickson Architect's projects include The Museum of Anthropology, U.B.C. (1976) and the Canadian Chancery, Washington, D.C. (1989). The Museum of Anthropology features open meadows and the utilization of plant material based on studies of Ethnobotany. The Canadian Chancery, Washington, D.C. features hanging gardens with trees and roses. This project was awarded the National Landscape Award Presented by the First Lady at the White House. Since 1983, I have worked in association with Moshe Safdie Architects (McGill School of Architecture 1967). In Ottawa we collaborated on the National Gallery of Canada (1988) and received a National Award by the Canadian Society of Landscape Architects. In Vancouver we won the design competition to build the Vancouver Public Library (1992–1995) with a green inaccessible roof that slows the stormwa- SUMMER 2010

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

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Summer 2010
Contents
From the Founder
Strata
On the Roof With...
What is Integrated Design?
How Do We Move the Practice of Integrated Design Forward?
West Coast Integrated Design
Integrated Design for Solar & Green Roofs
Do Green Roofs Improve the Efficiency of PV Panels?
An Invitation to CitiesAlive! in Vancouver this Fall
GHRC Professional Development Calendar
Roof to Plate
Research Showing Early Promises
Advanced Green to Roof Maintenance Course to Launch
New GRPS
New Online Tools
New Corporate Members
Making Government Programs Work Harder

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Summer 2010