Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Fall 2011 - (Page 29)

SPECS CATEGORY: Extensive Institutional PROJECT: Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto, Ontario, 118,403-square-foot green roof Image courtesy of Gabriel Li/ PLANT Architect Inc. AWARD RECIPIENT: PLANT Architect Inc. & Perkins + Will Canada, Toronto, Ontario (architect/landscape architects) CLIENT City of Toronto, Ontario DESIGN TEAM: REVITALIZING TORONTO’S CITY HALL Roof Garden the winning scheme TheofPodium Green–1965 NathanCityisHallfirst transformation in the competitionupper-level compo-a “Agora Theatre” the Phillips Square Revitalization. This three-acre nent Viljo Revell’s iconic and multi-level public square was originally conceived as ceremonial public space, reached via a giant sculptural ramp. The previous concrete space was never successful at attracting the public; it has been closed for over a decade. The Podium Roof Garden re-conceives this upper level as a vast public park integrated with the existing elevated walkway system, reopening it to the public as a truly engaging 21st Century space. The goal is to reconsider how an extensive 4" -6" thick green roof can be an exciting and successful public space providing intimacy, gathering, strolling and wandering within a formally complex, lush and abundant variety of color and texture that merits repeated visits. It is the largest publicly accessible green roof in Canada and the flagship green roof project for the City of Toronto. The park consists of a Sedum and perennial mosaic perimeter garden, a sparkling black granite paved courtyard that frames the Council Chamber, and a café deck that occupies the prow. The project's LiveRoof modular system allows for easy installation, and facilitates future maintenance. The varying depth of the trays is concealed to provide a seamless surface of planting. The half-kilometer walk through the Garden reveals the passage of time at different scales. The shade structures mark the movement of the sun and the progression of plant and blossom colors, including something new blooming in different parts of the garden from April to October —marking seasonal change. The initial planting layout is deliberately linear, but the plants will shift and move over time. The project fulfills the original potential of this space as a public adjunct to the main square, as a place for ceremony, and as a place to get up close to the fine detail of the buildings. It brings new potential to the building and space by offering a garden respite from the harsh concrete downtown environment with places for intimacy and lingering, for lunch and evening strolls, for art installations, and to technically improve the building and environment by contributing to energy efficiency, roof membrane longevity, sound insulation, filtration, stormwater management and habitat creation. D Collaborators – Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architect; Adrian Blackwell Urban Projects Green Roof System – LiveRoof Green Roof Designer – Flynn Canada / Gardens in the Sky Soils Consultant – Urban Trees + Soil Heritage Consultant – Blanche Lemko van Ginkel Structural Engineer – Blackwell Bowick Engineering Mechanical/Electrical Engineer – Crossey Engineering Ltd. “THIS PROJECT BRINGS NEW POTENTIAL TO THE BUILDING AND SPACE BY OFFERING A GARDEN RESPITE FROM THE HARSH CONCRETE DOWNTOWN ENVIRONMENT.” Mary Tremain, partner, PLANT Architect Inc. LIVING ARCHITECTURE MONITOR FALL 2011 29

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Fall 2011

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Fall 2011
Contents
From the Founder
Strata
On the Roof With…
Research
Marketing
Policy: The Game Changer
Policy: Toronto’s Green Roof by-Law
Policy: Energy Code Break-Through
Tools
GRHC: Update
GRHC: Welcome New Members
On Spec

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Fall 2011