Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Spring 2011 - (Page 1)

FROM THE FOUNDER ADAPTATION THROUGH INNOVATION FROM NEW TESTING STANDARDS TO NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN ENERGY-EFFICIENT, INTEGRATED GREEN WALL DESIGN TO A $2 BILLION STORMWATER STRATEGY, THE INDUSTRY RESPONDS TO THE SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE erhaps the single most important factor in determining our collective future on the planet lies in our ability to adapt rapidly – to respond through creative and innovative actions to fundamental necessities that, despite the efforts of many to ignore, deny or simply shield themselves from them, keep knocking loudly at the door of our collective consciousness. Nuclear meltdowns, rising food costs, rising temperatures, soaring populations, water shortage, melting ice caps and the list goes on. Close to home, gasoline has just reached $5.30 per gallon and the newspapers are full of stories of adaptation – people trading in their cars for smaller models, buying scooters, working from home, and driving less. These forms of adaptation to rising energy costs are not particularly creative or innovative but when gasoline reaches $10, $15 per gallon, expect it to have a more dramatic and profound impact on a wide range of products and services, including green roofs and walls. Indeed, peak oil —and with it the relentless increases in energy prices as global demand for fossil fuels outstrips supply— will continue to be a primary driver of innovation and invention long into the foreseeable future. In striving for greater efficiency, we will have to develop new buildings that can easily be disassembled and reused, as illustrated in our On the Roof with... interview with Ryerson University’s Dr. Mark Gorgolewski and Bradley Guy, a professor with The Catholic University of America, on page 6. Products that are already fossil fuel dependent will begin to look for plant-based alternatives. Tremco’s Bill Foley examines some trends in the roofing industry that are being driven by rising fuel costs on page 12. As greenscreen’s Dean Hill points out, product designers will look to integrating different systems, and derive additional benefits from existing products (see page 14). At Green Roofs for Healthy Cities we continue to promote innovation through test standards such as the new root repellent standard (see article on page 29 by Dr. Robert Berghage). Also, with new courses such as the Introduction to Rooftop Urban Agriculture and Integrated Water Management for Buildings and Sites launched in Vancouver in December 2010, we are responding to the necessities of our age. Our Living Architecture Academy provides you with a 24/7, on-demand, online learning center to download technical papers, take new courses and hear lectures from recent conferences in Vancouver and Washington. P “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” —Charles Darwin We will also celebrate innovation through our Awards of Excellence, with winners to be acknowledged in Philadelphia at CitiesAlive!, GRHC’s 9th Annual Green Roof and Wall Conference & Trade Show. We are pleased to have the City of Philadelphia as our co-host this year; a city that, out of necessity, is embarking on an ambitious $2 billion green infrastructure investment to tackle its stormwater management challenges (see page 19) using green roofs, urban forests and other forms of green. Pricing signals are very important, but not sufficient to generate the kind of reinvention required to move us toward a more sustainable pathway. It also takes the courage of conviction to recognize that we face immense challenges, and a strong community of like-minded individuals that are prepared to engage in developing innovative solutions of all kinds. Thank you for being part of this community of creative and innovative guardians of the future. I hope you will be able to join us in Philadelphia for CitiesAlive! in November 2011. Sincerely yours, Steven W. Peck Founder & President Green Roofs for Healthy Cities LIVING ARCHITECTURE MONITOR SPRING 2011 1

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

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Spring 2011
Contents
Adaptation Through Innovation
Award-Winning Leader
Living Building Challenge Update
On the Roof With...
The Black Arts
Green Walls
Stormwater Policy
Root Repellent Standards
Growing Media
Green Building Codes
New Corporate Members
The GRP Turns Two
Professional Calendar
My First Year as a GRP

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Spring 2011