Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Winter 2011 - (Page 15)

B altimore’s Mercy Medical Center ﬁrst came to life in a former abandoned schoolhouse in 1874 – a dispensary established to care for the poor. With their passion for nursing and leadership capabilities, the Sisters of Mercy, founded by Irish philanthropist Catherine McAuley were eventually invited to take over the hospital. Today, Mercy is a full-service medical center, counted among America’s 10 Best Women’s Centers, and top 100 hospitals based on quality and performance standards — and continues to evolve. With a cornerstone donation from philanthropist Mary Catherine Bunting, a new $400-million, 18-storey, 688,0000square-foot hospital facility, the Mary Catherine Bunting Center at Mercy, opened its doors — and three green roofs — in December 2010. Located on the 8th, 9th and 10th floors, the Bunting Center’s green roof spaces provide a respite for patients, families and staff members in a hectic, urban environment – but are also a key part of the healing process, a nice place where patients, family and friends and staff can relax and take a break. "I refer to it as a spiritual oasis," says Dr. Kathy Helzlsouer, director of the Prevention and Research Center at Mercy. Baltimore-based Mahan Rykiel Associates, helped design the green roof space, as part of a design team led by Ellerbe Becket (an AECOM firm). Here, Steve Kelly, RLA, Mahan Rykiel’s green roof project manager for the Bunting Center green roof project, shares his insights on the thinking behind their landscape architecture design of the roofs (pictured at left). 1. The spiral: “As the basis for design of the roof gardens, the abstracted spiral represents the jour- ney of life, of growth and evolving,” says Kelly. 2. Stone fountain: “Located at the entry to the 8th level garden terrace, the fountain symbolizes the ‘source’ at the center of the spiral, inviting visitors into the garden,” says Kelly. “The sound of the water also provides a calming effect on psychological, spiritual and physical levels.” (Stone supplier: The AllStone Group LLC in Fayetteville, Arkansas.) 3. The circular lawn: “As a bold design form, the lawn visually connects all three roof garden ter- race levels from above, representing wholeness and unity,” says Kelly. 4. Shade structure: “The shade structure physically ties the garden directly into the building and helps to bring down the scale of the architecture,” says Kelly. “It also provides an area of filtered, shaded respite for garden visitors and contributes to the overall cooling of the garden space.” 5. Communal seating area: “Providing a variety of spaces for the visitor is key when designing gardens to promote healing,” explains Kelly. “An informal/flexible seating arrangement allows opportunity for garden visitors to gather and socialize.” 6. Green façade with vine plantings: “The planted greenscreen® trellis serves the dual function of creating a buffer for patient room privacy and providing additional vertical growing space for plants in the garden,” says Kelly. (Suppliers: greenscreen, Los Angeles, California.) 7. Crushed stone path: “A pervious paving surface leads visitors to the more natural, contemplative areas of the garden,” says Kelly. 8. Paving & planting bands: “A series of bands and alternating areas of color and texture create visual interest and help to visually reinforce the gardens’ connection back to the building architecture,” says Kelly. 9. Native or adapted species: “Green roof plantings provide effective stormwater management, promote energy efficiency, extend the life of the building roof and help to clean the air,” says Kelly. 10. Color & lighting: “The creative use of color and lighting elicits emotion and feelings of comfort and awe in the garden visitor,” says Kelly. 11. Sculpture: “A location has been provided for a future sculptural element,” Kelly explains. “The integration of art as a design element in a healing garden has been shown to help to enhance mood and spirit.” 12. Stone & clay paving: “Natural paving materials provide an element of richness and warmth to the garden,” says Kelly, “and serve as solid grounding points of familiarity for garden visitors.” (Suppliers: Pavers from Luck Stone Corp. in Richmond, Virginia, and Whitacre Greer, in Alliance, Ohio & Chicago, Illinois.) 13. Stone seat-walls: “Natural wall materials provide fixed seating opportunities from which visi- tors can experience and enjoy the garden,” says Kelly. (Supplier: Stone from Rugo Stone in Lorton, Virginia.) 14. Seating blocks & boulders: “Natural stone seating blocks & boulders serve as ‘environmen- tal sculpture,’ bringing an element of playfulness and nature back into the urban garden, while providing areas for meditation and quiet reprieve. (Suppliers: stone seat-blocks from The AllStone Group LLC in Fayetteville, Arkansas; natural boulders from Tri-State Stone & Building Supply, Inc. – Quarriers of Carderock® Stone in Bethesda, Maryland.) 15. Beach pebble edge: “Aesthetically pleasing natural stones disguise the perimeter subsurface drainage system and help provide maintenance access to the planting areas,” says Kelly. (Stone from Miami Beach Pebbles, Inc. in Miami, Florida.) 16. Buﬀer planting: “Carefully planned plantings create layers of privacy between patient rooms and public garden space while still providing visual access to nature from patient rooms,” says Kelly. 17. Connecting to nature: “Studies show that direct views of nature from patient rooms and hospital corridors provide restorative benefits,” says Kelly, “providing a sense of wellness and healing for patients, staff and visitors alike.” LIVING ARCHITECTURE MONITOR WINTER 2011 15

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

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Winter 2011
Contents
The Living Architecture & Health Connection
Picnic Perfect
Green Roof Sight-Seeing
A Sacred Space
On the Roof With… Judith H. Heerwagen
A Spiritual Oasis
Therapeutic Landscapes
Active Living Walls
Lifetime Achievement Award: A Legend Remembered
Civic Award: Kelly Luckett
Research Award: Jeremy Lundholm
Fieldnotes From Greenbuild 2010
Toward Net-Zero Water Use
Learn Online
New Corporate Members
Welcome New GRPs
Cents and Sustainability

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Winter 2011