Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Spring 2013 - (Page 27)

greening of the school. “The project has made a real impact,” commented Oppmann. “Not only has it dramatically greened the face of the center where parents and the public encounter it—it provides an opportunity to teach the children about water and conservation. Children totally get what a living wall is and does. They love that there are plants on their building. We are raising the ABOVE: The children and living wall of the the Tournesol Siteworks VGM Seward Child Care Center next generation to expect that system with an 8” soil profile. Image provided by: Hillary Oppmann buildings will be green and susMWMO grants typically allow only native plants to be used for tainable. I have heard from parents that kids say ‘We should water collected from the roof is projects, but in this case they have a green wall at our house.’ channeled through a kinetic wa- were willing to accept a mix of Having elements like the livterwheel/carousel sculpture de- 55% native/45% non-native ing wall, the water feature, and ornamentals to ensure greater signed and fabricated by a local plant survival on the wall. They solar panels at their child care artist to a large stainless steel center empower them to create “water table” where the children planned out the wall using 17 a future where those things are different varieties of plants in can play. From there it drains the 64 square foot living wall. As the norm.” into to a 500 gallon storage Creating the first exterior cistern. Despite consulting with the main construction work was living wall project in Minirrigation suppliers to design an done through the fall of 2011, nesota was a challenge that no appropriate system, Earth Wiz- Earth Wizards discovered that one anticipated at the outset. ards went through four different the cinder block wall slated to hold the structure wouldn’t hold Contractor Anderson compumps trying to find the right the weight of the plants and soil. mented that “between learning one for the project. about living walls, dealing with Despite the complications, the The design team consisted center wanted to continue—the site challenges, and managing of a landscape contractor, a the budget, the project was MWMO working grant had horticulturalist, a native plant considerably more difficult been issued and they wanted specialist, as well as a diverse than we anticipated.” Because to see it through. Although construction team. One mem“everyday”-type maintenance is the modules had already been ber had worked on several the responsibility of the voluninterior living wall projects, but planted (and were being maintained at the contractor’s prem- teer parents, a key to the overall between an exterior mounted project design was to make the ises), erection had to be put off system, a harvested rainwater element, and winter conditions, to the next spring, after the wall wall as low-maintenance as possible. Earth Wizards consults the project required an extensive had been reinforced. As spring arrived, the school to monitor the performance amount of research, educated was able to have the work com- of the plants and the irrigation guesses and a willingness to atpleted to shore up the wall with system, replacing what isn’t tempt the unknown. a Helifix system recommended working as required. As winter The team started the deby the structural engineer. The arrives, the plants go dormant sign with a living wall system rails were hung, the boxes were in the boxes, and the irrigation using a 4” soil profile, but is shut down and winterized. retrieved, and the plants reafter a brief conversation with This past winter is the first that freshed as needed. After hangPeter MacDonagh at Kestrel the plants have overwintered ing the modules, the irrigation Design, he suggested that if was set to run twice a day. The on the wall with the southern the plants were to survive the plants have thrived since instal- exposure. They started off the winter, they’d need a system winter with a bang, but the real lation, and the living wall has with a deeper soil profile. At become a real statement for the test will be to see what recovthat point the team selected READ THIS ISSUE ONLINE AT WWW.LIVINGARCHITECTUREMONITOR.COM team OWNER/DEVELOpER: Seward Child Care Center DESIGN/BUILD CONTRACTOR: Earth Wizards IRRIGATION AND pLANTS: pangaea Design NATIVE pLANTS: Ecological Strategies ARCHITECT: House Green Inc. ENGINEER: Canyons Structural ARTISTS: puppet farm Arts and Mosaico Group LIVING WALL SySTEM: Tournesol Siteworks SOIL MEDIA: Midwest Trading ers in the spring. The team has high hopes for the first living wall project in Minnesota! Christopher Lyon lives in Northern California and is the president of Tournesol Siteworks. He has served on the judging panel for the GRHC Awards of Excellence program for the past two years. FIND OUT MORE See more photos, the site plan and plant layout from this project at http://livingarchitecturemonitor. com/index.php/extras-extendedarticles/extras-extended-articles LIVING ARCHITECTURE MONITOR / SpRING 2013 / 27 http://livingarchitecturemonitor.com/index.php/extras-extended-articles/extras-extended-articles http://livingarchitecturemonitor.com/index.php/extras-extended-articles/extras-extended-articles http://livingarchitecturemonitor.com/index.php/extras-extended-articles/extras-extended-articles http://WWW.LIVINGARCHITECTUREMONITOR.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Spring 2013

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Spring 2013
Contents
From The Founder
Strata
On the Roof With...
Policy and Standards
Current Research
Living Architecture Meets Hurricane Sandy
How Healthy Is Your Hospital?
Leadership
Product
Plant
Conference
Project
Project
Project
New Corporate Members
Professional Calendar
GRHC Board Member Updates
GRHC Buyer’s Guide
The Lucky 7

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Spring 2013