Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Summer 2010 - (Page 6)

ON THE ROOF WITH… LIVING BUILDING CHALLENGE REGENERATIVE NET-ZERO LEED PLATINUM LEED GOLD LEED SILVER "SUSTAINABLE" THE NATURAL STEP HIGH PERFORMANCE GREEN BUILDING BETTER BUILDING PRACTICES LEED CERTIFIED CODE MINIMUM BARELY LEGAL ILLEGAL REGENERATIVE THERE ARE ALSO DEEP GREEN PRACTICES WHICH ARE NOT LEGAL YET "SUSTAINABLE" THE NATURAL STEP HIGH PERFORMANCE GREEN BUILDING IGCC ASHRAE P189 ICC 700 BETTER BUILDING PRACTICES CODE MINIMUM BARELY LEGAL ILLEGAL SHADES OF GREEN: Eisenberg uses these two diagrams to illustrate the spectrum of building practices and their ecological impacts. The darker the shade of green within the triangles, the less the impact. The greenest areas are those that focus on regenerative buildings. with and in support of the way natural systems work, how we can enable the process of regeneration. Q: In your research, you interviewed many industry participants. What did 6 LIVING ARCHITECTURE MONITOR you learn about particular regulatory impediments that can hamper the widespread adoption of green roofs and walls in North America? ment. We start with the nature of regulations. We don’t get regulations until we have problems large, serious and persistent enough to demand an official response. There is no anticipatory process built into most of our current regulatory systems. I like to say that because of this, the main navigational tool in the regulatory realm is the rearview mirror. So new risks, whether they are long-standing problems that are just beginning to be recognized, or emergent hazards associated with new materials or systems or designs, or risks in different places or timeframes or scales than we are accustomed to seeing, are often problematic to those responsible for the regulations and their enforcement. This is partially because many people are resistant to change, but also because the regulatory entities are often underfunded and stretched to deal with what is already on their plate and these new risks are often not taken seriously for years, even when serious and well-documented. Finally, we really don’t have a comprehensive regulatory system – we have an accumulation of regulations and entities that are often broken into silos, and there are gaps and overlaps. When someone tries to do a deeply integrated project which pushes the envelope on accepted practices there is often no way for the regulators to balance reduction of certain risks with perhaps an incremental increase in a different risk. For instance, onsite greywater reuse may create a small increased risk of exposure from that water at the building while greatly reducing the volume of potable water that is turned into far more dangerous blackwater, which if fed into an overloaded or combined sewer and stormwater system, or a failing septic system will put many more people at greater risk. Similar situations can occur when using alternative materials, passive heating, cooling and ventilation strategies, and so forth. A related issue for green roofs is the way some fire officials view them as a potential fire hazard or an impediment to fighting fires. In addition, regulations beyond building codes, such as requirements for homeowner warrantees on all products or whole buildings may prevent approvals for green roofs if such coverage is not available. Where national standards or code language has not been created, approved or adopted, it may be difficult or impossible to gain approvals, even though in other similar jurisdictions green roofs may be readily accepted. Q: You’ve suggested that we need plan reviewers and other regulators trained in integrated design si�ing at the table during design charre�es where the There are some tough issues for the people who are responsible for regulating the built environ- 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