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

FROM THE FOUNDER THE LIVING ARCHITECTURE & HEALTH CONNECTION FROM THERAPEUTIC LANDSCAPES TO HEALING GARDENS AND CEREMONIAL GROUNDS, GREEN ROOFS AND WALLS PROVIDE NUMEROUS OPPORTUNITIES TO IMPROVE HUMAN HEALTH AND WELL-BEING T he green building movement has made great strides over the past decade, but is only beginning to come to terms with its ability to contribute to a healthy civilization by fully recognizing and promoting the positive human health dimension of its impact. The convergence of human health and environment movement takes many forms. At a personal, transformative level, the act of dedicating one’s career to being – in the words of Jason McLennan, “a green warrior” – provides us with a much needed pathway to contribute positively to the changes that are needed in order to help avoid the collapse of our civilization. “Green building provides a sense of hope amidst a feeling of unease – a tangible feeling that it was an active part of solving the problem,” writes McLennan in Zugunruhe: The Inner Migration to Profound Environmental Change (Ecotone Publishing, 2011). Another form in which buildings and human health converge may be found inside in our “On the Roof with….” interview featuring Judith Heerwagen and Kevin Kampschroer (page 6). They speak about the need for General Services Administration (GSA) to create buildings that not only have zero footprints, but also provide healthy and nourishing environments for their occupants. Green roofs and walls provide numerous opportunities to improve human health and well-being, and when combined with other biophilic design characteristics, can result in improved physical and mental well-being among occupants, a bottom-line benefit not lost on savvy industry leaders. Hospitals are taking a more direct route to improving human health, recognizing that green roofs and walls can be designed in a manner that provides both passive and active healing through the direct contact of patients with healing gardens – an emerging field called horticultural therapy (see page 16). In our information-overloaded, technology-driven, bottom-lineobsessed culture, we often lose sight of where we have been, whose shoulders we stand upon, and where we are going. The creation of special places on our roofs, in areas often dominated by concrete and glass in our cities continues to inspire. Native Child and Family Services in downtown Toronto utilizes the roof to provide a safe haven for urban Aboriginals to gather, play and heal (see page 4). Living architecture can help us reconnect to the continuity of life, between ourselves and the many species we share the planet with. When we rediscover the enormous debt we owe our ancestors for choosing wisely and the profound responsibility we have to our children, and their children’s children, we will transform the built environment and leave a legacy we can all be proud of. Sincerely, Steven W. Peck Founder & president, GRHC LIVING ARCHITECTURE MONITOR WINTER 2011 1

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