A few weeks ago I attended the sixth annual Green Roofs for Healthy Cities Conference in Minneapolis. It was very well organized and in a great location. Minneapolis is really pushing the envelope to become a Green City and a leader in sustainable urban design: their new Public Library was designed with a Green Roof and they are offering rebates on utility bills for stormwater retention on-site. While at the conference, I met a ton of folks from around the US as well as around the world, such as Dr. Nigel Dunnett (UK), Sidone Carpenter (Australia), Paul Kephart (of Rana Creek), folks from EarthPledge, Rosalind Haselbeck, the list could go on and on.
A small green roof along Main Street Park, a developing area along the Mississippi River in Minneapolis.
One of my main goals in going to the conference was to bring back some Green Roof inspiration and motivation to add to our interdisciplinary practice at Sasaki Associates. As a mix of architects, landscape architects, urban designers, and planners, we have a responsibility to be be a model for what is possible for sustainable and green design. To me, this means maximizing the sustainability of our projects while minimizing their impacts; and Green Roofs have the potential to play an enormous role in this.
