Green Roofs

Industrial building developers, who had previously decried the price tag of green roofs now standard to many buildings in Toronto, may get the OK to construct an alternative, reflective roof instead.

Washington, D.C. residents are getting creative with their green roofs, writes Sarah Meehan, from keeping bees on them to hosting league bocce games. Even those without roof access might get lucky and have a view of one that's artfully designed.

Despite the continued struggles of the U.S. economy, green roofs have proliferated with the market increasing 30% from the previous year.

The Architect's Newspaper explores the "fertile new approaches to building" springing from the growing use of landscaping in contemporary architecture.

The Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Colorado State has indentified five particular species of plant that work well in semi-arid climates for green roofs.

Chicago is trying to position itself as one of the greenest cities in America, but longheld plans to upgrade the city's overburdened stormwater system highlight how far it has to go.

Last year Toronto became the first North American city to mandate green roofs on all new residential, commercial and institutional buildings larger than 21,500 square feet. Now it has created a 118,000 square foot example on top of the City Hall.

Neal Pierce argues that retiring Mayor Daley's achievements in Chicago "stand out as beacons for mayors, American and worldwide, to emulate." He attributes some of his success to sheer political skill, but also examines seven effective policy shifts.

Green roofs are growing on the tops of schools in New York City, where small farms are being integrated into the curriculum.

Chicago City Hall boasts one of the world's most famous green roofs. As a result, the city has a reputation for being the capital of green roofs. But as architecture critic Blair Kamin notes from a bird's eye view, that's not exactly the case.

This piece from Urban Omnibus looks at ideas to counteract global warming by adding more trees to urban areas.

Portland, Oregon planners are updating the city's zoning to make home improvements for solar panels and eco-roofing easier to do, but some developers think it will actually make things more difficult.

Malcolm Wells was a pioneer of sustainable design, with an emphasis on green roofs and underground buildings. He died recently at the age of 83.

A new report shows that green roofs not only help by cooling the sun's rays, they also are effective for carbon sequestration.

In a battle over contracts to build green roofs for Chicago's public buildings, landscapers have come out on top.

A new study has shown that the environmental benefits of green roofs are even greater than previously thought.

This video from Reuters looks at a new rooftop garden in Brooklyn. Covering 6,000 square feet, the flourishing garden provides fresh produce to local restaurants.

The new west wing of the Vancouver Convention Center(VCC) provides 338,000 square feet of new function spaces as well as an angular six acre green roof, which is the largest non-commercial roof in North America.

A NY-based landscape architect, Thomas Balsley, FASLA, has created a new type of green roof using Austrian pines.