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January 2009
guest feature
article
INTERNATIONAL GREEN ROOF
CONGRESS 2009
“Bringing Nature Back
to Town”
By Wolfgang Ansel,
International Green Roof Association
Photos Courtesy IGRA, unless otherwise
noted
From
the 25th to the 27th of May 2009, Stuttgart / Nuertingen in Germany will
become the platform for the world of green roofs. The 2009
International Green Roof Congress event, which is under the patronage of
the German Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs, is
being organised by the
International
Green Roof Association
and the
German Roof Gardener Association (DDV). The congress programme
will have a distinctively interactive style with practical workshops and
green roof excursions. The congress languages are English and
German, through simultaneous translation.
Early Bird
registrations are in effect until February 28th, and registrants will
receive a discount of 20%. For more information please visit the
congress website at:
www.greenroofworld.com.
30 Lectures – 3 Excursions – 2 Workshops – 1 Vision
No other element in sustainable architecture has seen technical
innovations develop so fast, as in the field of green roofs. The
lectures will address fascinating projects designed by renowned
architecture firms, as well as the application of green roofs in respect
to balancing building energy, rainwater management, environment and
climate protection, and green building concepts. Along with the
Landscape
Research, Development & Construction Society (FLL's English
website), the network of cooperation partners for the congress comprises
further important German stakeholder organizations in the field of green
roofs (gardeners, roofers, landscape architects, architects and
municipal delegates) as well as the
International
Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA), the
European Landscape
Contractors Association (ELCA) and the
International
Federation of the Roofing Trade (IFD).
Lectures and Projects
The impressive list of speakers includes Emilio Ambasz (Argentine/U.S.
Architect and Green Building Pioneer), Prof. Gilbert Lösken (Head of the
FLL Green Roof Workgroup, Germany), Roland Appl (Green Roof Engineer,
IGRA President), Paul Kephart (U.S. Horticulture Expert for Ecological
Design), Rolf Disch (Office for Solar Architecture, Germany), as well as
associates from international architecture firms such as BIG Bjarke
Ingels Group (Denmark), SOM - Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (United
Kingdom), Mecanoo (Netherlands), and many more.
The London project “New Providence Wharf” is, for example, a spectacular
site, which combines living space, office space and leisure facilities,
and comprises a 27-storey hotel and apartment complex. It has
created a new dimension of used rooftop space, which captivates its
visitors with its cascade-style rooftop gardens and its views of the
River Thames. The architecture firm SOM - Skidmore, Owings &
Merrill will explain this futuristic concept in detail.
 |
New Providence Wharf (London) – Roof gardens
by the Thames / Photo Courtesy IGRA. |
The Bjarke Ingels
Group (BIG) will present its “Mountain Dwelling” project at the congress
which received the “Housing Award” at the World Architecture Festival
2008. The Mountain Dwellings appear as a suburban neighborhood of
garden homes, flowing over a 10-storey building - suburban living with
urban density. It is a unique city centre living concept in
Copenhagen, which allows its inhabitants to enjoy nature on their
doorsteps.
 |
Mountain Dwellings (Copenhagen) – Best
housing project – World Architecture Festival 2008; Photo
Courtesy BIG Bjarke Ingels Group. |
A classic among
green roofs is the project ACROS Fukuoka - Prefectural International
Hall in Japan, which is on the cover of the book “Green
Roofs – Ecological Design and Construction” by the Earth Pledge
Foundation. The design of Emilio Ambasz, Honorary Fellow AIA and
pioneer in the field of green architecture, is a perfect example for the
reconciliation between architecture and nature. One can say that
the building has a “Janus Face.” Whereas the north facade presents
the elegant urban design of a modern office building, the south facade
extends with a series of 15 stepped terraced gardens into the adjacent
Tenjin Central Park. As a result, the building gives back a 10,000
m² green open space to the public and doubles the size of the park.
 |
Fukuoka Prefectural International Hall
(Fukuoka) – Masterpiece of green roof design; Photo Courtesy
Hiromi Watanabe. |
Fusionopolis, a
science and technology powerhouse for Singapore, integrates 13 roof
gardens amounting to some 3,000 m² of sky greenery, including 6
large-scale thematic ones on the 5th, 18th and 21st storeys. They
serve as the green lungs and social pockets for the office and lab
staff. The highest roof garden is located at the 24th storey.
A wide spectrum of tropical vegetation ranging from turf, groundcovers,
climbers, shrubs, ferns, palms and trees were planted amidst a good
balance of hardscape and water features.
 |
Fusionopolis (Singapore) – Science,
technology & media powerhouse with Sky Gardens / Photo
Courtesy, IGRA. |
Other project
presentations, such as the FiftyTwoDegrees in Nijmegen (Mecanoo
Architects) and the Platinum Business Park in Warsaw (RS Architektura
Krajabrazu), demonstrate how green roofs can help to symbiotically
combine nature with modern architecture. The same applies to the
combination of green roofs and photovoltaics, which has been installed
on Cologne’s first office building, in line with the “Passive House
Standard,” and has contributed to an increase in the efficacy of the PV
installation.
 |
FiftyTwoDegrees (Nijmegen) – Natural
stormwater management with green roofs;
Photo Courtesy IGRA. |
The Workshops:
practice-oriented and tailor made
Workshop 1 “Planning, Installation and Maintenance of Green
Roofs” will offer participants practical expertise on how to
successfully plan and create a green roof – from a simple garage
landscaping to a 30,000 m² landscaped park.
Green roof expert Bernd W. Krupka is on the list of speakers, along with
the internationally experienced plant expert Dr. Nigel Dunnett from
Sheffield, UK. Practical construction experience will be presented by
landscape contractors from Germany, the Netherlands and Poland.
Other talking points include insurance-related issues: What effect do
green roofs have on a building’s insurance and what are the relevant
fire precautions?
Workshop 2 "An International Comparison of Funding and
Support Programmes for Green Roofs" will provide an overview of
political incentives in Germany and on an international level. The
main findings of the workshop will be included in a "Best Mode of
Practices-Guideline for Local Authorities."
 |
Pavillones de las Naciones (Zaragoza) – A
landscape park on the rooftop of the EXPO Zaragoza 2008
Exhibition Hall; Photo Courtesy IGRA. |
An Eye on the
Green Roof
Excursions in and around Stuttgart, to the German solar capital,
Freiburg, and to Friedrichshafen, Lake Constance, will show the various
ways in which green roofs can be applied, using both individual case
studies and within the context of modern town planning. The fact
that Stuttgart alone houses over 300 000 m² of green rooftops says a
lot. Special highlight: The excursion to Friedrichshafen includes
an airship tour with the famous Zeppelin NT. Cruising at a height
of 300 metres will give participants a unique view of the green roofs
around Lake Constance.
 |
Green roof cruising tour at Lake Constance
with the famous Zeppelin NT / Photo Courtesy ZLT_J_Wuerz. |
The
International Green Roof Congress 2009 has a vision – to bring
nature back into modern city architecture. Combining green roofs
with other future-looking technology like solar energy, thermal
insulation and utilising rainwater offers new potential for progress.
Nature +
Architecture = Beauty, it´s as simple as this.
Wolfgang Ansel
International Green Roof Congress
Congress Office
PO Box 2025
72610 Nuertingen / Germany
Tel.: +49 7024 / 96879596
E-Mail: ansel@igra-world.com
www.greenroofworld.com
Wolfgang Ansel has studied biology at the University of Hohenheim,
Germany. He was a scientific assistant at the Institute of
Landscape and Plant ecology from 1995-2002. His main research
focus is plants and environmental education. He also holds an
economics degree from the University of Hagen (marketing and
environmental economics). Wolfgang Ansel is currently the Director
of the International Green Roof Association IGRA and pro-ject
coordinator of the International Green Roof Congress.
The International Green Roof Association IGRA,
www.greenroofworld.com
IGRA´s targets are:
• Worldwide promotion of the ecological Green Roof idea
• International knowledge transfer in the field of Green Roofs
• Sensitisation of the population and political decision makers
• Stimulation of international standards for Green Roof technology and
Green Roof Policies
IGRA´s services include:
• Consultation • Research Database
• Networking • Conferences
• Newsletters • Public relation material
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