Greenroofs.comConnecting the Planet + Living Architecture
Each week you can expect to learn What’s New here on Greenroofs.com through our “This Week in Review” video. Here is the transcript from August 24, 2012 from our daughter, Anjuli – click on the photo below to see the video, or here. Enjoy!
– Hello, I’m Anjuli Velázquez and welcome to “This Week in Review” for August 24th, 2012 on GreenroofsTV.
– Our project of the week is the ABN AMRO Plaza, 6th Floor Podium, built in 2005 in Chicago, Illinois. ABN AMRO Plaza is a 1.4 million square foot, 29-floor commercial office building located in the West Loop area of Chicago and is certified LEED-EB Gold. The green roof on the 6th floor was primarily built for the use of the ABN AMRO employees. It was designed to be an occupied green roof with 50% planted area and 50% paver area with plantings which are a mix of trees, perennial plants, and annual flowers in planters of mixed heights. Former Mayor Daley’s objective was to make Chicago America’s greenest city, and this building has contributed towards making Chicago a cleaner, healthier, more energy-efficient environment for its citizens.
This project has won numerous awards including the IIDA Design Award, Crain’s Real Estate Development of the Year and Midwest Construction Commercial Project of the year. And, it also won the 2007 Green Roofs for Healthy Cities Awards of Excellence in the Intensive Industrial/Commercial category. The “Greenroof-Roofscape ®” waterproofing assembly, supplied by Barrett Company, consists of 215 mils thick Barrett “Ram Tough 250″ rubberized asphalt membrane, polyester reinforcement, SBS protection course, 60 psi extruded polystyrene insulation, and a root barrier.
– To learn more about the ABN AMRO Plaza, 6th Floor Podium, click on our project of the week photo on our homepage (or on the above photos).
– Welcome to our new sponsor, Vegetal i.D.! They are one of the largest nurseries dedicated to green roof and living wall solutions.
– And welcome back to our new advertiser, Capitol Greenroofs, a full service landscape architectural and contracting firm out of Virginia.
– EPA Invites Students to Compete in Campus RainWorks Challenge.
– Over at Sky Gardens, check out Linda’s latest post: “Greenroofs.com’s “˜This Week in Review’ on GreenroofsTV: August 17, 2012.”
– “Upcoming Events“
– September 1st-7th: is the World Urban Forum 6, in Naples, Italy.
– “In the News“
– A Press Release from PR Newswire announces “Postal Service Saves Millions in Energy Costs.” The U.S. Postal Service recently reported that it had reduced its total facility energy consumption by nearly 26% since 2003. Robust energy measurement systems and practical steps, like the ones noted by the Go Green Forever Stamps, Adjust the Thermostat and Turn off Lights Not in Use, contributed to the reduction, which is about the same amount of energy used annually by 90,000 households.
The Postal Service’s first green roof opened in 2009 on top of the Morgan Mail Processing and Distribution Facility in New York, and is the city’s largest green roof. The agency’s second green roof, on top of the Syracuse Colvin-Elmwood Post Office, was built at no cost to the Postal Service through the sustainability Save the Rain partnership with Onondaga County, New York. Each roof has an expected lifespan of 50 years, they will help reduce the amount of stormwater runoff flowing into the city’s water systems, and are part of the U.S. Postal Service’s commitment to creating sustainable spaces and facilities.
– Matt Vande Bunte of MLIVE, talks about “How a stormwater fee could make Grand Rapids “˜sexy.'” A new report to be reviewed by the Grand Rapids City Commission recommends increased funding, through a tax or user fee, for the public stormwater system. It embraces the concept of giving properties a way to reduce the new cost by installing green infrastructure. The added cost would be a monthly fee of about $2-$8, and this “rain tax” is becoming a hot topic in Michigan.
West Michigan Environmental Action Council’s executive director, Rachel Hood, says “It’s the (low-impact development) that makes stormwater sexy. What is recommended in the report is an approach that provides for low-impact development incentives.” Mayor George Heartwell said, “We’ve got to find a way to fund stormwater. The issue is how do you fund stormwater. I think creating a stormwater utility with an equitable assessment process is the fairest and best way to do it.”
– To learn more about these stories and new ones posted daily, go to our In the News or Newslinks section of our website.
– Send us your green articles, videos and images to editor@greenroofs.com and share your greenroof or greenwall info with the world!
– Make sure to keep up with everything Greenroofs.com by following us on Twitter, liking us on Facebook, being a member of our network on LinkedIn, and subscribing to our greenroofsTV channel on YouTube!
– This has been This Week in Review for August 24th, 2012 on GreenroofsTV. I’m Anjuli Velázquez and I’ll see you next week!
*This week’s episode is sponsored by The Greenroof Directory, brought to you by Greenroofs.com.*
Did we miss something? We’d love to hear from you!
~ Linda V.
