Now Playing at the Virtual Summit 2015: "Versatile Living Walls & Roofs: International Applications for Agriculture, Energy Conservation, Pollution Attenuation, and Aesthetics" by Dr. Bob Cameron

In celebration of honoring Earth Day 2015 and our planet’s ecology through healthy, regenerative design, we have been highlighting each of the 23 awesome videos from our 30+ spectacular speakers from Greenroofs.com‘s Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit 2015 ~ Connecting the Planet with Living Architecture: People, Projects & Design, running through May 31st.

Our hope has been that by familiarizing you more with each presentation and its particular benefits, you would be enticed to join us during our wonderfully easy-to-navigate online Virtual Summit! And I have been identifying 5 Key Learning Objectives or “takeaway” bullet points that each video presentation provides to participants – and we have come to the end of our long list of speakers and their excellent video presentations.

In our final 2015 presentation, today we are spotlighting the individual “Versatile Living Walls & Roofs: International Applications for Agriculture, Energy Conservation, Pollution Attenuation, and Aesthetics” by the awesome Dr. Bob Cameron from Penn State, who also contributed at the Virtual Summit 2015 in this year’s “From Passive House to the Cold North—How Vegetative Envelope Components Impact Buildings” Panel with Dr. Bob Cameron, Dr. Allen Lee, Dr. Karen Liu, and Chris Wark.

And, Bob also participated at our Virtual Summit 2013 on the Panel Session “Theory & Field Studies: An Interview with Dr. Ian Balcom from Lyndon State College of Vermont & Dr. Robert Cameron from Penn State – Phytoremediation Chapter Two” with Patrick Carey. As you know, we feel Bob is just a great all around guy and we always welcome his contributions! In fact, make sure to read his May Guest Feature research article, “An Integrated Biofilter System to Contribute to Net Zero Architecture while Providing Decentralized Wastewater Treatment” on Greenroofs.com coming later.

You’ll notice that all of his photos here demonstrate the many varied modes of transportation he used on his recent travels around the world including the Netherlands, Belgium, India, China, Mongolia, South Korea, Hawaii, then mainland USA – and he crisscrossed China by many, many ways.

Regarding this video Bob says “Living walls and roofs can be designed to provide functional architecture. These functions can include the growth of food products, reducing pollutants in air and water, and minimizing building energy use. Specific research and field applications of these functions from both the USA and China will be described. Potential pitfalls are also discussed.”

University Park, PA, USA. “Robert “Bob” D. Cameron, PhD spent more than two decades directing the global environmental programs of a Fortune 30 multi-national conglomerate. In the late ‘70s in collaboration with NASA, he designed, permitted, and constructed the first constructed wetlands to treat wastewater from the natural gas industry. Working on every continent except Antarctica, Bob designed award winning environmental programs based on sustainability concepts. Later as president of his own corporation, he de-engineered historic buildings destined for the wrecking ball, which he then relocated and reconstructed with green architectural features.

Pursuing a life-long goal, he recently earned his doctorate from Penn State University (PSU) at the Center for Green Roof Research. His thesis entailed the invention and construction of a functional architectural system to attenuate wastewater pollutants while reducing a building’s energy use and providing a platform for urban agriculture. Currently, Bob has an appointment with the Department of Landscape Architecture at Penn State University and teaches collegiate courses and conducts research on greenroofs, livings walls, constructed wetlands, aquaponics, and artificial islands while also managing Eco Applied Technologies, a consulting firm for commercial, residential, and industrial applications.” Read his complete bio here from the VS2015.

You will benefit from these 5 Key Learning Objectives as Bob Cameron shares on the subject:

1) The journey should be just as interesting as the destination: His exciting but daunting teaching at Qingdao Agricultural University in China for a couple of months last year – learn all about this 4-month sojurn including visits to numerous greenroofs and greenwalls some of the issues relating to government ownership;

2) Four examples of what he observed: in India he focused on the “golden triangle” to Delhi and its living walls, an expansive agro production on a roof outside of Shanghai, living walls in Kunming, and living walls and greenroofs in Seoul;

3) Discussions of the various issues regarding living walls and roofs as confronted in India, China, and South Korea – transitional climates, wrong plants, lack of knowledge of greenwall technology, water requirements – underscoring lack of maintenance. For example, at an airport in India the client wanted a lifetime guarantee on their new greenwall but refused to pay for any annual maintenance;

4) Main problem throughout the world is available palette of plants for both interior and exterior living walls, although growing; traveling around Asia, he went to remote areas to look for the potential of plant species to be adapted and brought to the nursery industry including karst topography, limestone formations, Alpine areas, the Gobi Desert including a very biodiverse oasis, and the Holy Mountains;

5) Different drivers: Many case studies including a roof garden outside of Hangzhou from an owner who wanted uncontaminated veggies for his workers utilizing Feng Shui; The Bund in Shanghai with its stunning “flower wall” over 100 ft along constructed for beauty – part of the Chinese philosophy; Kunming in southwest China believe planners and designers’ projects should be “harmonious & liveable” with flower walls and wall planters on highways and parking garages allowing facades to be covered in green; the mega project at the Beijing International airport symbolizes a dragon.

Watch the 34:56 “Versatile Living Walls & Roofs: International Applications for Agriculture, Energy Conservation, Pollution Attenuation, and Aesthetics” by Dr. Bob Cameron now playing at the Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit 2015. If you have not yet registered (only $49 or 25), please do:

Registration fee:

$49 – special discounted pricing;

$25 for students/faculty and government professionals

All Video Presentations, Q & A Transcripts, & Exhibitor Booths are On Demand +
Networking Live 24/7 through May 31, 2015

Earn CEUs including 10 GRP CEUs. Register here.

Registration Open through May 31st for the Greenroofs.com Virtual Summit 2015

We hope you will support our work! Please remember that these video presentations will not be made public for at least one year.

Happy watching and participating,

~ Linda V.

Learn more about these awesome video presentations and their 5 Key Learning Objectives at the Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit 2015:

“A Green Building Should Look Green, Which Means Hairy!” by Dr. Ken Yeang.

“Biodiversity in the Sky – How Green Roofs Can Be Designed as Wild Life Refuges” by Dr. Stephan Brenneisen.

“Green Roofs to New Cities” by Dr. Diana Balmori.

“A Higher Purpose – Benefits to Human Health and Education through Green Roofing” by Elizabeth Hart.

“Beyond Extensive and Intensive: Defining the Comprehensive Green Roof” by Molly Meyer.

“Biosolar Roofs” by Nathalie Baumann and Dusty Gedge.

“From Passive House to the Cold North—How Vegetative Envelope Components Impact Buildings” Panel with Dr. Bob Cameron, Dr. Allen Lee, Dr. Karen Liu, and Chris Wark.

“Greening Rooftops in Alberta: People, Place + Projects” by Kerry Ross.

“Greening the World Inside and Outside” by Mark Paul.

“Greenwalls in Middle Earth” by Graham Cleary.

“Pollinators on the Parapets” by Angie Durhman.

“Small Scale Green Roofs” by Dusty Gedge and John Little.