Greenroofs.comConnecting the Planet + Living Architecture
Are you are interested in learning about the trials and tribulations of designing greenroofs with water conservation in mind? Then you cannot miss the “Two Extremes in Waterwise Design from Denver, Colorado and Athens, Greece” by Andrew Clements and Karla Dakin collaborative video from our Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit 2015 ~ Connecting the Planet with Living Architecture: People, Projects & Design above or on our VS2015 Virtual Summit 2015 playlist on our GreenroofsTV channel on YouTube.
It’s been a year since we concluded our third Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit, and as promised, we are now releasing the 23 videos from our 30+ international speakers to the general public.
Set in an interactive live discussion format, we hear from Andrew Clements of Oikosteges in Athens and Karla Dakin of K. Dakin Design in Denver. They have both experimented extensively to design vegetated roofs with minimal or no supplemental irrigation in a hot, dry city like Denver or Athens.
They both conclude the possibilities exist but the challenges lay in client expectations of what an non-irrigated green roof will look like. Together they discuss plant selection, irrigation options and how to convince clients to go dry.
Andrew Clements
Athens, Greece. Nearly fifteen years ago Andrew Clements began researching bio-climatic architecture and particularly roof greening in 2000, initially for his own needs. Having purchased a 120-year old farmhouse in the mountains near Corinth, Greece, he searched to find a Greek based green roofer and was dismayed to find that there were none. Undeterred, he set about discovering how such an endeavor might be accomplished. The challenge was to create a completely Mediterranean green roof, eco-roof or living roof as it is sometimes known, developed for the building challenges and climate peculiarities of the Mediterranean.
After 6 years of R & D with the invaluable help of a small team of specialists (architects, civil engineers, geologists, meteorologists, eco-system specialists) the first Mediterranean roof greening approach was born in 2006. It was christened Oikosteges (pronounced eco – steg –gez) which is a compound of two ancient Greek words ‘Oiko’ from which the Latin ‘eco’ is sourced meaning ‘related to the home’ and ‘steges’ meaning abode, roof over your head. Oikosteges offer the only real alternative to expensive and inappropriate roof gardens for Mediterranean countries.
Oikosteges’ mission is to recreate natural, bio-diverse Mediterranean ecosystems on any and all built structures in the cities and towns of the Mediterranean and in similar climates around the world, using a number of natural approaches which are informed by such concepts as biological succession. These ecosystems require little or no maintenance and little or no irrigation once established. The ecosystems are feather lightweight so that they can be applied to virtually any built surface in this active seismic region.
Now Andrew holds two patents for Greek-appropriate green roofs. Andrew is particularly interested in water-wise, natural, ecosystem development in hot cities like Athens as well as the challenges of working in a seismic region. Landmark projects include The Greek Treasury building in Constitution Square, Athens.
In addition, the Oikosteges team established Green Roofs Greece, a not for profit organization, which currently boasts a Facebook membership of over 21,000 in order to share experiences and ideas with the worldwide networks of green roof activists, which include the EFB (The European Federation of Green Roof Associations) and WGIN (the World Green Roof Infrastructure Network).
Karla Dakin
Denver, CO, USA. Growing things, building things, and relishing the chaos, entropy, and generative quality of nature – all are ideal creative means for Karla Dakin, who appreciates change in the process of art and design. Principal of K. Dakin Design Inc., Karla specializes in artful, environmentally, flexible landscape architecture with an emphasis on knowing context and what feels the most appropriate.
She has completed a diverse array of projects, over 100 residential gardens, as well as many commercial and public projects like “Sky Trapezium,” a permanent green roof installation at the Museum of Contemporary Art / Denver. In her collaboration with Lisa Lee Benjamin she designed the gardens around the Whole Foods Flagship Store in Boulder, Colorado and the 10,000 sq. ft. green roof atop the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust in California.
As co-author of The Professional Design Guide to Green Roofs, 2011, Karla Dakin has lectured on green roofs at the Garden Museum in London, the U.S. Botanic Gardens in Washington D.C. and the Western Landscape Symposium in Pueblo, Colorado.
Dakin combines her landscape architecture expertise—she holds a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Colorado, Denver–with fifteen years of experience in the art worlds of New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.
Read about the “Two Extremes in Waterwise Design from Denver, Colorado and Athens, Greece“ by Andrew Clements and Karla Dakin video’s 5 Key Learning Objectives which I identified for participants of the Virtual Summit 2015.
We welcome your input and suggestions to make our Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit 2017 more accessible, interactive, and a just better all around global social media experience!
~ Happy watching,
Linda S. Velazquez, ASLA, LEEP AP, GRP
Greenroofs.com Publisher
~ Also enjoy these released videos available now from our Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit 2015 ~ Connecting the Planet with Living Architecture: People, Projects & Design:
“A Higher Purpose – Benefits to Human Health and Education through Green Roofing“ by Elizabeth Hart.
“The Greenroofs.com 2014 Top 10 List of Hot Trends in Greenroof & Greenwall Design + a Look into 2015″ by Linda Velazquez and Haven Kiers.
“Greenroofs.com’s VS2015 Opening Address from Linda Velazquez.”
Promos:
The Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit 2015 Speakers.
Invitation to the Greenroofs & Walls of the World Virtual Summit 2015.
VIRTUAL SUMMIT 2015 teaser from Groncol.
Small Scale Green Roofs at the Virtual Summit by Dusty Gedge and John Little.
