Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Summer 2011 - (Page 33)

PLANTS ARE ALWAYS STRESSED BY WINDY CONDITIONS. WE LOOK FOR PLANTS THAT BEAR UP AGAINST THE WIND, OR PLANTS THAT ARE LOW LYING. – Urban farmer Annie Novak is true with much terrace growing, the irrigation needs to be fine-tuned to avoid both dehydration and over-watering. “The beauty of the project is that it involves an honest trial-and-error approach and that Fred [Rich] gave us the freedom to experiment,” says Novak. “This is very unusual. His attitude creates a value that extends well beyond the individual garden, and our freedom to experiment will enable other rooftop gardeners to learn from our mistakes and successes.” MKMLA’s Visionaire project demonstrates plants that are low lying.” Under the care of her team, the Visionaire garden has been continuously productive. Mr. Rich has hosted a series of dinner parties with food grown entirely onsite. Annie and chef Gordan Colon (from EAT in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York) prepared several meals. Butterflies, birds and honey bees are common in the garden, and there is much evidence of these and other pollinators. While some pests are arriving, there have not been as many as would inhabit a garden at ground level. As that islands of living architecture —specifically roofscapes — contribute significantly to the urban social and ecological matrix. This intensive system points to expanded opportunities for an exceptional variety of plant species to survive in extreme conditions and heights, providing oases for flying species while aiding significantly in carbon sequestration and evapotranspiration. From a development perspective, cultivated planes above-grade offer expanded opportunities for socialization within public and shared spaces. With half the global population (and rising), living in cities, and with current trends accelerating species collapse, biodiverse canopy-plantings on rooftops should be embraced politically and economically as vital additions to the social – ecological spatial urban landscape form. Mark K. Morrison, RLA, GRP, FASLA is president of Mark K. Morrison Landscape Architecture PC based in New York, New York. Anne Vaterlaus, RLA, ASLA, is senior landscape designer, Boston studio director for Mark K. Morrison Landscape Architecture PC based in Norwood, Massachusetts. http://www.sempergreen.com http://www.sempergreen.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Summer 2011

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Summer 2011
Contents
Water Worries
Cities Re-Imagined
Design Strategies for Wild Bees
Special Section: Cities Alive 2011 Conference Guide
Thin Flats
Sky Island at the Visionaire
Welcome New Members
New Corporate Members
Professional Calendar
Seven-Year Pitch

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Summer 2011