Vancouver’s Library Square and the Winnipeg Mountain Equipment Co-op store are among 21 North American projects nominated for a 2005 Green Roofs Award of Excellence. The competition is part of the 3rd annual Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference, Awards and Trade Show being held May 4-6, 2005 in Washington DC. The awards will be presented on Thursday, May 5, 2005, during the Conference gala at the Washington Marriott Renaissance Hotel located at 99 North Street NW adjacent to the Washington DC Convention Center.
The Library Square Green Roof was designed to imitate the flow of BC’s Fraser River in the form of vegetation winding its way through downtown Vancouver. The 33,000-square-foot project, one of the first of its kind, has become a template for Green Roof design in North America. After the successful completion of the project, architects and designers Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, Eva Matsuzaki and Elisabeth Whitelaw were commissioned by Public Works Canada to write the Introductory Manual to Green Roofs.
The Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) store in Winnipeg is also nominated. Winnipeg architect Richard Kula, the designer of the 2,882-square-foot roof, worked with plant consultant John Morgan of Argyle to replicate the area’s original natural prairie landscape above the streets of the city.
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) established the Green Roof Awards of Excellence in 2003 to recognize green roof projects that exhibit extraordinary leadership in integrated design and implementation. The awards also increase general awareness of green roof infrastructure and its public and private benefits while recognizing the valuable contributions of green roof design professionals. There are seven award categories which apply to all types of buildings and installed green roof designs.
All nominated projects incorporate green roof technology in their designs. A green roof is a roofing system designed to support green space on top of built structures. Some of the benefits of green roofs include on-site storm water retention, greater building energy efficiency and reductions in urban smog and air temperatures.
The Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Cities Conference is co-hosted by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) and the District of Columbia. The Conference is a forum for policymakers, researchers, designers, manufacturers and consulting professionals who are developing the North American green roof industry.
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities is working to achieve the development of a multi-million dollar market for green roof products, services and markets across North America. For more information on the Washington conference go to www.greenroofs.org/washington