Designing an addition to any Frank Lloyd Wright building is a daunting architectural challenge. So when a 7,000-square-foot green roof was installed on a 20,000-square-foot addition to the First Unitarian Meeting House in Madison, Wis., it took a joint effort by a Wisconsin-based architecture firm and a Michigan-based horticultural company.
Chicago has long been known as the Windy City. But Chicago is earning a new nickname - “Green Roof City.” Much of the credit goes to the Public Building Commission (PBC), which oversees public buildings across the city.
The new FedEx Cargo Facility at O’Hare Airport in Chicago is an impressive design response to the sustainable vision promoted by the City of Chicago’s O’Hare Modernization Program (OMP).
As the demand for locally grown produce increases, urban communities are becoming more and more creative in finding ways to meet that demand. Urban agriculture can be as simple as windowsill herb gardens or as vast and vibrant as large community gardens that encompass entire city blocks.
Guided by its Quaker values, the prestigious Sidwell Friends School is committed to practicing responsible environmental stewardship. Sidwell’s Middle School Building is the first K-12 school in the United States to earn a LEED Platinum rating and the first-ever LEED Platinum building in Washington, D.C.
Successful green roofs can be considered “low maintenance.” However, they should never be viewed as “no maintenance.” Not having a maintenance program in place will reduce the overall effectiveness of the initial investment made during installation.
