Of Green Roofs, Mickey Mouse, and Petit Ermitage

What does Micky Mouse have in common with a chic West Hollywood hotel?  A green roof!  Yes, its true.  Whether you are eating a $4.00 churro or drinking a $15 martini, you will see vegetation on the roof.

While traveling through Southern California, I stayed at Petit Ermitage in West Hollywood.  A great, small hotel, it has a rooftop garden with lots of great plants.  National Geographic had a blog post by Lawrence Ferber about it from September 10, 2010, but it is no longer available.  I found a pdf of the article.  It reads in part:

 Even for Hollywood, boutique hotel Petit Ermitage boasts bragging rights to possibly the most exclusive regulars that frequent its gorgeous, private rooftop deck: hummingbirds.  The National Wildlife Federation recognizes the space as a butterfly and hummingbird sanctuary. 

Tucked within a residential crevice between busy Santa Monica and Sunset Boulevards, the greenery-nestled Private Rooftop Club and restaurant is one of Petit Ermitage's star attractions.

Chef Antonishek grows fresh herbs and produce on the deck's garden, including parsley, rosemary, peppermint, tomatoes, strawberries and kumquats, for use in dishes... 

Courtesy Tracygallagher.com

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I enjoyed my stay and would recommend it my readers.  The room was well appointed and comfortable.  I wandered down the halls admiring the extensive art collection.  The obvious question is why would I leave this wonderful location for Disneyland in Annaheim.  The answer is simple: my kids.

While at Disneyland, we stayed at the Grand Californian Hotel.  Done in American Craftsman style, the enormous great lobby has very tastefully done fake rocks and wooden beams.  It is a nice place and the accommodations were nice.  However, the green roof was found in the park itself.

Right across from Big Thunder Barbecue was this small snack shop with its green roof.  I almost missed it, as subtly blends in with the rest of the vegetation.

Many criticize Disney for its inaccurate representations of history and foreign culture, but you look hard, you can find some very sophisticated gardening and a tremendous variety of vegetation.

For a short trip to California, I managed to take in two green roofs, though I missed the monster of them all, the California Academy of Sciences, in San Francisco.  I will let you know the next time I head out there, as it is pretty amazing.

Transbay Transit Center Green Roof

San Francisco is already known for its green roofs on bus shelters and the California Academy of Science, now the newly designed Transbay Transit Center will have an enormous green roof as well.

According to World Architecture News,

"The glass-and- steel complex, which will serve 12 transit systems... includes new features as well.
One of those features is a 5.4-acre rooftop park with a 100-seat outdoor amphitheater ... cafes and restaurants. The park will have 20 sub-environments including an amphitheater, a playground, public artworks and a lily pond.... A 1,000-foot long fountain shaped like a bus will automatically be activated when a bus passes underneath the park."
The design was approved on 29 April 2010 by the Transbay Joint Powers Authority Board (TJPA).

According to California Construction, construction will begin in August of 2010 with an estimated cost of "$1.589 billion budget for the first phase of the project, updated to include the cost of building the below ground train box."

Also noted from the article are the addition sustainability features of the project.

"Some of its sustainable features include a geothermal system to assist in substantially reducing energy consumption and a greywater recycling system that will be manage and re-use waste water in the facility. The Transit Center will be entirely naturally ventilated, and, to a large extent, naturally lit."

As San Francisco continues to burnish its green credentials, the new Transbay Transit Center will certainly be a worthy replacement for the current iconic structure. Curiously, it reminds me of the Crossrail Canary Wharf Station. I guess there are only so many ways to build a train station with a green roof.