Green Roofs for Virginia Tech

Recognized as a top engineering university, Virginia Tech also has green roofs!

The most recent issue of Virginia Tech Magazine, has an article about VT alumni who are leaders in sustainability. However, the first graphic is of students planting a green roof between Seitz and Fralin Halls. The picture, seen left, shows the planting of sedum, known to be drought resistant and sequesters CO2, while other potential plant life releases CO2 during its life cycle.

The other green roof on the Blacksburg campus is the Fralin Life Sciences building.

As a reminder, several colleges and universities have buildings with green roofs. Those include George Washington University, and the University of Texas, to name two.

Go Hokies!

The UK's Greenest Hospital

World Architecture News reports:

Construction has begun on the first phase of the new, £300m Mittal Children’s Medical Centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust (GOSH), which is on target to become the UK’s ‘greenest’ medical building to date.

GOSH sought to have the building be a leader in sustainable development and includes many green components. Mountain House Freeze-Dried Food

Working with the architectural firm of Llewelyn Davies Yeang (LDY), GOSH is estimated to reduce about 20,000 tons of CO² annually. This reduction is also part of "...GOSH’s targets of a 120% carbon reduction and 60+ per cent renewable energy contribution by 2016, when Phase 2 of the project is due to complete."

LDY is noted as being a "deep green" design firm, with projects in over 15 countries. Not only do they design building with green components but also develop "eco design strategies" for their clients.

The building will include glazed glass panels to bring in a significant amount of natural, while also deflecting the heat from the increased amount of light. The building will also include significant amounts of natural ventilation, reducing the HVAC loads typical in buildings of this size (30,000 sq m). While the picture appears to show a green roof, I haven't been able to find supporting documentation. However, it would be consistent with LDY to have a green roof, as they have included them on many of their projects. Further, a green roof on a hospital would provide a peaceful respite from the stress of medical care, as well as further reducing HVAC costs. Cheap? No. 100% Free. Trade stocks for free on Zecco.com. The Free Trading Community.

The growth and renovation of this hospital is due in part to a generous donation of £15 million donation from the Aditya and Megha Mittal family.

A New Green City for China

**Be sure to read the update with Interview 1, Interview 2, and videos. **
Shanghai has a growing population, heavily polluted air, dirty water, and power shortages. But just a short ferry ride away is a wild-life preserve that will soon become its first green city.

Dongtan, which according to Business Week, "About the size of Manhattan, Dongtan aims to be energy self-sufficient using a combination of wind, solar power, and biofuels." The design is being done by Arup Group, out of London, with Alejandro Gutierrez as the Project Designer. Peter Head is the Project Director, and Roger Wood is the Project Manager. The final customer is Shanghai Industrial Investment Corporation (SIIC), and they will be making the final decisions. Cheap? No. 100% Free. Trade stocks for free on Zecco.com. The Free Trading Community. www.zecco.com

According to Gutierrez, as quoted in Wired Magazine, Dongtan will be "...a city powered by local, renewable energy, with super-efficient buildings clustered in dense, walkable neighborhoods; a recycling scheme that re-purposes 90 percent of all waste; a network of high tech organic farms; and a ban on any vehicle that emits CO₂." Of course, many of these buildings will have green roofs! Water Barrels and Storage

Because this is such an interesting topic, Arup has agreed to be interviewed about the Dongtan project. My goal is to bring you the details of this emerging and fascinating story! Green roofs are going to be a part of this major endeavor, and I predict it will only help their popularity.

Beijing is Trying to Control Pollution with Green Buildings

In a previous post titled, "Bejiing Worst Smog in a Month - Green Roofs Can Help!" I wrote how the Chinese government is concerned that the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be spoiled by air pollution.

That concern is becoming a reality, with the government expanding its restrictions to a broader geographic surrounding Beijing. Aside from these restrictions, the government is taking positive steps to improve air quality through green buildings.

National Public Radio (NPR) did a story about green buildings and green roofs in Beijing. You can listen to the story here. It outlines that China surpassed the US in becoming the world's single largest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) and "The government has set ambitious goals for reducing emissions and increasing energy efficiency by 2010."

To that end, the Chinese government is focusing on its buildings, as they consume half of the electricity in China. It is well known that green roofs can aid this effort by reducing utility costs by up to 25%. Additionally, the green roofs on these buildings well help reduce fine particulate air pollution and reduce CO2 levels in the city.

These steps toward energy efficiency and pollution control are noteworthy. In addition to green roofs and green buildings, China would do well to improve the pollution controls on their factories and power plants.

Bejiing Worst Smog in a Month - Green Roofs Can Help!

In an article in July 28th, This is London, about air pollution in China, states that despite its best efforts, "The grayish haze was one of the worst seen in Beijing in the past month despite tough traffic restrictions imposed a week ago to help reduce pollution."

Green roofs are known to reduce not only CO2, but also fine particulate matter air pollution. These benefits are especially important given the amount of power generated by coal, lax (by Western standards) industrial emissions standards, as well as the lack of pollution controls on vehicles.

To China's credit they have done the following:

"...include pulling half of Beijing's 3.3 million vehicles off the roads, closing factories in the city and in a half dozen surrounding provinces, and halting most construction in the capital. Some 300,000 heavily polluting vehicles, such as aging industrial trucks, have been banned since July 1."

Let's hope that the conditions improve so that the 2008 Beijing Olympics can be a successful display of peaceful competition.