Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Summer 2009 - (Page 19)

A GREEN ROOF FOR EVERY ANGLE AN AESTHETIC MASTERPIECE, THESE GREEN ROOFS PROVIDE ENJOYMENT FOR RESIDENTS AND NEIGHBORS CATEGORY INTENSIVE RESIDENTIAL S ituated on a seam between South Boston and an expansive field of industry and infrastructure, the Macallen Building and landscape rise together as an icon of sustainable development in this rapidly evolving area. The LEED® Gold-certified building and landscape were conceived in response to concerns about air and noise pollution, heat island effect and a lack of local greenspace. The development addressed the existing impervious asphalt site through the establishment of two layers of green roof as well as a large entry court of pervious pavers allowing stormwater infiltration. The design incorporates two separate green roof areas: an upper sloping roof with a growing media depth of eight inches as well as recreational terrace, with a growing media depth ranging from six to 60 inches. Responding to the three-storey building typology definitive of residential South Boston, Macallen’s eastern façade strikes a consistent height with adjacent structures before sloping “The Macallen building is meant to be a living model of how, through a careful knitting together of ecological and social agendas, older neighborhoods can renew themselves one building at a time.” Michael Blier, RLA, ASLA, principal-incharge / Letitia Tormay, senior associate, project manager, Landworks Studio, Inc., Boston, Massachusetts SPECS PROJECT: Macallen Building Condominiums, Boston, Massachussetts AWARD RECIPIENT: Landworks Studio, Inc. CLIENT: Pappas Properties DESIGN ARCHITECT: Oﬃce dA LANDSCAPE CONTRACTOR: Greenscape ARCHITECT OF RECORD: Burt Hill ROOFING/MEMBRANE MANUFACTURER: American Hydrotech Inc. STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Bovis Lend Lease ROOFING CONTRACTOR: Marshall Rooﬁng up to 12 storeys to the West facing the city skyline. Rather than a stepped or flat roof, the slanted roof was a conscious desire of the design team to offer a vegetated view to the neighborhood. The recreational terrace was raised four feet at the western end to provide depth for a lap pool, while elsewhere the growing media is mounded to create a language of hillocks with staggered high points. Our judges responded to the aesthetics of the project and were impressed with the way the design used differing approaches to green-roof technology to create different environments at different tiers of the building. Another thing that helped the project to stand out to judges was the close relationship this project has developed with various landscape education programs – even becoming a classroom extension of the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Outside of this formal educational component, both local students and anyone else passing through the neighborhood will also be able to look up and see the progress of the highly visible sloping roof – providing a frequent reminder of this exceptional green roof project. D Images courtesy of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and Landworks Studio, Inc.

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Summer 2009

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Summer 2009
The Case for Mandated Green Roofs
Citiesalive!
Student Sustainable Design Competition
GIF Road Show
U.S. Green Roof Industry Grew By 35 Percent in 2008
Part 1 of 2: Risk-Reduction Tools
On the Roof With . . .
The World's First Accredited Green Roof Professionals (GRPs)
A Haven for Butterflies
A Green Roof at Sea
A Biophilic Oasis
A Green Roof for Every Angle
Community Focal Point
Nature in the City
Growing Lives
A Green Roof with Wings
A Policy Pioneer
A Dedicated Researcher
Designing a Better Future
Fire & Wind Standards
GHRC Professional Development Calendar
Welcome New Corporate Members
Green Wall Research
Standing the Test of Time

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Summer 2009