Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Cover Photo Credits: Randy Sharp, District of Sechelt, Interlocking Concrete Paving Institute
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ...................................................3 1. Strategies for Ecological Site Development.........................................9
1.1 Planning and Design.................................................9 1.1.1 Integrated Design Process 1.1.2 Documenting the Natural and Human Factors Influencing the Site 1.1.3 Optimizing Energy Performance through Building Form and ClimateSpecific Design 1.1.4 Site Organization, Circulation, Servicing and Open Space 1.2 Site Management During Construction.....................14 1.2.1 Involvement of Contractors and Suppliers 1.2.2 Construction Waste Management 1.2.3 Soil Management 1.2.4 Erosion and Sedimentation Control 1.2.5 Hydroseeding, Revegetation and Protection of Soils 1.3 Rainwater Management and Biofiltration.................17 1.3.1 Rainwater Harvesting 1.3.2 Porous Pavement 1.3.3 Vegetated Swales and Biofiltration 1.3.4 Rain Gardens 1.3.5 Absorbent Landscapes 1.3.6 Underground Storage Systems 1.3.7 Constructed Wetlands and Ponds 1.4 Water Efficiency......................................................23 1.4.1 Plant Selection and Waterwise Landscaping 1.4.2 Landscape Irrigation 1.5 Urban Heat Island Reduction..................................25 1.5.1 Street Trees and Shade on the Site 1.5.2 High Albedo Paving Materials 1.5.3 Green Facades and Living Walls 1.5.4 Green Roofs 1.5.5 White Roofs 1.5.6 Combining Rooftop Technologies 1.6 Materials, Resources and Maintenance..................31 1.6.1 Reuse of Materials 1.6.2 Recycled Materials for Construction 1.6.3 Regional Materials 1.6.4 Local Manufacturers 1.6.5 Organic Landscape Maintenance 1.6.6 Composting and Soil Management
2. Innovations in Design........................................35
2.1 Visible Infrastructure...............................................35 2.2 Urban Amenities.....................................................37 2.3 Urban Agriculture.....................................................38 2.4 Wastewater Technologies.........................................39 2.4.1 Living Machines 2.4.2 Grey Water Treatment 2.5 Bicycle Facilities......................................................41 2.5.1 Bicycle Storage 2.6 Lighting..................................................................42 2.6.1 Lighting Strategies 2.7 Acoustics.................................................................43 2.8 EcoDensity.............................................................44
TABLE of CONTENTS
CREDITS: writing, research & photography* Randy Sharp editing: Shaun Smakal formatting and graphic support: Bryce Gauthier, Ken Larsson and Jennifer Zatser
*unless otherwise credited
INTRODUCTION
Ecological Site Development is written to inform designers, policy makers and the development industry about site planning, design, construction and maintenance from an ecological perspective. This guidebook focuses on development and visible infrastructure strategies that: protect / restore natural features on a site reduce the loadings to municipal infrastructure and the watershed provide solutions that are eco-effective encourage local businesses to develop sustainable products for the marketplace build healthy cities that enhance the quality of life foster integration of landscape and architecture. It is the intent of this document to assist those involved with development and construction in Metro Vancouverdevelopers, architects, engineers, scientists, policy makers, landscape architects, contractors and suppliers of sustainable products. This guidebook offers the knowledge necessary to help make more informed choices about the methods and strategies used to conduct business and to develop sites within Metro Vancouver. Ecological Site Development covers a wide range of site engineering, green architecture and landscape strategies and will be updated as new technology, knowledge and practices are developed or made available in British Columbia. The reader will also be directed to other independent technical resources and links to relevant websites. This document may be used as a companion to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Reference Package and will highlight where LEED credits can be earned. In addition, innovative biological and engineered solutions are presented that go beyond currently available LEED credits.
UniverCity at Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a pedestrian oriented, new community on Burnaby Mountain. Photo by Stefan Lorimer
The LEED Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based, market driven green building rating system based upon existing proven technology. It evaluates performance on a range of ecological and human health protection issues from a whole building perspective over a buildings life cycle, providing a definitive standard for what constitutes a green building. Canada Green Building Council.
www.cagbc.org
Objectives
The goal of ecological site development is to create biologically diverse, vibrant and livable communities that enhance our social well-being and our local economy. However, before these benefits can be fully realized, we need to rethink the way we design and build on the land. The first objective is to transform the marketplace. North America, in general, is lagging behind much of Europe and Japan in the implementation of environmental construction techniques; and British Columbia is no exception. Vancouver and Metro Vancouver provide an ideal context for implementing ecological practices and sustainable products within the region and helping to distribute them across North America. The second objective focuses on the creation of new business opportunities within B.C. and Metro Vancouver.
INTRODUCTION
The third objective is to address the red tape, engineering standards and regulatory barriers to developing cost effective and ecological sites. Policies and guidelines need to respond to and encourage more beneficial forms of design, development and construction.
Organization
Ecological Site Development is organized into three main parts:
Part 1, Strategies for Ecological Site Development, covers proven strategies to enhance the ecological performance of sites in our region. These strategies may be applicable to achieving LEED credits. Part 2, Innovations in Design explores several emerging strategies that may go beyond LEED certified projects. Such strategies include social sustainability, urban agriculture and innovative wastewater treatment, or technologies new to Metro Vancouver. Part 3, Sustainable Technology Series, includes detailed case studies of an extensive green roof design and installation and of an application of pervious concrete. In the future, the Sustainable Technology Series will be expanded with more case studies.
INTRODUCTION
An example of low impact development (LID ) at Eagle Mountain Park, City of Coquitlam. Four parking lots demonstrate four paving strategies including reinforced grass, interlocking permeable pavers, asphalt and a hybrid of asphalt and pavers. Flow rate meters are connected to each of the four catch basins for stormwater monitoring.
Several B.C.-based developers, organizations and municipalities are already passionate about ecological site development. One of these is VanCity Credit Union. We are committed to supporting alternative transportation, environmental education, green business, a green building grant program and emerging green sectors, says Jacques Khouri, President & CEO, Vancity Enterprises Ltd. (VCE). Operating with a mandate for socially responsible real estate development, VCE is co-developer of the Dockside Green project in Victoria, B.C., with Windmill Developments and the City of Victoria. The development is a triple bottom line development, meaning that it emphasizes a design that integrates environmental, economic and social sustainability. (see www.docksidegreen.com )
INTRODUCTION
A Permeable Paving System (See the Interlocking Concrete Paving Institue website at www.icpi.org).
USEFUL RESOURSES: Green Buildings BC Resources Guide (see www.greenbuildingsbc.com/new_ buildings/resources_guide) Green Construction, Introducing Green Buildings & LEED to Contractors, 2004, BuildSmart, GVRD Sustainable Building Design: Principles,Practices and Systems, 2003, BuildSmart, GVRD (see www.metrovancouver.org/buildsmart/PDFS/sustainablebuilddesprinciple spracticessys4.pdf) GVRD Regional Case Studies, the Sustainable Region Initiative (see www. metrovancouver.org/sustainability/casestudies.htm) The GVRD Publication, Green Construction: Introducing Green Buildings and LEED to Contractors.
INTRODUCTION
BCIT Green Roof Research Facility, BCIT. The BCIT Green Roof Research Facility, displays sustainable products and monitors them for stormwater and thermal performance. (see www.greenroof.bcit. ca).
Ecological Site Development is a living document designed to keep those in the development industry up-to-date on ecological site development, design and construction. It focuses on the visible and ecological strategies through which sustainable development and construction can be achieved. This guidebook follows a modular format that is designed to be updated and expanded on a regular basis as new technology, knowledge and construction practices become available to the development industry. We recognize that innovation in the development industry is often the outcome of an integrated design process whereby project partners, designers, suppliers and contractors meet to brainstorm and develop new approaches to site development techniques. Many of these strategies are being implemented in the Lower Mainland on a microscale.
Green architecture and living walls of Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan (see www.greenrooftops.com)
INTRODUCTION
Despite the advantages already present within Metro Vancouver, there are a number of barriers restricting green building and ecological site development. For example, within the City of Vancouver Engineering Department, the Sewers Branch is advocating the use of permeable materials and alternative paving systems. However, the Streets Branch allows only cast in place (CIP) broom nish concrete or exposed aggregate concrete for new city sidewalks, and asphalt for roadways. This policy for municipal streets effectively seals all surfaces often sending stormwater into the combined city sewers that overow with raw sewage into English Bay and the Fraser River during heavy rain events.
Metro Vancouver and the author welcome your input into design innovation and practical solutions. Please forward your suggestions, accounts of your experiences, photos and project examples to: Business Advisor, Policy and Planning, Metro Vancouver, 4330 Kingsway, Burnaby BC V5H 4G8 T:604.432.6200 e-mail: buildsmart@metrovancouver.org
author: Randy Sharp, BCSLA, CSLA, ASLA, LEED Accredited Professional Sharp & Diamond Landscape Architecture 602-1401 West Broadway Vancouver, BC V6H 1H6 T: 604.681.3303 e-mail: randy@sharpdiamond.com www.sharpdiamond.com
INTRODUCTION
Ecological development requires a knowledgeable design team that has a detailed understanding of natural systems, energy modelling and long-term building performance as well as the municipal approval process. A thorough technical grounding in building systems, the local microclimate, on-site project experience and cost-effective, practical solutions is also essential for all team members.
The ecological site development strategies presented in this section are ecoeffective, meaning they provide increased ecological benefits over traditional development methods and remain cost-effective. The strategies relate to the design process, energy consumption, site servicing, construction efficiencies, water supply and reduction of waste in the industry.
UniverCity at SFU. The new community is the result of an integrated design process. Photo by Stefan Lorimer
1.1.2 Documenting the Natural and Human Factors Influencing the Site
Integrated design process meeting, GVRD
A sites environmental, cultural and economic characteristics, as well as opportunities and constraints for development need to be surveyed and documented at the start of a project. Natural processes generally dominate on greenfield sites, while existing infrastructure and land use greatly influence brownfields or urban infill projects. Topography, slopes, soil conditions, water resources, vegetation, urban form and land economics may determine the most effective approach to locating buildings and open space. Urban design policies and guidelines in various neighbourhoods may address social concerns, character, and the fit of a development into the local surroundings and the greater community.
The fragmentation of the building process into so many different disciplines has led to a gross simplification of the issues involved in building. Gary L. Strang, Infrastructure as Landscape, Landscape Architecture, pg. 14, vol. 10, no. 3, 1996.
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Some of these parameters may include roadway and streetscape design, maintaining a human scale for the built form, outdoor amenities, public art, pedestrian facilities, lighting and crime prevention through environmental design. In addition to the immediate physical adjacencies to the site, the relationship of the site to larger patterns of land use, transportation, open space and infrastructure needs to be identified and documented.
MAPPING AND RESOURCES Most Metro Vancouver municipalities have extensive GIS mapping and detailed air photos available. Natural Resources Canada provides its Geological Map of the Vancouver Metropolitan Area (Geomap), which has multiple overlays showing ood hazards, slopes and landslides, groundwater and aquifers, at gsc.nrcan.gc.ca:80/urbgeo/geomapvan/ geomap10_e.php. The Endangered Species and Ecosystems in British Columbia website at www. env.gov.bc.ca/wld/serisk.htm provides links to detailed information on rare and endangered species and ecosystems in B.C. and provides links to agencies working with endangered species. The B.C .Species and Ecosystems Explorer, at srmapps. gov.bc.ca/apps/eswp/, is a search tool for nding provincial red-listed and blue-listed species and ecological communities by biogeoclimatic unit. Direct links are provided to relevant publications about rare organisms and ecological communities as well as species distribution, life histories, conservation needs and recovery plans.
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Metro Vancouvers SeymourCapilano Filtration Plant Landscape Site Restoration Plan with Legend : The SeymourCapilano Filtration Plant site is consolidated in area to conserve a large parcel of forest as part of the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve. Site planning respected the need to protect stands of ecologically signicant trees (Douglas-r and Sitka Spruce). The preconstruction habitat values of the Seymour ecosystems were mapped by a biologist to produce a Biodiversity / Ecosystem Ranking System. For restoration landscapes, a Potential Biodiversity for each Rehabilitation Zone was prepared and will be monitored post construction. Fencing to protect trees was installed prior to site clearing and was maintained for the duration of construction.
Refer to LEED SS 1, Site Selection: Some properties or portions of sites may not be suitable for development. Provincial and Federal regulations as well as municipal zoning discourages or prohibits buildings, roads or parking within the following areas: the agricultural Land Reserve (mandatory policy in B.C.) wetlands within 30.5m setback (mandatory policy in B.C.) oodplains (mandatory policy in BC) ecologically sensitive lands lands that provide habitat for rare or endangered species. Refer to the B.C. Fish Protection Act ( see www.env.gov.bc.ca/habitat/sh_ protection_act/) and the Endangered Species and Ecosystems in British Columbia website at www.env.gov.bc.ca/wld/serisk.htm. The interface between the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) and residential development, Delta.
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1.1.3 Optimizing Energy Performance through Building Form and Climate-Specific Design
The shape and mass of a building, as well as its orientation to the sun, natural light and wind, are key components of reducing energy consumption and creating a pleasant indoor environment. Harvesting free energy is accomplished by sculpting the form of the building to maximize passive solar heating, natural ventilation and penetration of sunlight into interior spaces.
Arctic ice retreats dramatically, The Vancouver Sun, September 30, 2005: New satellite observations show that sea ice in the Arctic is melting faster while air temperatures in the region are rising sharply, scientists say. Global Warning, The Vancouver Sun, October 29, 2005: Most models predict more severe weather: hotter hots, cooler colds, and more intense storms, as global thermal contrasts grow more extreme. A warmer atmosphere draws more water from oceans, resulting in bigger, wetter, more frequent storms, rises in sea level, shifts in seasons, and a chain of other climatic events.
Broadway Tech Centre, a brownfield site in Vancouver. Building orientation, shape and mass are designed to reduce energy consumption.
A design team consisting of the architect, landscape architect and a specialist in energy engineering can explore alternative massing concepts. Testing of building form and orientation early in the design process may include preparing 3D conceptual models, shadow diagrams and computer energy modelling. The addition of thermal massing or living walls on the south and west facades can reduce daily temperature variations. Strategically placed deciduous trees can provide wind protection and shade during the summer and let in sunlight during winter.
Refer to LEED EA 1, Optimize Energy Performance.
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Fingers of parking surface runoff and biofiltration swales at Burnaby Mountain Secondary School, Burnaby.
Refer to LEED SS 4.1, Alternative Transportations and SS 5.1/5.2, Reduced Site Disturbance
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1.2
To reduce construction costs and to minimize the effect on the environment, contractors and project partners can work together to solve major issues. For example, transportation costs and the impacts of trucking of materials can be significantly reduced if green waste from site clearing and construction debris is reused on the site for landscape purposes. Also, valuable resources are not wasted or lost to landfills if materials are salvaged during demolition and recycled during construction.
Collaboration between the client, designers, contractors and suppliers in the initial stages of an integrated design process can produce effective solutions and cost efficiencies. When the contractor understands the design intent and spirit of the project, and has a good working relationship with the client and design team, tender prices will often be lower. The installer has much greater confidence that he or she will get it right the first time and will receive timely approvals from site inspectors. Innovation in the landscape industry is often the outcome of meetings with the trades and manufacturers to brainstorm and develop new approaches and sustainable products for site development.
From a global perspective, the days of inexhaustible resources, materials, and energy are rapidly ending. Interestingly, a whole market for building demolition and material reuse and salvage is changing the construction landscape, and many projects are actually making money from their waste. Green Construction, Introducing Green Buildings & LEED to Contractors, 2004 BuildSmart, GVRD. Visit: the Construction Waste Management Strategies website at www.metrovancouver. org/buildsmart/construction-waste.htm.
Refer to LEED MR Prereq 1, Storage & Collection of Recyclables; MR 2, Construction Waste Management, and LEED MR 3, Resource Reuse.
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Both green waste from site clearing and non-treated timber from framing and building construction can be chipped to form a landscape mulch. A portable chipper can cut up 2 x 4s, 4 x 4s, and even 6 x 6s. Rock crushing machines can break up boulders and broken concrete with dimensions of up to one metre to form a crushed rock for subbase or ballast for underground stormwater chambers or structural soil for urban trees. Recycling greatly reduces palletizing of waste materials, and associated transportation costs including fuel, tires and brakes and the resulting dust and pollutants on the roads.
Naturalization Strategies: salvaged soils, logs, stumps, wildlife trees, native plants and aggregate waterfront path, Furry Creek. Waste materials and subsoils that do have to be hauled away can utilize the same trucks that deliver new materials such as construction aggregates. Pat OBrien, Holland Landscapers.
Hay bales and silt fences installed for the construction of the Canada Line at YVR, Richmond.
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The Burnaby Mountain Restoration Area project transforms a former construction staging site for SFU into parkland. The landscape construction includes green space restoration, revegetation of overburdened soils and wildlife habitat enhancement. Sediment control includes silt fences and the covering of large stockpiles of excavated soils and large temporary slopes with anchored polyethylene sheeting. Interceptor and cut-off ditches are designed with check dams (filter berms) installed 15m on centre. Earthworks, grading and planting soil placement is terminated during periods of heavy rainfall. The revegetation includes fall planting with groups of indigenous trees and shrubs and hydroseeding with quick-germinating annual ryegrass for erosion control. In the spring, as the annual ryegrass dies off, the site is seeded with a mix of native wildflowers and grasses to attract foraging deer.
Erosion and sedimentation control techniques that are required prior to construction, and to be maintained during site development include: earth dikes to divert surface run-off volumes from disturbed areas into basins or traps excavated sediment basins or sediment traps contained by stabilized soil embankments to slow water release (temporary storage) and allow settlements of sediment silt fences constructed with posts and geotechnical fabric to reduce and remove sediment wheel washes and rumble strips for trucks balanced cut and fills to minimize transportation of material to or from the site.
Refer to the Erosion and Sedimentation Control webpage in the GVRD website at www.metrovancouver.org/buildsmart/ErosionSedimentationControl.htm. See also LEEDSS Prereq 1, Erosion & Sedimentation Control
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1.3
The objective of rainwater management (SWM) is to replicate, where possible, the pre-development water quality, discharge and hydrology of a site. It is possible to restore natural water flows by a combination of landscape, biological and/or engineered devices or integrated systems that eliminate runoff, increase on-site infiltration and remove contaminants. Source controls such as rain gardens, green roofs, cisterns, porous pavements and absorbent landscapes provide for micro-storage upstream, act as replacements for storage facilities or are installed as an interconnected system comprising the same basic chain of landscape features associated with natural stream systems. Where sites have permeable soils and porous pavements, water will infiltrate into the earth and recharge groundwater resources. There are numerous strategies for the storage, infiltration and biological filtering of stormwater. Rainwater harvesting is the collection of water for storage and reuse in the building or the landscape. Porous pavements and free-draining aggregate base courses allow run-off to infiltrate below the surface where water can be mechanically and biologically filtered the way it is in natural systems. Vegetated swales, rain gardens and absorbent landscapes are planted controls that filter sediments and pollutants from stormwater. Larger engineered systems and storage facilities such as constructed wetlands can be designed to mimic the properties of natural wetlands. Detention ponds, infiltration trenches and basins are also effective for storing stormwater and promoting infiltration.
Rainwater source controls such as rain gardens, landscape swales and absorbent landscapes provide for micro-storage upstream of storage facilities and create a central focus and amenity area for the Portrait Homes development in Silver Valley, Maple Ridge.
The concept of interconnected treatment chains is dened as water owing from one stormwater facility to another such that collection, treatment, storage and/or inltration occur in series. For example, run-off from the street or surface parking lot ows in shallow channels into a permeable or open grid paving system installed over underground storage tanks, which overow only during larger storm events into open watercourses and detention ponds. Refer to the Stormwater Source Control Design Guidelines 2005, GVRD, April 2005 (See www.metrovancouver.org/buildsmart/pdfs/nalstormwatersourcecontrol.pdf.) Refer to the Water Balance Model for B.C. website at www.lanarc.ca/balance/pdf/ SustainabilityNow.pdf or www.waterbalance.ca Refer to LEED SS 6.1 / 6.2, Stormwater Management.
The streetscape with permeable pavers, landscape swales and underground storage/infiltration systems, forms part of an interconnected treatment chain, at UnverCity, SFU.
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Costs: An integrated approach to rainwater management can reduce overall site development costs by eliminating or reducing the engineer requirements for catch basins, underground piping systems, large storage systems and downstream treatment. While conventional paving materials are less expensive than conservation alternatives, porous materials can help total development costs go down, sometimes as much as 30%, by reducing conveyance and detention needs. Swale conveyance is cheaper than pipe systems, by some claims as much as 80%. Perhaps the most signicant theme gleaned from the literature is that, by combining multiple tools, such as clustering with native landscaping, bio-swales, and other practices, deeper cost savings can be achieved from the resulting opportunities to downsize the infrastructure. Across ten case studies examined here, holistic conservation design treatments saved an average of 36% over conventional practices. Northern Illinois Planning Commission, Changing Cost Perceptions An Analysis of Conservation Development. (See www.nipc.org/environment/sustainable/content. htm#Changing%20Cost%20Perceptions).
Useful References: Waterscapes; Planning, Building and Designing with Water, by Herbert Dreiseitl et al. New Waterscapes; Planning, Building and Designing with Water, by Herbert Dreiseitl et al.
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Types of porous pavement include pervious concrete, permeable unit pavers, open-grid paving and aggregate surfaces. The pavements and free-draining aggregate base courses allow runoff to infiltrate below the surface and provide mechanical and biological water filtering while requiring little maintenance. Porous pavements and permeable surfaces operate in the same manner, but are typically maintained by a vacuum sweeper twice a year (in spring and fall) to avoid potential clogging. Power washing is not recommended for porous paving as it can wash out the aggregate joints on permeable pavers and break down the adhesion of pervious concrete.
Permeable unit pavers at UniverCity, SFU, are designed for stormwater management, both as a mechanical and biological filter for pre-treatment, and to control the rate and quantity of run-off. In the joints and in the void spaces of the no-fines gravel below, naturally occurring microorganisms digest hydrocarbons from car oils. The oil no longer exists as a pollutant because only carbon dioxide and water remains.
A parking lot with biofiltration swales and interpretive signage, Water Pollution Control Laboratory, Portland, Oregon.
Ecological development on a brownfield site, Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, Portland, Oregon. STRATEGIES
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parked cars. These substances infiltrate into the ground where they are consumed by microorganisms living in the soil below the surface. Additionally, porous pavement installed over structural soil provides ample rooting space for urban trees to grow to full size.
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Burnaby Mountain Secondary School is located near to Stoney Creek, which is home to several species of sh including endangered Coho salmon. The site features planted landscape swales in the parking lot which lter the stormwater that has picked up contaminants from the impervious asphalt pavement. Placing only wheel stops and omitting continuous curbs from the design plans causes run-off to ow directly from paved surfaces into inltration swales. The bioltration swales, in combination with raised catch basins, convey overow run-off to ponds at each end of the site. In the landscape swales, native drought and moisture-tolerant plants remove contaminants (hydrocarbons), and canopy trees shade the parking lot. The bioltration ponds contain grasses, reeds and shrubs that clean the water before it lters into Stoney Creek. Refer also to www.greenbuildingsbc.com/new_buildings/case-studies.html. Refer to: Sustainable Landscape Construction, A Guide to Building Outdoors, Thompson and Sorvig, 2000. Water Pollution Control Laboratory, Portland Oregon, p16.
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1.4
Water Efficiency
Water is a precious resource in many countries around the world and elsewhere in North America. It is becoming more important every day. In the Metro Vancouver, treated drinking water is used for all purposes, including outdoor landscaping to maintain a lush green appearance during the spring, summer and early fall. Water has always been plentiful; therefore, we have never conserved the resource. A highly maintained ornamental landscape consumes large quantities of water, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and energy. The machines required to maintain such ornamental landscapes create air and noise pollution. Waterwise gardening is a new aesthetic choice offering four seasons of colour and interest at a much lower cost, both economically and environmentally.
Refer to LEED WE 1.1 / 1.2, Water Efcient Landscaping.
One challenge of encouraging water conservation in the region is the low cost of potable water and an apparent abundant supply. Metro Vancouver is among the lowest-cost suppliers of water in North America, but water treatment and distribution come at a relatively high cost to taxpayers. However, with our coastal climate, simple landscape measures are available to conserve water and provide a landscape with a wide variety of colour, foliage and seasonal interest. For instance, rainwater can be harvested off roofs or paved areas, then filtered and used for outside irrigation needs. Native plants and hardy ornamentals should be selected to provide the right landscape function with low water requirements: the right plant for the right place. Use rock or decomposed mulch to retain soil moisture and invert planting beds to collect rainwater for landscaping and trees.
The technology is available to design and build a building to be off the grid without the need for municipal water. An example of such a building is the proposed Centre for Interactive Research in Sustainability (CIRS) at the Great Northern Way Campus in Vancouver. For more information visit www.gnwc.ca/Content/GNWC17.aspx - 12k. Changes to the building codes may be required to facilitate the use of rainwater for drinking water. Only minor ltration of rainwater from rooftops may be required to make it potable. Rainwater will be harvested for use inside the CIRS building for ushing toilets, janitorial cleaning and operating equipment, and for use outside as landscape irrigation.
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Rain barrel, City of Vancouver (see www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/engsvcs/ solidwaste/grownatural/rainbarrels.htm). Photo by Helen Goodland
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1.5
Urban heat islands are urban centres and industrial areas that are hotter than the surrounding landscape. The higher temperature is primarily caused by the release of heat radiation absorbed from sunlight by dark paving and finishing materials such as asphalt, concrete and tar and by the lack of vegetation. Urban heat islands tend to increase local ambient temperatures, change local microclimates, increase energy use (as HVAC systems are used to counteract the increased temperatures) and increase emissions of contaminants that make up photochemical smog.
Big trees are good for shopping. Shoppers claim they will spend more time in a retail district having trees. Trees Are Good for Business, Chapter of the International Society of Aborticulture, Portland, Oregon, June 2005.
Big Trees In Permeable Pavement and Structural Soil is a revolutionary new way to integrate healthy ecology and thriving cities: living canopy above, the citys trafc on the ground, and living roots below. Pervious Concrete Pavements, Paul D. Tennis, Michael L. Leming & David J. Akers, c. 2004, Portland Cement Association, Skokie, IL Permeable pavers around a heritage tree, the SF Group.
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Green facades feature vertical structural systems that support climbing plants on the building exterior. Climbers and vines are supported by stainless steel cables, webbing or metal grids and grow up from grade or planters. In 2006, green screens or cable systems cost in the range of $150 to $250 per vertical square metre installed.
Visit www.greenscreen.com or www.jakobstainlesssteel.com
Living walls are a much more intensive and complex application. They are
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made up of plants rooted in fabric pockets or pre-vegetated panels, supported by a vertical frame. Living walls or vertical gardens add thermal mass to a building and are based on the principles of hydroponics for moisture and nutrient supply. Structural weight, moisture retention, nutrient supply and water distribution are important design considerations. Vegetated walls require a much higher level of maintenance than climbers on a vertical frame. In Toronto, Quality Air Solutions markets the bio-wall designed for biofiltration of interior environments, including the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Visit www.naturaire.com
The Parkade for the River Rock Casino features a vertical structure to support vines that shade the building and filter dust from the air. The green facade features three species of climbers (clematis, honeysuckle and golden hops or Humulus lupulus 'Aureus') rooted in the ground and supported by wall-mounted trellises. At River Rock, an inexpensive chain link mesh was installed on a galvanized tubular steel frame bolted to the concrete parkade structure. In addition to supplemental watering in the summer, maintenance of the climbers includes biannual pruning. Green wall panels for the Vancouver Aquariums, Aquaquest Learning Centre
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Green roofs can reduce the design energy cost for mechanical cooling systems and minimize thermal gradient differences between developed and undeveloped areas. Refer to Green Roof Research in British Columbia An Overview, by Maureen Connelly, British Columbia Institute of Technology, Co-chair, GRHC's Research Committee, available from: www.greenroofs.org, proceedings of the Third Annual Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference, Awards and Trade Show Washington, 2005. Multiple green roofs and rooftop gardens proposed by ONNI Developments for Suter Brook, Port Moody Town Centre .
There are two general types of rooftop garden systems: extensive and intensive. An extensive green roof system features lightweight growing media, usually between 50 to 150mm (2 to 6) in depth, installed over drainage and/ or moisture retention layers on top of a root barrier and waterproof membrane. Pre-cultivated vegetation blankets or pre-grown modules are also available for sloping roof systems. Minimal ongoing maintenance is required unless a more ornamental or manicured appearance is preferred. A variation of the extensive green rooflocally called an eco-roofcan be planted with native or hardy sedums, grasses and/or wildflowers that can, once established, form a self-sustaining ecosystem requiring little or no maintenance or watering. Establishment maintenance including temporary irrigation, fertilization and weeding during the first 12 to 18 months is key to successful plant coverage and performance. (See also Part 3, Sustainable Technology Series, Case Study #1, Extensive Green Roof.) Intensive or semi-intensive green roofs are often known as rooftop gardens or landscapes over structure. Intensive green roofs often have a greater emphasis on aesthetics and can support trees, shrubs and lawns that require more intensive maintenance and landscape irrigation. Variations of intensive roofs will accommodate urban agriculture and/or plantings to support biodiversity and increased wildlife habitat. Intensive roofs may be combined with eco-roofs. Green roofs can also offer a place for innovative wastewater technologies such as grey water treatment.
Intensive green roof for the Bentall Development at the Broadway Tech Centre, Vancouver.
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Green Roof Resources (see also Part 3, Sustainable Technology Series, Case Study #1, Extensive Green Roof): www.greenroofs.org, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, North America www.greenroof.se, International Green Roof Institute www.greenroofs.com, a green roof directory of roong manufacturers, suppliers of green roof products and resources www.greenroof.bcit.ca, BCIT Green Roof Research Facility and CAGRT www.gnla.ca/library.htm, Green Roof Policy: Tools for Encouraging Sustainable Design, by Goya Ngan, 2004, Landscape Architecture Canada Foundation. Refer to LEED SS 7.2, Heat Island Effect: Roof. Roof retrofit - green roof at Mountain Equipment Co-op, Toronto, ON. Photo by Lorraine Johnson
Wildlife and wild flowers on green roof, JAS Robertson Building, Toronto, ON. Photo by Beth Anne Currie
Refer to the Energy Star websites at www.energystar.gov and www.carlisle-syntec. com/index.cfm?act=Green_energystar. If a built-up roof (BUR) system is selected, consider a 75mm layer of white marble as continuous ballast. White roofs and green roofs can be combined for LEED credit 7.2.
Extensive green roof at the Green Operations Building, White Rock, BC. Photovoltaic (PV) systems function more efficiently if they are placed on a green roof than on a conventional roof surface. As well, the shading provided by the PVs creates a variation in microclimate that supports a greater diversity of plants on the roof. Photo by Roger Burt
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Trellis/lightweight structure supporting climbing plants at the Baptist Housing Societys, Shannon Oaks, Vancouver
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STRATEGIES
1.6
As the basic building blocks of any development project, the materials used to construct the project are indicative of its quality and its commitment to sustainable development, design and construction. Because materials represent some of the most visible and long-lasting symbols that the users of a development will experience and identify with, it is important that they illustrate and reinforce both the function and the ideological goals of ecological design established in the earliest stages of site planning and development. The use of high quality, locally salvaged material, harvested timber, native plants or quarried granite can establish an important connection to place that can ground a project in a local and regional context in a way that exotic or imported materials cannot.
The Granville Island redevelopment features both salvaged buildings and materials. Photo courtesy of CMHC.
A landscape management strategy and habitat enhancement program for forested greenfield sites can reuse most of the non-marketable trees and native materials on site. Cover salvaged materials with tarps for protection against rain, wind-blown weed seeds, contamination, compaction and erosion. Transplant site trees where possible and salvage smaller plants such as ferns, shrubs and aquatic plants in pots for replanting. The use of a native plant nursery to salvage and re-grow indigenous plant material can be cost effective.
Interpretation kiosk with habitat enhancement, Furry Creek, B.C.
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Permeable landscapes and site surfaces are based on a kit of parts made up of durable long-lasting materials that allow for maximum flexibility. Modular site components are reusable and adaptable to changes in the sites use and building program. Salvaged pavers and broken pieces of concrete can be reused in a variety of paving applications. Metals can be artfully designed, re-fabricated and painted to look like new material at a fraction of their original cost. The use of salvaged and refurbished materials in new building projects extends the life of materials and can reduce upfront costs of construction materials. Materials used in new construction account for a large and expensive portion of our use of natural resources, including 40% of raw stone, gravel and sand and 25% of virgin wood.
Salvaged bricks reused in landscaping. Photos by Helen Goodland
Reuse of buildings, materials and artifacts at Granville Island. Photo courtesy of CMHC.
Recycled forestry and food waste can be composted and blended for growing media. In Metro Vancouver, this organic matter is often made up of aged hemlock and fir bark blended with food compost, coffee grounds, green waste and/or aged mushroom manure, active with micro-organisms. Avoid the use of peat moss extracted from peat bogs and environmentally sensitive areas. The new edition of the B.C. Landscape Standard will provide much more detail in relation to landscape standards for construction and maintenance. Topics such as growing medium can be referenced in landscape architects specifications for contract documents. The B.C. Landscape Standard will be published by the B.C. Landscape & Nursery Association (BCLNA) and the B.C. Society of Landscape Architects (BCSLA).
The total environmental benets of material recycling are generally less than that of material reuse because of the environmental burdens associated with recyclable materials collection, transport and processing into new products. Therefore, reuse of building materials (MR Credits 1 and 3) is preferred over recycling when possible. LEED Reference Package, LEED Canada-NC, Version 1.0, December 2004.
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If youre not buying recyclables, youre not recycling! Mark Roseland, Toward Sustainable Communities, 1998. Guide to Green Buildings Resources, Green Buildings BC New Buildings Program. (See www.greenbuildingsbc.com/new_ buildings/resources_guide/6.0_epr_materials.html.)
Local manufacturer, Frances Andrew bike rack (see Site Furnishings at www.francesandrew.com).
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Compost gardening and organic integrated pest management (IPM) are the cornerstones of an organic or sustainable maintenance strategy. For instance, leaves and clippings can be collected and composted onsite. The resulting composted mulch is spread over the landscape during the next spring and summer. In more natural areas, leaves can be simply left where they fall. Avoid the use of mowing and leaf blowing equipment that consumes energy and produces air and noise pollution.
Refer to the Society for Organic Urban Land Cares Organic Land Care Standard, Victoria, B.C., 2005 (See www.organiclandcare.org/standard/introduction.php,.)
Avoid the use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. Many of these maintenance products contain toxic chemicals or hydrocarbons that may contaminate site run-off flowing into local ground and surface water and they may also kill off beneficial insects. In organic IPM, chemical pesticides are not necessary unless there is the risk of a severe infestation. In general, vigorous plants and well chosen species growing in biologically active soils with good drainage and a regular placement of compost mulch rarely attract debilitating pests or diseases. Plant growth or plant health problems are often the result of stress caused by poor soil quality, poor drainage, soil compaction or contamination. Slow-release organic fertilizers are available for the initial establishment of native plants, and for ongoing care for high-traffic or ornamental landscapes. Healthy trees and plant communities attract beneficial insects and birds, which provide natural balance and pest control. Landscape swales, rain gardens and drains require periodic inspections and cleanout. Permeable pavement systems rely on biannual brush vacuuming with a sweeper.
City Farmer is a great resource for food production, composting, beneficial insects and water-wise gardening: 44% of Vancouver households grow food An urban farm can be a pot of herbs grown on a balcony or a large market garden. Michael Levenston, executive director of City Farmer. See www.cityfarmer.org/ www.richmond.ca/services/recycling/ composting/compost.htm. The North Shore Recycling Program has produced Mulch Materials: Just the Facts, a guide to preparing mulch from local salvaged materials (See www.nsrp.bc.ca).
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2. INNOVATIONS IN DESIGN
LEED credit points focus primarily on energy and environmental design for individual buildings and sites. While the following topics may not be specifically covered under identified LEED sections, they may be applicable towards achieving Innovation in Design credits. They take steps, beyond what LEED can cover in a point-based credit system, to create a more socially, environmentally and economically sustainable community.
2.1
Visible Infrastructure
An architectural method that exploits the unignorable marriage between nature and technology provides an opportunity for new spatial and visual possibilities that result from using infrastructure as a fundamental component of architectural design. Nature and infrastructure must both be allowed to express themselves as a major determinant of urban and regional form. It is up to architects, landscape architects, engineers and biologists to show the way. Gary L. Strang, Infrastructure as Landscape, Landscape Architecture, pg. 15, vol. 10, no. 3, 1996 There is a tremendous opportunity within the design industry to make sustainable development visible and push the envelope in relating ecological design to development and construction. Green buildings can become more than just green and more than just buildings. They can become dynamic components of our urban landscapes and infrastructure with vertical gardens, visible drainage infrastructure, urban agriculture, canopy walks, roof gardens, living machines, small scale wind turbines and solar arrays. The possibilities are truly limitless. A visible, sustainable landscape not only performs essential ecological functions in addition to serving the needs of our society, but also creates an urban ecological narrative. For example, City Farmer in Vancouver displays interpretation panels and green technology including a rain barrel, green roof, composter and urban agriculture. Instead of natural processes, human infrastructure and services being hidden away, buried, separated and relegated to back alleys and utility corridors, they are revealed to display the interdependent and vital relationship between the natural world and our role within it. The intersections between nature and human landscapes should reveal the roles our society and our landscapes have in a healthy, sustainable world. Innovative ecological development has the same potential to revolutionize the way we live, work, learn, play and think as personal computers did a mere 22 years ago.
Streets are daylighted and stormwater facilities are visible at Portrait Homes Silver ridge development.
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The visible sustainable landscape can tell stories of human systems at work with natural systems, not against them. Environmental features, the history of the site and the culture of the people in the community can present opportunities to capitalize on instead of barriers to be overcome or avoided. Everythingfrom the interpretive signs identifying plants, to public artwork, to the orientation and massing of a new developmentcan inherently make connections to the same natural and human processes of landscape and infrastructure.
Landscape interprative sign at Citadel Landing a Genstar and Liberty Homes development, Port Coquitlam.
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INNOVATIONS
2.2
Urban Amenities
The urban landscape can be more than a visible, attractive backdrop to a building, stormwater facility or a shaded parking lot. The use and function of urban landscapes and infrastructures has to relate to and include layers of human use that make them enjoyable spaces for people to inhabit as well. Components of a successful urban environment with healthy social spaces may include: big shade trees in a continuous canopy a framework for healthy urban spaces also provides shelter and a food source for wildlife and moderation of microclimates a diverse variety of spacesfrom small to large, private to public, quiet to loudthat allows for as many users as possible to engage their environment in as many ways as possible opportunities for recreation and playthese are paramount to the health of the community, promoting interaction with the environment and with neighbours public art integrated with the site that tells the story of the environment, history, culture and emerging technology opportunities for education and discoverythese are essential for people to learn how things workand to share experiences.
An art installation makes natural processes visible at Kitsilano swimming pool, Vancouver.
Lost public space is being regained and new urban spaces established all over the world due to the desire for a better balance between the functions of the city as marketplace, meeting place and trafc space. New City Spaces, 2001, by Jan Gehl & Lars Gemzoe, the Danish Architectural Press, Copenhagen.
The redevelopment of the Woodwards site in Vancouver is providing market and non-market housing for a wide range of income levels. Rennie Marketing Systems sold the 536 units of the W Woodwards District in less than two weeks. Be bold or move to suburbia. In the concept of workplace housing, people are offered the choice to live close to where they work.
Woodwards District urban living at the centre of a cutting edge, creative community (See www. woodwardsdistrict.com).
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2.3
Urban Agriculture
Fruits, vegetables, herbs and organic produce can be grown locally in community gardens, in the garden, on the roof or climbing up the wall. The requirements are simple: provide good drainage supply water to irrigate garden areas and fruit treesusing water stored in a cistern or rain barrel rather than potable water, if possible install growing media containing decomposed soil amendments high in organic matter provide a compost facility for fruits, vegetables and green clippings to literally turn waste back into food.
Cypress Community Gardens, Vancouver. Optimizing synergies between different uses on site requires treating waste as food. In a closed loop system, the by-products (waste) of one use provide nutrients (food) for other uses. This approach has been referred to as cradle-to-cradle design because it assigns productive use value to products and their by-products. Waste As Food, Synergies between uses, by Dockside Green (See www.docksidegreen.com). Refer to: Cradle to Cradle, Remaking the Way We Make Things, by William McDounough & Michael Braungart, 2001.
The Fressia, a high density residential development in Vancover, markets garden plots on the lower rooftop. Have the luxury of growing your own vegetation: ripe tomatoes, fragrant basil, fresh strawberriesor freesia, perhaps? For an additional $2,800 on top of the selling price, a buyer can purchase one of the 1.5-metre-square gardening plots and a small tool locker. See www.freesialiving.com.
The Vancouver Food Policy Council supports the development of sustainable food systems for the City of Vancouver and fosters sustainable equitable food production, distribution and consumption. In high-density urban neighbourhoods, rooftop gardens with lots of sunshine during the growing season and good air circulation are ideal for vegetable gardens and small fruits. To protect the waterproof membrane, make sure that a root barrier, a thick protection layer and/or green roof modules are used. Consider small mammals, birds and insects such as honey bees in the design of building envelopes and rooftop gardens.
Refer to www.vancouver.ca/commsvcs/socialplanning/initiatives/foodpolicy/key.htm.
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INNOVATIONS
2.4
Wastewater Technologies
Innovative wastewater technologies reduce the use of potable water and the off-site treatment of wastewater. Rationales for such technologies include the following: Containment systems can be engineered to clean wastewater through mechanical and biological filters so that the water bypasses traditional sewer lines. Reducing the load on sanitary sewers will decrease the frequency of the overflowing of untreated sewage and stormwater from the combined City of Vancouver sewers into English Bay and the Fraser River during heavy rain events. Water reductions and treatment alternatives can eliminate large infrastructure costs, sewer connections and site disturbance. Low-flow water fixtures reduce potable water consumption.
Sewage is rich in nutrients that can be biologically filtered, recycled and salvaged. The greenhouse and similar indoor and outdoor technologies duplicate, under controlled conditions, the water purification methods of a freshwater wetland ecosystem. Various wetland and aquatic pond plants, as well as snails, worms and fish, process and filter the effluent. The end products of this odorless system are composted biosolids, greenhouse plants and, ultimately, clean water and fish. The water can meet Canadian drinking water quality standards. The clean effluent can be used for irrigation and/or reintroduction into surrounding water systems. The greenhouse is capable of multiple functions including silviculture, whereby tree seedlings neutralize toxic materials and are grown for the forest industry, providing revenue for the facility.
Refer to www.greenbuildingsbc.com/Portals/0/docs/case_studies/Beausolell_Solar. pdf and www.ecotek.ca.
Living machine, John Todd EcoDesign INFRA STRUCTURES, Malcolm Wells (see www.toddecological.com).
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The innovative wastewater system at the CK Choi Building at UBC features a subsurface constructed wetland with aquatic plants and microbial life to filter and clean water naturally. A grey water trench is engineered to filter the composting tea from toilets and wastewater from sinks. Rainwater is stored in a 25,000-litre cistern for landscape irrigation. The three-story, $4.5 million building features five composting toilets, functioning completely off the sewage and power grids. And the five compost bins only need to be emptied every 10 years. Ninety percent of the waste is urine, pumped out and treated in a constructed wetland, and red wriggler worms digest the solid waste. Chicago Tribune, May 22, 2005 Photos courtesy of Cornelia Oberlander, Landscape Architect
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INNOVATIONS
2.5
Bicycle Facilities
Many environmental issues can be lessened by reducing our dependence on automobiles or by eliminating private-vehicle access to selected locations. Urban automobile-related issues include: sprawling land development impermeable surfaces stormwater run-off heat island effect air pollution. To lure commuters and casual drivers from their cars and onto bicycles or feet: provide convenient and safe bicycle connections to greenways, bike routes and rapid transit stations provide bicycle storage and pedestrian facilities provide safe, clear and efficient pedestrian and bicycle access to building entrances. Many employers, such as Metro Vancouver and Sharp & Diamond Landscape Architecture, purchase monthly TransLink passes for staff or offer incentives for employees to commute by bicycle to work. Showers in the workplace are also important in encouraging employees to cycle to work. Including bike facilities in your project contributes to LEED Credit SS 4.2.
Refer to www.metrovancouver.org/parks/greenways.htm for more information about greenways and their locations, as well as linkages to municipal greenways. Refer to Better Environmentally Sound Transportation (BEST) www.best.bc.ca.
Concord Place bicycle and pedestrian routes are part of a greenway along False Creek.
The Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority provides bike lockers for rentala great option for regular commuters. Call 604-453-4500 or e-mail bikelockers@translink.bc.ca. See www. translink.bc.ca/Transportation_Services/Bikes/ default.asp for the Greater Vancouver Cycling Map & Guide. INNOVATIONS
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2.6
Lighting
Light pollution from buildings, streets and parking lots obscures the stars and moon, which many nocturnal insects and animals use for navigation. Minimal lighting, full cutoff lights and carefully selected luminaires will remove excessive light spillage from buildings and sites and will reduce development impact on nocturnal environments. Several cities across North America, including Calgary and Phoenix, have dark skies policies to improve night sky access and to eliminate light pollution. An evenly distributed lighting system allows a continuous supply of safe illumination without dark spots or glare obstructing the sky.
Light pollution blamed for bird deaths. Migrating birds hover in front of city lights until they drop dead from exhaustion or die when they hit the windows. At the height of fall migration over Thanksgiving weekend members of the Fatal Light Awareness Program recovered more than 3,000 dead birds a new record [in Toronto]. The Vancouver Sun, November 14, 2005
Refer to the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) website www.darksky.org, and IDAapproved links at www.darksky.org/fixtures/fsamfr-list.html.
Full cutoff fixtures line the waterfront promenade at the Versatile Shipyard site in North Vancouver.
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INNOVATIONS
Carefully designed exterior lighting systems can reduce infrastructure costs and energy use when compared to conventional solutions. Local and North American manufacturers are beginning to respond to commercial demands for indirect light fixtures that fully meet dark skies requirements, however most such fixtures are still cost prohibitive.
Suppliers and manufacturers that may offer dark sky compliant xtures include: Pace Illumination (see www.paceillumination.com) Macs II Agencies LTD (see www.macsii.com) Light Resource (see www.light_resource.com) Refer to LEED Credit SS 8, Light Pollution Reduction: Eliminate light trespass from the building and site, improve night sky access, and reduce development impact on nocturnal environments. LEED Reference Guide Indirect by Architectural Area Lighting (see www.aal.net).
2.7 Acoustics
Acoustics is also an emerging field of design and engineering for the urban landscape. Noise or acoustics as related to buildings are assessed by intensity (pressure/angle), composition of building materials and absorption inside the structure. Buildings, walls and landscape elements can reduce the impact and provide absorption through diffusion, diffraction, spacing and choice of materials. Living walls, vegetated rooftops, mineral substrates and configuration of structures can also assist in acoustic management in cities. Planted walls along freeways, arterials and rail lines have proven to be effective in noise attenuation for over 30 years in Europe and North America.
Ron Basford Park in False Creek, Vancouver. The overburden excavated from the streets of Granville Island was placed and contoured as a park with a grassy hill and informal amphitheatre. Earthen mounds can control acoustics and reduce noise pollution.
Green trains: The green track bed course, using green roof technology, is very successful in Europe along rapid transit lines built on grade. Maintenance of the green track is minimal once the green track is established and does not require the spraying of herbicides (a common practice along rail lines in North America). The green track combines environmental strategies by providing a green corridor, heat island reduction and stormwater management. The pre-cultivated vegetation blankets are grown offsite and installed on top of the granular base between the tracks and along the perimeter. The vegetation and integral fabric mat absorb sound at the source between the tracks. Refer to www.xeroor.ca.
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2.8 EcoDensity
The City of Vancouver implemented the EcoDensity Initiative to encourage housing that provides for environmental performance and affordability, and that reflects community interests and needs. The EcoDensity Initiative is endorsed by One Planet Living, a joint initiative of BioRegional (see www. bioregional.com) and the World Wildlife Fund (see www.wwf.org).
The Eco-Density Initiative is also a major step towards achieving One Planet Living in Vancouver, creating opportunities for progress in the following key areas: Zero Carbon: Greater energy efficiencies, resulting in lowered carbon emissions Zero Waste: More innovative waste management strategies are possible in dense neighbourhoods Sustainable Transportation: Better public transit programs and reduced automobile use Local and Sustainable Materials: More efficient use of building materials and resources Sustainable Water: More efficient use of water resources than conventional suburban developments Local and Sustainable Food: Allows for prime agricultural production closer to urban consumers Natural Habitats and Wildlife: Concentrates human settlement, preserving nearby wildlife habitats Culture and Heritage: Creates vibrant neighbourhoods in which arts, culture, and heritage thrive Equity and Fair Trade: Greatly enhances opportunities for local economic development Health and Happiness: Walkable, greener, job-rich neighbourhoods offer higher quality of life One Planet Living website (see www.oneplanetliving.org/northamerica/ EcoDensity.pdf)
The Eco-Tower, from Scraping The Green Sky by Lindsay Johnston, Architectural Review 070, TR Hamzah & Yeang Architects, London, England. The EDITT tower is a 26-storey multi-use highrise building proposed for a site inSingapore with a floor space ratio (FSR) of 4.3:1. In the proposal, a fascinating system of water collection and reticulation is described, involving a sculptural rain scoop on the roof and a system of water collection scallops down the faade combined with a proposal to recycle grey water through soil bed filters in the vertical landscaping. Wind wing walls are strategically placed on the faade of the tower to create vortices to improve natural ventilation and to reduce wind loads on the building. The design creates vertical places, using a ramp system that allows pedestrian movement vertically through the tower along a vertical street lined with exhibition and performance spaces, cafes, shops and offices with occasional sitting and gathering areas.
This guidebook, Ecological Site Development, discusses a wide range of topics to improve environmental performance. Specific strategies for EcoDensity may include but are not limited to the following: Transportation: Locate new development close to rapid transit, bus and bicycle routes and/or close to the workplace, to reduce dependence on private vehicles. Transport Emissions: Relax parking requirements to a minimum. This will lower construction costs and reduce not only the volume of excavated material trucked to fill sites in the Fraser Valley but also the resulting fuel consumption, emissions, dust, noise and air pollution.
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INNOVATIONS
Energy Efficiency: Orient the built form and massing to the sun and maximize day-lighting and natural ventilation. Select building envelope systems that lower resource consumption and emissions and improve building performance. Reduce the extent of glazing and curtain walls and provide more thermal mass and vegetated surfaces. Increase the use of renewable energy sources such as solar power and wind power (using micro turbines). Microclimate Management: Incorporate vegetated building envelope systems including green roofs, rooftop gardens for urban agriculture, living walls and structures to support climbing plants to insulate and shade the building. Large urban trees also provide evaporative cooling of ambient temperatures, shade surfaces and intercept stormwater. Water Resources: Collect rainwater to minimize stormwater run-off, to lower the use of treated drinking water and reduce off-site infrastructure cost. Green roofs, rain gardens, trees, permeable surfaces, cisterns and underground tanks provide biofiltration and/or storage. The water is then available for toilets, washing machines, industrial uses and landscape irrigation. Grey water treatment through solar aquatics, living machines and soil filter beds reduces the cost of sanitary connections and off-site treatment. Green Streets: Green corridors and open spaces replicate natural processes such as cooling the microclimate, mitigating stormwater runoff and improving air flow. Streets and open spaces support large trees with umbrella canopies, biofiltration swales, permeable surfaces and biodiversity/wildlife habitat. Dark Skies: Light pollution, light trespass (to neighbouring properties) and risk to nocturnal animals (such as birds) are controlled by selecting full cutoff light sources and directing light sources away from windows and reflective surfaces. Acoustics and Health: The built form, orientation and building surfaces as well as surrounding open space can contribute to a quieter and healthier city. Interconnected ecological design strategies contribute to livability and affordability, both in lower capital cost and in long-term energy and operational cost savings.
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A third type of green roof, the eco-roof, is a type of extensive green roof system that forms a self-sustaining ecosystem featuring native and hardy sedums, grasses and/or wildflowers when established and requires little or no maintenance. The planting composition for eco-roofs replicates the coastal bluff ecosystem characterized by thin soils on windswept sites, subject to extremes in temperature and moisture stress. Pre-cultivated vegetation blankets or pre-grown modules are also available as are systems for sloping roofs of up to 30 degrees.
The coastal bluff ecosystem is a source of native plants for windswept roofs.
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Structurally, lightweight green roof systems (50 to 150mm in depth) have a saturated weight of 50 to 170 kg/m2 (10 to 35 lbs. per square foot). Green roofs systems can be installed on new or existing wood frame, steel and track beds. Extensive green roofs are generally inaccessible to public use as many drought tolerant species do not handle foot traffic. Eco-roofs, however, can be designed to accommodate walkways and railings, and can be combined with intensive rooftop gardens and urban agriculture. In 2006, the cost of installing an extensive eco-roof (not including the membrane) was relatively low at $80 to $200 per square meter, depending on the membrane system, access to the roof and size of the project. The costs are decreasing with increasing use of local materials and equipment such as express blowers and tote bags that reduce installation time. Green roofs in Europe cost as little as CAN $50 to 60 per square meter installed. This green roof technology is endorsed by the Roofing Contractors Association of B.C. (RCABC) and offers a conventional five-year warranty. In some cases, municipal governments in North America offer incentives, grants and stormwater credits to developers who install green roofs.
Installation of lightweight growing medium on the Sechelt RCMP green roof, District of Sechelt.
Green roofs contribute towards Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ) credits including for daylight and views, air filtration and oxygen loading (locate operable windows and air intakes at the green roof). Additional LEED credits to consider include: SS 5.1, Reduced Site Disturbance, (if a vegetated roof covers at least half of the degraded site area) SS 6.1, Stormwater Management, Rate and Quantity SS 7.2, Landscape Design to Reduce Heat Islands, Roof WE 1, Water Efficient Landscaping (2 credits) EA 1, Optimize Energy Performance and Energy Efficiency (multiple credits) MR 5, Local / Regional Materials (2 credits).
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Thinking outside the box and designing eco-effective solutions can earn LEED Innovation in Design credits. (Refer also to Part 2, Innovations in Design, in this Guidebook, particularly Sections 2.1 - 2.4). Additional topics might include: ID 1.1, Innovation in Design, Education and Interpretation ID 1.2, Innovation in Design, Wildlife Habitat for Endangered Species, (specific plants and animals can be protected on the roof) ID 1.3, Innovation in Design, Composting and Soil Management ID 1.4, Innovation in Design, Food Production, Urban Agriculture.
Sechelt RCMP green roof after three months of drought (irrigation not required).
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of construction and maintenance. Warranties are provided by the Roofing Contractors Association of British Columbia (RCABC) and by the roofing manufacturer for a complete green roof system. The RCABC requires an inspection of the membrane prior to placment of the green roof components. If the establishment of the green roof precedes the installation of windows and building siding, protect the plants and growing medium from damage (contamination and compaction) by sub-trades. Additionally, watch out for crows that may pull out plant plugs while looking for food (grubs). Complete establishment of the plants during the critical first year of maintenance is necessary for appearance and green roof performance (see Establishment Maintenance, below).
Granulometric distribution range for vegetation substrates at single-course extensive greening sites, Guideline for the Planning, Execution and Upkeep of Green-Roof Sites (see www.l.de)
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4. Installation a. Coordinate with general and roofing contractor (membrane) b. Protect roof membrane and clean building surfaces c. Deliver growing medium on the roof with crane. Place in Gerber boxes (clean concrete buckets), tote bags or by express blower, installed to a uniform depth of 75mm (3) 5. Supply of Plant Material a. Select drought-resistant species: cuttings and seeds of native sedums and hardy grasses collected for propagation b. Contract the growing of the plants by a specialist nursery: propagate, 72 plugs per tray c. Allow 3 to 6 months to grow plugs and for proper root development. Ensure plugs are not root bound d. Plant immediately upon arrival at the site 6. Planting Procedures a. Install plants in the late summer (September), early fall or early spring. Avoid freezing or extremely hot conditions b. Plant spacing: 200mm on centre, avoiding the use of metal tools For plugs, use a tough nylon transplanter/trowel used for bulbs c. Water and fertilize (13-26-6 or equivalent) immediately to promote root growth (see Establishment Maintenance, below).
CREDITS: Sechelt Justice Building and RCMP, Sechelt, B.C. Green Roof Completed: September 2002 Client: District of Sechelt, B.C. Buildings Corporation Architect: Johnston Davidson Architecture + Planning Landscape Architect: Sharp & Diamond Landscape Architecture Mechanical Engineer: Keen Engineering (now Stantec) Roong Contractor: Marine Roong Landscape Contractor: Deluxe Landscpaing Nusery Supplier Peels Nursery (see www.peelsnurseries.com) 35mm x 50mm plugs planted 200mm on centre at Sechelt.
Establishment Maintenance
Establishment maintenance is essential for green roof performance, vigorous plant coverage, dense root growth and improved water and energy efficiency. Key requirements during the establishment maintenance period (12 to 18 months) include watering, fertilizing, weeding (careful removal by hand) and monitoring. Monitoring includes checking drains twice a year and removing debris. Operate an automatic irrigation system during dry periods in the first full growing season. As an option, water by hoses and/or spray heads on
Planting and 12-month establishment maintenance at Sechelt, District of Sechelt. CASE STUDY #1 GREEN ROOF
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platforms, but remember that plants can be easily trampled. For the purpose of LEED certification, the owner agrees to operate the system on a temporary basis only (for 12 to 24 months). Fertilize with light applications of a slow release organic fertilizer, first to stimulate root growth, and follow with three applications of a more complete fertilizer, every 45 to 60 days during the first growing season. Water and fertilizer encourages weed growth that restricts plant growth and health. Windblown seeds from surrounding sites can be a nuisance. Schedule weekly inspections and weeding during the first growing season to remove invasive plants (such as clover) before they spread and go to seed. Once established, tough hardy sedums and grasses will out compete most invasive plants. Once established, a green roof can expect to achieve 95% plant coverage in 12 to 18 months.
Resources
Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls, Nigel Dunnett and Noel Kingsbury, Timber Press, Portland, OR, c. 2004, ISBN 0-88192-640-X Green Roofs, Ecological Design and Construction, Earth Pledge, Schiffer Publishing Ltd, Atglen, PA, c. 2005, ISBN 0-7643-2189-7 Guidelines for the Planning, Execution and Upkeep of Green Roof Sites, by Forschungsgesellschaft Landschaftsentwicdklung Landschaftssbau (FLL), c. 2002, (see www.f-l-l.de/english.html) E2396-05 Standard Test Method for Saturated Water Permeability of Granular Drainage Media [Falling-Head Method] for Green Roof Systems, ASTM E2397-05 Standard Practice for Determination of Dead Loads and Live Loads associated with Green Roof Systems, ASTM E2398-05 Standard Test Method for Water Capture and Media Retention of Geocomposite Drain Layers for Green Roof Systems, ASTM E2399-05 Standard Test Method for Maximum Media Density for Dead Load Analysis of Green Roof Systems, ASTM
Green roof websites: www.greenroofs.org Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, North America www.greenroof.se International Green Roof Institute
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www.greenroofs.com A green roof directory of roofing manufacturers, suppliers of green roof products and resources www.greenroof.bcit.ca BCIT Green Roof Research Facility and CAGRT www.gnla.ca/library Green Roof Policy: Tools for Encouraging Sustainable Design, by Goya Ngan, 2004, Landscape Architecture Canada Foundation www.toronto.ca/greenroofs/findings.htm The City of Torontos new Green Roofs website and their new report on the city-wide benefits of green roofs in Toronto, for stormwater, energy consumption, urban heat island effect, air quality and emissions www.greenroofs.org Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, an organization working to develop the North American green roof market and hosting the annual Green Roofs for Sustainable Communities conference.
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3.
Technology in Brief
Pervious or porous concrete is a structural concrete pavement that provides water infiltration, reduces run-off, and recharges aquifers. Pervious concrete, when correctly installed, has a void space of 15 to 20% that allows infiltration of stormwater at a rate of 200L/m2/minute (0.34cm/second) or higher. The void spaces in the concrete provide an environment for naturally occurring microorganisms that digest oil drippings from parked cars. In comparison with conventional pavements, porous concrete can provide the same structural pavement function while reducing or eliminating the need for a separate stormwater system and off-site treatment. A successful example of the porous paving technology is the main parking lot for the Clean Water Services Field Operations Facility in Beaverton, Oregon. The pavement structure for the 1700m2 parking area has a 450mm (18-inch) base course and subbase to allow adequate storage capacity for a 25 year storm event. Storing the water in the base course permits water to drain quickly, thereby protecting it from freeze/thaw cycles. Below the subbase, geotextile fabric is installed to stop fines from migrating up into the base. To prevent water from rising to the surface, a 6-inch perforated pipe with filter fabric, running the length of the parking lot, is placed within the subbase. In combination with structural soils, porous pavements give urban trees the rooting space they need to grow to full size. Structural soil combines no-fines aggregate with organic matter and soil amendments. The porous surface allows air and water to flow into the rooting zone. During the summer, the surface temperature of a porous parking lot is much cooler than conventional asphalt surfacing. Porous concretes light colour and porosity may help combat the urban heat island effect, however; further research is required.
CASE STUDY #2 55 PERVIOUS CONCRETE
This is a revolutionary new way to integrate healthy ecology and thriving cities: living canopy above, the citys trafc on the ground, and living roots below. Pervious Concrete Pavements, Paul D. Tennis, Michael L. Leming & David J. Akers, c. 2004, Portland Cement Associate, Skokie, IL.
The complete installation cost for the 300mm-thick pervious concrete parking lot in Oregon was $400/m2 (in 2003 Canadian dollars). The 300mmthick parking pavement was over designed by a factor of two. Reducing the thickness to 150mm would lower the cost to approximately $150/m 2 (in 2005 Canadian dollars). The higher installation costs are offset by no engineering, installation or maintenance of conveyance systems, including pipes, catch basins and detention facilities. Slow the Flow, Clean Water Services, Oregon, July 2004. Technology and installation contractors are still relatively inexperienced in the Pacific Northwest. Some variations of the mixture and semi-porous concretes are being considered and tested. Pervious concrete was used for a sidewalk installation in Saanich, B.C. When the plans for the Clean Water Systems parking lot began in 2002, there was only one qualified concrete contractor.
Many contractors exist in Oregon and Washington. The pervious concrete mixtures may be limited to parking lots and streets with low traffic volume and speeds. Both longer-term studies of durability and maintenance and local expertise are required for local acceptance and implementation.
Clean Water Services Field Operations Facility, Beaverton, Oregon Photo courtesy of Portland Cement Assoc.
Refer to: Pervious Concrete Pavements, Paul D. Tennis, Michael L. Leming & David J. Akers, c. 2004, Portland Cement Associate, Skokie, IL.
Maintenance
The maintenance requirements for the parking lot at the Clean Water Services facility in Oregon have been much less intensive than initially expected. During construction, careful attention is needed to protect surfaces from contamination. After construction, periodic vacuum sweeping keeps fine materials from clogging pore spaces.
CASE STUDY #2 57 PERVIOUS CONCRETE
CREDITS: Clean Water Services Field Operations Facility, Beaverton, Oregon Completed: August 2003 Client: Clean Water Services Architect: WBGS Architecture and Planning Civil Engineer: URS/BRW Mechanical Engineer: Interface Engineering Landscape Architect: Murase Associates Concrete Contractor: Merlino Construction Ready Mix Concrete Supplier Glacier Northwest (see www.glacierhw.com)
Resources
ASTM C 140, ASTM C 42 and others, various standards and testing procedures for concrete and pervious concrete Porous Pavements, Bruce K. Ferguson, CRC Press, Athens, GA, 2005, ISBN 0-849326702 Pervious Concrete, American Concrete Institute Committee, 2006. Pervious Concrete Pavements, Paul D. Tennis, Michael L. Leming & David J. Akers, 2004, Portland Cement Associates, Skokie, IL The website www.glaciernw.com, for Glacier Northwest, Seattle Washington The website www.nrmca.org, for the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, (search pervious concrete) Slow the Flow, Clean Water Services, July 2004