Rooftop farms, whether enclosed green houses or open farms or a combination of both, have demonstrated they can provide a wide range of agricultural products, says Steven Peck. Read more about the benefits of local food production and rooftop farms in the 2024 Spring issue of Living Architecture Monitor.
The Webinar: Biosolar green roofs delivering for the climate and biodiversity crises takes place on 17 April at 16:00 CET. Hosted by EFB, join to explore biosolar green roofs, delivering renewable energy while enhancing biodiversity. The event is part of an online webinar series launched by the European Federation of Green Roofs and Walls Associations (EFB) to discuss and spread awareness around topics related to green roofs and walls that are relevant all-around Europe. Speakers include: Dusty Gedge (United Kingdom) – Ambassador of THE EFB, independent green roof and urban biodiversity professional working with Gentian Ltd. Andreas Dreisiebner (Switzerland) – CEO at Growsolution by A777, Member of the Board of Directors at Solarspar. Vera Enzi-Zechner (Austria) – Vice-President of the EFB, independent consultant. More information & register here. *The webinar is open for everyone and is free of charge thanks to the support of the sponsors of the webinar.
Roof garden, Vegetable garden on the roof, Vegetables on the roof of the building, Agriculture in urban on the roof of the building. Shutterstock ID:1010959666 In the concrete jungles of our cities could take root a quiet revolution: urban agriculture. As we struggle with the challenges of food security, environmental degradation, and climate change, harnessing the potential of urban spaces for agricultural production can emerge as a solution. Urban agriculture has a myriad of benefits which could be delivered to people through a reevaluation of European policies. Urban agriculture offers a broad range of benefits that extend beyond mere food production. Firstly, it fosters food security by bringing fresh, locally grown produce closer to urban dwellers, reducing reliance on long-distance transportation and mitigating the increasing risks associated with disruptions to global supply chains. Moreover, cultivating crops within cities promotes biodiversity as green spaces created through urban agriculture serve as habitats for diverse flora and fauna. Additionally, urban agriculture plays a pivotal role in mitigating climate change. By converting impervious surfaces, vacant lots, rooftops, and walls into productive green spaces, carbon sequestration is enhanced, while reducing the urban heat island effect and mitigating stormwater runoff, thereby increasing urban resilience to extreme weather events. Finally, engaging in urban agriculture fosters community cohesion and social inclusion. Community gardens and allotment schemes provide spaces for interaction, knowledge sharing, and skill development, forging stronger bonds among residents and promoting a sense of ownership and pride in local neighbourhoods. Read the full article by Luigi Petito, Head of Secretariat at WGIN’s EU Chapter in the Spring 2024 issue of Living Architecture Monitor.
The Polish Green Roofs Association invites you to participate in an international conference: Greening Modern Cities. Part of the New European Bauhaus Festival, held in April of 2024! Registration is now open! We are excited to announce that the World Green Infrastructure Network (WGIN) will take part in the international conference: Greening Modern Cities on 18 – 19 April 2024, in Warsaw and online. Organized by the Polish Association Green Roofs, the GMC Conference is an opportunity to gain knowledge and exchange experiences with an international group of experts. Conference speakers include representatives from academia and practice, primarily from Europe, with representation also from North America and Asia, including: Manfred Koehler, President of WGIN David Vernon Brasfield, WGIN Board Member & Chairperson of the Norwegian Association for Green Infrastructure Aslan Jonoubi, WGIN Board Member & owner of Line & Page INC Jan Rapan, Vice-President of the Slovak Association for Green Roofs and Green Infrastructure (Asociácia pre zelené strechy a zelenú infraštruktúru) The two-day programme will discuss the current status, problems and opportunities for the implementation of green infrastructure in modern cities with a special focus on green roofs and living walls. The event can be attended in person or online. For those who choose to participate in person, a guided tour on selected green roofs in Warsaw, which are not open to the public, can be an additional attraction. You can already register to book your spot! Find more information here!
Explore innovative urban solutions at the AIPH Green City Conference 2024, taking place on 5 March 2024 in Doha, Qatar. Themed “City greening solutions for arid environments,” this conference explores the strategies that cities in arid zones adopt to create liveable and efficient environments, putting the attenuating capacity of plants at the centre of city form and function. Register here! Rethinking city planning is key to accommodate the rise of populations in desert cities, estimated to be happening at a rate faster than in other cities. Desert cities are found on all continents, and they share concerns around water availability, urban heat island effects, and energy use. This conference explores the strategies that cities in arid zones adopt to create liveable and efficient cities, putting the attenuating capacity of plants at the centre of city form and function. It is not just desert cities that are challenged by heat. The conference will extend the dialogue to cities in temperate regions that are bringing intelligent greening into city planning to reduce negative effects of changing climates in highly built environments. Tuesday’s morning session introduces local programmes and initiatives that support greening of cities in arid environments, with reports from Earthna and GORD about their current focus and future ambitions. Also in the morning programme, we hear about strategies for rewilding in Arab cities, and a global initiative to coordinate and share innovative actions in arid cities. In the afternoon session, speakers present their experiences with urban greening in other regions and cities. We also look forward to hearing about new technologies to monitor and report on urban greening progress. On Wednesday, guests will have time in the morning at Expo 2023 Doha, followed by afternoon visits to key sites within the Doha municipality that showcase living green. Tickets Tickets for the AIPH Green City Conference, tours, and dinner on 5 March are £325.00 – tickets can be purchased via the registration site. *WGIN members enjoy exclusive registration benefits. Please contact info@wgin.org to know more! The AIPH Green City Conference is part of the AIPH Spring Meeting 2024, which takes place from 3-7 March in Doha, Qatar. More details about the Spring Meeting can be found here.
The first EFB Open Meeting – European Update on 20 March 2024, organized by the European Federation of Green Roofs and Walls Associations (EFB). The EFB Open Meetings aim to provide a platform for all members of EFB’s member associations to come together, acquire and share knowledge, discuss industry trends, and foster collaboration within the green roof and wall community across Europe. Date and Time: 20 March 2024, 17:00 – 19:00 CETLanguage: English Speakers: Moderation: Dusty Gedge, EFB’s ambassador & Urban Ecologist Paulo Palha, EFB President & Agronomist Luigi Petito, Head of Secretariat of WGIN’s EU Chapter Vera Enzi-Zechner, EFB Vice-President & NBS expert Pavel Dostal, EFB Vice-President & Economist The meeting is free of charge for all the members of the EFB Member Associations and Partnering Organizations. Find the full agenda here Register here: https://forms.gle/ReGBWKsnXR4mxrdw9 For further information, click here
Wall of high-rise building covered with plants, reflection of sunlight in one of the windows. Shutterstock ID: 1251913315 Now in its fourth Year, International Green Wall Day on 15 February celebrates and highlights the beauty and environmental benefits of living walls. The date marks the 133 year anniversary of the birth of the living wall inventor and visionary landscape architect Stanley Hart White. On this day the major architects, designers, manufacturers and installers of living walls come together across social media channels, to share their best work with videos, images and articles, using the hashtag #GreenWallDay. This creates a useful snapshot of the current global state of play for green walls. Everyone is invited. It is free. Despite the first patent being filed for a living wall in 1938, they did not become mainstream until the millennium. Since then, green walls have grown in popularity all over the world, becoming ever bigger and more spectacular. “It is a common misconception that the living wall is a modern invention. But it was invented over 80 years ago. Imagine how different our cities would look today if architects, developers, planners and governments had made Stanley Hart White’s living walls core to urban development for the past 80 years. Would we still be threatened with such a severe climate catastrophe if, for eight decades, we had built our cities green instead of grey?” James Beattie, Chief Operating Officer of Pritchard & Pritchard and founder of #GreenWallDay. To take part use the hashtag #GreenWallDay on all social media to share your living wall images, videos and thought-leadership articles. Join the Green Wall Day party on: Linkedin; Instagram; Twitter/X and Facebook. The current world record holders (unofficial… the Guiness Book of Records is years out of date!) are: Largest indoor living wall project is Kempegowda International Airport T2, India, with over 10,235sqm of green walls, featuring 450,000 plants. Largest outdoor living wall is Khalifa Avenue, Qatar, with a total area of 7,000sqm. Tallest indoor living wall is Menara Hap Seng 3, Malaysia, at 91m. Tallest outdoor living wall is in Medellín, Colombia at 92m. The Green Wall Day video features the most spectacular living walls from around the World. Living walls or green walls are created by fixing a framework of troughs, pockets or mats to an indoor or outdoor wall or fence into which a multitude of smaller plants are planted. These plants are maintained by an irrigation system. Benefits of living walls to the environment and to buildings include: Improving biodiversity by providing breeding, nesting and food source for birds and invertebrates. Helping to trap dust, particulates and other pollutants from both the air and rainfall on the leaves of plants. Providing winter insulation for buildings reducing demand for heating by up to 25 per cent. Providing shading from the sun, living walls can reduce temperature fluctuations of walls by up to 50%, helping to reduce Urban Heat Island effect (UHIE). Shielding buildings from ultra-violet light and rain, which can damage walls. Source: Living Roofs and Walls Technical Report: Supporting London Plan Policy. To contact Pritchard & Pritchard or reach out to any of the supporters of #GreenWallDay, email info@pritchardandpritchard.com
On 12 February 2024, WGIN signed a memorandum of understanding on organizational collaboration with the International Federation of Landscape Architects (IFLA.) The 60th IFLA World Congress titled “Code Red for Earth” will receive abstracts until 19 February, 2024. Please note that the Congress dates overlap the World Green Infrastructure Congress 2024 in Auckland, New Zealand. The 60th World Congress of the International Federation of Landscape Architecture (IFLA), hosted by the UCTEA Chamber of Turkish Landscape Architects, will be held in Istanbul between 4-6 September 2024 with the theme “Code Red for Earth”. Earth is experiencing an unprecedented rate of change. We are all living with ‘Code Red’. The scaleless and boundless nature of environmental crises creates an irreversible degradation in terrestrial, atmospheric, and aquatic environments that harm all living and their habitats. A considerable amount of the world’s population is affected daily by climate change and severe disasters, facing livelihood destruction, land-use change, habitat encroachment, extinction of species, and wildlife crime posing a significant threat to the future of the Earth and all living. Herein, the 2024 IFLA 60th World Congress calls for humankind to take urgent action to prevent the worst impacts of environmental crises. Acknowledging human responsibility, the congress invites policymakers, professionals, scientists, and individuals on stage to establish discourse and course for the Earth’s future. Addressing landscape architecture as a professional and academic practice that is deeply and firmly rooted in built environments’ relationship to nature, we intend to foreground the mediatory/mediating and catalytic role of Landscape Architecture and invite our esteemed scholars, researchers, educators, and practitioners to join this pivotal world conference. The three-day congress intends to discuss anthropogenic impacts on the Earth system and establish scenarios by forming an action-oriented interaction ground rather than only (re)pointing out the problems. The deadline for abstract submissions is extended to 19 February 2024. For further information, click here. IFLA WORLD CONGRESS, İSTANBUL 2024 (ifla2024.com)
©Malabar Gold ©Malabar Gold A plant wall attracts bees and birds, reducing costs and promoting sustainability, leading to a mandate for green walls. Read below a case study of the positive impacts of urban green infrastructure. Location: Dubai, UAE Designer / project owner: Malabar Gold This project is situated in an industrial area where construction and shipping activities are operational during the daytime. Bees and other birds are attracted to the natural plant wall, which acts as a shelter for these beneficial insects and birds. Additionally, it reduces the temperature of the building, ultimately lowering electricity and power costs. The plants utilized in the green wall contribute to reducing carbon footprints. The green wall stands out as one of the most captivating and innovative features of this project. Its sustainability, environmental friendliness, and aesthetic appeal draw more visitors to the building. Schools and colleges frequently organize visits to this project to comprehend the concept of the green wall and its benefits. The Building Developers Association has made a policy decision to incorporate green walls into all buildings in this area due to their environmental and sustainability advantages. Green walls, also known as vertical gardens, can dramatically transform the surrounding environment and create a striking visual impact. They add value to your space without sacrificing valuable floor space. Serving as “oxygen factories,” green walls increase humidity and improve air quality while also boasting fantastic acoustic properties. Gover Group of Companies provides complete solutions for all types of Green Walls/Vertical Garden throughout the Gulf Region. Green wall modules are easy to install and can be quickly fixed to any structural wall including brick, concrete, metal or other surfaces. Minimal Structure required for heights above every 8 feet. Images ©Malabar Gold, AL Futtaim and Dubai Properties
The webinar – Ecosystem Services of Green Roofs and Possibilities for their Economic Assessment takes place on 21 February at 16:00 CET! Hosted by EFB, join to explore the costs, long-term benefits and feasibility of green roofs. The European Federation of Green Roofs and Walls Associations (EFB) has launched an online webinar series touching upon various topics related to green roofs and walls that are relevant all-around Europe. The next webinar scheduled for 21 February at 16:00 CET is titled: Ecosystem Services of Green Roofs and Possibilities for their Economic Assessment. Speakers: Ana Teixeira Mesquita (Portugal) – Operations Director at Landlab Portugal, Board Member of ANCV Marek Hekrle (Czech Republic) – PhD researcher at J. E. Purkynì University and IREAS Prague The webinar will address the topic of real costs, long-term benefits, and feasibility of green roofs, emphasizing economic assessments and how some of the ecosystem services of green roofs can be expressed in monetary units. There will be an opportunity to learn from Czech and Portuguese case studies and discover why such evaluations are crucial for green roof implementation. More information & register here. *The webinar is free of charge for participants thanks to the support of the speakers and sponsors of the webinar.
Follow us on the channel that best suits you to receive our latest updates!
Join us. Get member benefits. Promote your company, projects, products and services.