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Investments in urban green infrastructure is the solution to extreme weather events, writes Luigi Petito for Living Architecture Monitor. The good thing is that we have solutions to mitigate these extreme phenomena. One of these solutions is investment in urban green infrastructure. In cities we must and can restore the natural water cycle with existing technologies. We must renature densely populated areas with blue-green infrastructure on roofs, allowing water infiltration, rainwater harvesting, evapotranspiration, urban heat island effect mitigation and decentralised stormwater management. straight from the source Rotterdam, The Netherlands, June 3, 2018: close-up of some of the shops and the public park on top of them at Dakpark Rotterdam, The Netherlands, June 3, 2018: close-up of some of the shops and the public park on top of them at Dakpark
Green and blue infrastructure give an essential contribution to urban biodiversity, writes Luigi Petito in the Summer edition of Living Architecture Monitoring. On June 22, the European Commission proposed the first EU Nature Restoration Law in the form of unprecedented legally binding urban biodiversity targets. Such targets are intended to boost a systematic integration of vegetation into urban planning, including in public spaces, infrastructure, and in the design of buildings, in particular of their roofs and facades, and their surroundings.
Municipalities need to act as ‘moderators’ and involve the local community in urban planning, suggests WGIN board member Jure Šumi. This is the way to go to make our cities more sustainable and inclusive In his intervention, Jure stressed the need to bring nature near to every citizen across Europe for their health and wellbeing. To meet this goal, EU cities can rely on the implementation of green roofs and green walls as an easy and affordable solution bringing several other benefits: from biodiversity to stormwater management and climate adaptation.
We have already been talking about the real performance of green roofs, in terms of improved energy efficiency, better storm-water management, lower heat-island effects and more – because it’s all about achieving good environment performance. However, this time we look at the expectations of green roofs from the customer’s perspective. There are certain local aspects and requirements that contribute to the fine-tuning of green roof design. Let’s narrow these aspects down to 4 crucial elements: • climate conditions where the green roof will be set-up • type of building and type of roof where the green roof will be installed • the future purpose of the new green space being installed • local legal requirements We will not go into any theoretical debates here, but rather focus on two borderline case stories, where customer needs particularly determined the type of green roof construction, and where employing a traditional green roof simply doesn’t work. DUBAI, UAE Let’s first start with the climatic conditions that green roofs need to survive under extreme heat and humidity. And when talking about extreme, we’re talking about summer daytime temperatures that can easily exceed 50º C / 120º F. a roof on a four-storey building that connected two residential skyscrapers recreational space where residents could meet and relax There were a few main requirements on the investor’s side: The green roof needs to be lush, so that residents will see it as a real field of flowers and grasses The green roof should not be too heavy, as the area dedicated to installation of the green roof was a roof covering meeting rooms below The green roof can be irrigated, but should not require more irrigation water than what the Dubai code specifies for parks and gardens Initially, this seemed too much of a challenge to overcome. Knauf Insulation had to design a green roof no larger nor greater than 60 kg/m2 (12 lbs/ft), that would not consume more than 8 litres/m2 (0.3”) of water per day in the highest summer months, and would continue to look lush and green. Just look at what they were able to develop using only 6 cm (2.5”) of growing media, which weighed less than 50kg/m2 (10lbs/ft) fully saturated. A roof on a four-storey building that connected two residential skyscrapers recreational space where residents could meet and relax RIGA, LATVIA This other project was entirely different in terms of climate conditions. The project was executed in the Baltics – in Riga, Latvia – where winter temperatures can easily drop well below -20º C / -5º F. Like the Dubai case, the Riga green roof was built in a residential area. The roof between the residential buildings was meant to be a recreational space, where families could relax late in the afternoon and watch kids play in the rooftop-playground. The simplest green roof structure using grass over the entire roof would have been the cheapest alternative; however, this would actually require a lot of maintenance over the years to come, which would be a burden for future residents, so this idea was initially scrapped. The following requirements were drawn up for Knauf Insulation to follow: • The green roof needs to be fully vegetated on the day the first residents arrive • The green roof should remain nice, even in the colder winter months when not covered in snow • The green roof should require a minimum of maintenance, meaning low additional costs for the residents • The original design should make the roof thicker than the pathways made of concrete paving stones • The green roof must act as a storm-water management tool. The difficult part here was to provide sufficient storm-water management with a thin structure that would not exceed the height of the pavers. This cannot be done with regular green roof soil, so a structure that employed Urbanscape Growing Media, just 4 cm thick (1.8”) was used. This 4 cm thick structure could still hold the majority of the annual rainfall (more than 70%) that usually pours down on the roofs of Riga. Once built and ready, the entire place looked fantastic, and complied with all of the initial requirements. We all know that Urban Green Infrastructure is truly the industry of the future and in order to support faster growth, we need to respect the needs and wishes of our potential users. Sometimes this means that the need to look outside the box and beyond traditional ways of doing business.
World Green Infrastructure Network’s Chapter for Emerging Professionals (C.E.P) is Launched! View page here. The World Green Infrastructure Network (WGIN) has formally launched the Chapter for Emerging Professionals (C.E.P). The official launch occurred during WGIN’s annual general meeting on May 29, 2022. The CEP is a globally inclusive, collaborative, and knowledge-oriented organization aiming to bring students and young professionals together to promote and advocate urban green infrastructure worldwide. CEP is open to emerging green infrastructure enthusiasts worldwide. The current membership comprises students and young professionals from Turkey, Colombia, Brazil, Ghana, Germany, Spain, and India. Membership registration is available here. CEP’s maiden AGM is slated for August 28, 2022 (further details will be provided in due course). Planning is also underway for a networking event between CEP members and corporate GI supply chain actors. More information about C.E.P is available here. Watch the space for more exciting activities and events.
The policy conference organised by the WGIN EU Chapter took place online on 12 May, 2022. After the successful first edition launched last year, WGIN’s European Green Infrastructure Day (EGIDay) was back for another exciting series of discussions on how green roofs and walls can contribute to the European Green Deal and the European Union’s climate goals for 2030 and 2050. The EGIDay is a policy conference dedicated to exploring the state of affairs of urban green infrastructure in the European Union. The event aims to gather industry leaders, experts, stakeholders, and EU policymakers to discuss how to tap into the multiple benefits of green infrastructure for Europe’s climate and energy transition. Among the speakers were: View the full programme here.You can watch the event recordings below and on our YouTube channel. Recordings:1. Welcome and Introduction2. Decarbonised, energy efficient and green: the future of the EU building stock3. Restoring nature in European cities: the role of green infrastructure4. The multiple benefits of green infrastructure for people and places https://youtu.be/Ih5zLS-rgGwhttps://youtu.be/dmtkpPaM9L8https://youtu.be/uQ2n2iV-A9Ehttps://youtu.be/dgBZ25Ap-U8
CitiesAlive 2022 Call for Proposals & Call for research Papers now open! Submit your Proposal by Saturday April 30, 2022 CitiesAlive 2022 have officially launched their Call for Session Proposals and Call for Research Papers! They welcome all interested parties to submit a proposal for a 30, 60, or 90 minute Session Proposal (general presentation, not research specific), or a 10-30 minute Research Presentation (must include abstract to be peer reviewed by a panel of qualified CitiesAlive Advisory Committee academics). Submissions are due by April 30th, 2022. You are invited to review the submission process and related criteria for submitting by clicking here. CitiesAlive® is back in 2022 in Philadelphia at the DoubleTree by Hilton – Philadelphia City Center. The conference will be held from Sunday October 16th to Tuesday October 18th, with an additional day of tours on Wednesday October 19th. The theme of this year’s conference is Green Infrastructure & Water in a Changing Climate. Water is critical to the health and resiliency of our communities. Over the last several years, Philadelphia has become a green infrastructure leader through creative policy solutions that work to create vibrant community spaces while managing stormwater. In 2011 the Philadelphia Water department implemented a plan to invest $1.2 Billion over the next 25 years. CitiesAlive® 2022 is a multi-disciplinary conference, bringing together the best designers, product manufacturers, researchers, and policy makers in the field of living architecture and green infrastructure. Attendees will hear from leading-edge designers, discussing their innovative approaches and newest projects. We will be highlighting progressive policies and showcasing the latest research. Join us in shaping a better, more resilient future. For more information visit www.citiesalive.org Marketing and Promotional Opportunities Brochure
WGIN welcomes Sika AG as a new corporate member. The Swiss multinational specialty chemicals company will also be part of the network’s European Chapter. The World Green Infrastructure Network (WGIN) is delighted to announce that Sika is joining the Network as a new corporate member. Sika is also joining WGIN’s EU Chapter, the group’s advocacy section dedicated to advance the green infrastructure agenda in the European Union. Sika AG was founded in 1910 with the invention of a quick-setting waterproofing admixture for mortars, which was used to waterproof the Gotthard Tunnel in Switzerland and enabled the Swiss railway company to electrify the important connection between Northern and Southern Europe. Today, thanks to its leading position in developing and producing systems and products for bonding, sealing, damping, reinforcing, and protecting in the building sector and motor vehicle industry, the company is considered as enabler of sustainable transportation and construction. Sika has been waterproofing green roofs and other landscaped areas for over 40 years globally, and in the United States for over 25 years. Sika’s Sarnafil® roofing systems have recently celebrated their 60-year anniversary. With close to 400 million m2 of roofing and waterproofing membrane installed worldwide, architects, specifiers and building owners know they can rely on Sika for proven products and system performance. Already today, Sika generates 70% of its sales with products that have a positive sustainability impact. Manfred Koehler, President of the World Green Infrastructure Network, commented: “We are very pleased to welcome Sika as a new member of WGIN and of its EU Chapter. As a multinational company well known for its innovative and high-quality products, Sika is a perfect match with our ambition to promote the deployment of green infrastructure globally. We look forward to working together on this key agenda.” Patricia Heidtman, Chief Innovation and Sustainability Officer at Sika, said: “Sustainability is at the center of everything Sika does. Our company is focusing on helping customers to reduce their CO2eq footprint by providing innovative solutions and products. In many respects, Sika’s technologies make the company an enabler that strongly contributes to the climate neutrality journey of the construction and automotive industries. That’s why we share the ambition to promote green infrastructure in urban planning and we are happy to join WGIN and support them in this endeavor.” Patrick Horisberger, Head Target Market Roofing at Sika, added: “Green roofs lower the energy costs by absorbing heat which in turn significantly reduces the need for air conditioning in summer and provides additional insulation in the winter. Another important benefit is their ability to reduce and slow stormwater runoff, besides using the roof as a recreational area. With our membership in WGIN we want to influence and support the development of green roofs by sharing know-how, supporting studies, and developing new solutions.” Download the pdf version Media contacts Luigi Petito Head of Secretariat, World Green Infrastructure Network – EU Chapter luigi.petito@wgin.org Harriet Sihn Public Relations Manager, Sika AG sihn.harriet@ch.sika.com ABOUT WGIN The World Green Infrastructure Network (WGIN) is a collaborative global network promoting the integration of green infrastructure in urban planning. Since 2009, WGIN has expanded to represent 22 National Associations and has held 10 World Green Infrastructure Congresses. WGIN has established supportive working research committees and has an active board of directors representing 11 nations. In 2019, WGIN set up a European Chapter with the aim of raising awareness among EU policymakers about the multiple benefits of green infrastructure. ABOUT SIKA Sika is a specialty chemicals company with a leading position in the development and production of systems and products for bonding, sealing, damping, reinforcing, and protecting in the building sector and motor vehicle industry. Headquartered in Baar (Switzerland), Sika has subsidiaries in 101 countries around the world and manufactures in over 300 factories. Its more than 27,000 employees generated annual sales of CHF 9.3 billion in 2021.
WGIN welcomes leading Germany-based company as a new corporate member. The green roof firm will be part of the network’s European Chapter. The World Green Infrastructure Network (WGIN) is delighted to announce that as of 2022 Bauder is joining the Network as a new corporate member. Bauder is also joining the EU Chapter of WGIN, the network’s advocacy section dedicated to advance the green infrastructure agenda in the European Union. Paul Bauder Gmbh & Co. KG, a family business founded in 1857, is a leading international manufacturer of building construction materials. The third Bauder generation established an important milestone in the company’s history by focusing on the roof. In addition to the flat roof business unit, which includes green roof and photovoltaic systems, they built up the pitched roof business unit. Today the company provides clients with waterproofing membranes and insulation to make buildings watertight and thermally efficient, photovoltaic installations for renewable energy generation, and green roofs to support the environment and create better living and working spaces for people. Bauder is based in Stuttgart and operates in 16 countries around the world, with more than 1.300 employees. Manfred Koehler, President of the World Green Infrastructure Network, said:“We are extremely pleased to welcome Bauder as a new member of WGIN and of its EU Chapter. As one of the world leaders in green roof technologies, Bauder fits perfectly with our mission to promote green infrastructure to create greener and healthier urban spaces, benefitting nature and people. We look forward to working together towards achieving this important goal in Europe and beyond.” Tim Bauder, Bauder Managing Director, commented:“At Bauder, we know the potential that roofs have for mitigating the effects of climate change. Every green roof creates new, important living space that makes our cities greener and therefore more liveable. We are very happy about our membership and to be able to support WGIN with our expertise in green roofs.” Download the pdf version Media contactsCéline DurerCorporate CommunicationsBauderceline.durer@bauder.de Luigi PetitoHead of SecretariatWGIN – EU Chapterluigi.petito@wgin.org
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