Hello all,
WE HAVE MOVED!!!!!!
If you’re hoping to get involved or keep updated with GRiT activities, please visit and sign up at our new website:
www.greenroofthinktank.groupsite.com
Thanks,
GRiT
July 12, 2009
Meeting 2 – 6/24/09 @ The Asa Lofts & Bridgeport
Tour: We spent the first hour touring the Asa Townhomes + Lofts. See photos.
Discussions centered on the following topics:
Residential: There is a gap between the commercial and residential green roof industries, particularly in system design and components, insurance, and industry standards. Training programs and seminars are lacking in the residential market.
Architecture:From the perspective of many architects, incorporating ecoroofs can be difficult because among other issues, they are not a product but a system. A premium is often paid to simplify the process and liability for the architect and building owner by getting a whole roof/green roof system (product) from one manufacturer.
Surveys Needed:
- Who drove existing projects? (Architects, building owners, incentives, community, etc)
- Benefits of various types of ecoroofs vs. public perception and aesthetic value
- Cost Benefit analysis needed to quantify value of systems to building owners, occupants, and city – air quality, heat island effect, energy usage, habitat, stormwater issues, landfill space (extended life of roof membrane)
Licensing issues: are of major concern as the industry grows. Because many categories in the green roof industry are so new, there can be few or no regulations, leaving the building owner/designer/occupants/green roof company or installer/general public perception at risk.
Education: is an issue that comes up repeatedly at every meeting. Non-proprietary information to the building owners, architects, green roof suppliers/installers, city officials and general public could move the industry and benefits of ecoroofs to the next level. Beyond the many economic and environmental benefits of ecoroofs, what causes them to fail or thrive should be documented and shared.
Ideas for future meetings:
- Residential ecoroof tour with owners present for discussion
- GRiT outreach programs (volunteer ecoroof maintenance, rooftop ag, ecoroof seminars and workshops, guerrilla ecoroofing)
- Join forces with other local groups – AIA, homeowners associations, Cascadia, Energy-focused groups, Federal programs,etc
June 30, 2009
Our July meeting featured a tour of the Lovejoy Block 2, better known as the Asa Flats + Lofts. We had a great turnout, and had the added bonus of being able to see a number of adjacent ecoroofs and roof gardens. The first stop was the upper floor roof terrace, which had some great views of downtown to the south and Forest Park to the west.
Viewing from above, the lower terrace is visible, which offers extensive ecoroof atop townhouse units, and the community garden spaces with raised bed planters and more intensive vegetation.
The upper roof also offered some great view of a range of other area ecoroof and roof terraces. To the west is the Lovejoy Block 1, which has extensive vegetation and a more intensive rooftop below. In the right side of the photo, you can also see a glimpse of the Machine Works ecoroof adjacent to I-405..
Lovejoy Block II
To the north, the lush patterns of the ecoroof atop the Wyatt are visible, along with the intensive roof terrace area below. The contrast between these two projects and their aesthetics was quite a topic of conversation.
The Wyatt
We headed down to the lower terrace and checked out the synthetic lawn dog run (complete with fireplug) as well as the wide array of community garden beds in galvanized planters.
Afterwords we headed to Bridgeport for some refreshment and (somewhat noise-hampered) conversation… check out the meeting notes section for the low-down on what we discussed.
June 9, 2009
Kickoff Meeting – 5/28/09 @ Amnesia Brewing
Intros
19 Attendees, of diverse backgrounds in the industry
Where Industry Is Now
Most points discussed here related to lack of education on vegetated roofs, especially on the economic benefits for the building owner, also successful installation and maintenance procedures (commercial and residential)
Industry-wide need for quantifying the return on investment and added value to real estate
Homeowners have a lack of reasonably priced structural engineers to report on smaller scale projects, also issues of insurance, and no quantified property value changes with ecoroof installation
Operations and Maintenance: need for better maintenance of existing vegetated roofs to maximize function, and also to improve the public perception. Forming a volunteer maintenance group was suggested
Aesthetics vs. Function: issues discussed related to different perceptions of what a green roof should look like; whether it should be thriving all year; and again, better education is needed on function vs. aesthetics of ecoroofs
Where We Want to Be
- All new/restored roofs consider ecoroof option
- Quantify the benefits (return on investment, energy reduction, stormwater quality, extended roof life, etc). This means more research
- Put Portland back on the cutting edge of the green roof industry
- More sharing of what had led to successes and failures
Future Topic Suggestions
- Incentives / Policies Affecting Ecoroofs
- Reasons for Ecoroof Failures
- Historic Landmarks and Green Roofs
- Real Costs, Lifecycle Costs
- Growth Media and Plants
- Warranty Issues
- Irrigation and Maintenance
- Products
- Function vs. Aesthetics
- Marketing
- Ecoroof Market Development
- Fire ratings and other standards
- Maintenance – commercial and residential
- Rooftop agriculture
Meeting Format Suggestions
- 2 hour meetings, located near ecoroofs (and bars)
- Guest presentations on different topics
- Debate sessions over products/systems
- Monthly meetings held the last Wednesday
- Green Roof Work Team – volunteer maintenance of existing ecoroofs
June 9, 2009
A great start, and June meeting details
Posted by greenroofthinktank under Uncategorized | Tags: Bridgeport, Lovejoy Block II, meeting summary |Leave a Comment
Thanks to everyone for attending the kickoff meeting. It’s clear we have a great group of enthusiastic and dedicated folks seeing value in this discussion forum. A summary of the meeting has been posted to a new page available by clicking on the Meeting Summaries header above. Feel free to submit comments to that page if there’s something you notice missing from the summary.
The next meeting is Wednesday, June 24th at 6pm. We’ll meet in the leasing office located on the corner of NW 12th and Marshall, and tour the Lovejoy Block II Greenroof. Afterwards, we’ll convene at Bridgeport Brewing for refreshments and discussion.
Lovejoy Block II Greenroof
GRIT Meeting – Wednesday, June 24th
Lovejoy Block II Tour Meet at NW 12th Ave and Marshall 6:00 – 6:45 Meeting to follow Bridgeport Brewing Co. 1313 NW Marshall St 7:00 – 8:00 (ish) Please RSVP to greenroofthinktank@gmail.com if you plan to attend.May 18, 2009
GRIT Kickoff Meeting – Thursday, May 28th
Posted by greenroofthinktank under UncategorizedLeave a Comment
Greetings all,
Please join us at Amnesia Brewing on May 28th for the first meeting of the Greenroof Information Thinktank (GRIT). At this meeting we’ll discuss GRITs mission, meeting format and groundrules, and survey the group for future meeting topics. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to greenroofthinktank@gmail.com.
GRIT Kickoff Meeting Amnesia Brewing 832 N. Beech Street Portland, OR Thursday, May 28th ~ 6-8pm
