Showing posts with label Rooftop Gardens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rooftop Gardens. Show all posts
Friday, November 23, 2012
Green Alley Project of Chicago
Chicago
is already home to the highest number of green rooftops of any city in the
world, including Chicago’s City Hall’s Rooftop Garden. The next initiative
being undertaken by the city is the Green Alley Program. This project is an
expanded approach to Chicago Department of Transportation’s existing alley
program and is designed to improve those alleyways in a sustainable way. The
city contains one of the most extensive networks of alleyways in the world,
covering 1,900 miles with over 3,500 acres of paved, impermeable surfaces. A
number of improvements have been suggested for the Green Alley Program including the use of permeable surfaces, high albedo
pavements, and recycled material.
1) Permeable
Pavement- Permeable
pavement has pores or openings that allow water to pass through the surface and
percolate through the existing subsoil. Permeable pavement comes in the form of
permeable asphalt, permeable concrete, and permeable pavers. In areas where
soils do not drain freely, permeable pavement can be used in combination with
subsurface drainage systems, like pipe underdrains or stormwater infiltration
trenches to slow runoff and reduce stress on the combined sewer system.
Potential Benefits
•
Reduces the rate and quantity of stormwater runoff
• Reduces
stress on the sewer system
•
Recharges ground water
•
Filters silt, pollutants and debris
2) High Albedo
Pavement- High
albedo pavement material is light in color and reflects sunlight away from the
surface. With less sunlight absorbed by pavement, less heat is radiated by the
pavement. High albedo pavement therefore reduces the urban heat island effect.
This reduces cooling costs, helps the survival of urban vegetation, and improves
air quality, which can help reduce the symptoms of some respiratory diseases.
Potential
Benefits
•
Reduces the urban heat island effect
•
Can be used under a wide variety of site conditions
•
Conserves energy by reducing cooling costs
•
Improves air quality
3) Recycled
Construction Materials- Recycled construction materials can be incorporated in a variety
of ways in green alleys. Recycled concrete aggregate can be used in the
concrete mix and as a base beneath surface paving. Also, slag, a by-product of
steel production, can be used as a component of the concrete mix, reducing
industrial waste. Ground tire rubber can be used in porous asphalt and reclaimed
asphalt pavement in non-porous asphalt.
Potential
Benefits
•
Reduces waste hauled to landfills
•
Reduces the need to extract virgin natural resources
Friday, November 9, 2012
Chicago's City Hall – Rooftop Garden
Chicago’s City Hall
rooftop has varying sections containing soil depths of 4, 6, or 18 inches to
accommodate the different plants and trees. Soils were developed from
lightweight mixtures similar to those used in Germany over the last few
decades. Under the soil is a 12 to 24 inch waterproofing layer that provides
structural support for weights of up to 60 pounds per square inch. The rooftop
is home to over 20,000 herbaceous, 100 woody shrubs, 40 vines, a Cockspur Hawthorn
tree, and Prairie Crabapple tree. The plants and trees are organized to bloom
in a sunburst pattern.
75% of each inch of
rainwater is collected and used before runoff begins to occur. Even more
impressive is the fact that the rooftop is that the air temperature is reduced
by 15 degrees with the actual rooftop temperature being 70 degrees cooler than
comparable, adjacent roofs. The garden rooftop also contributes $5,000 in
annual energy savings. Initial data results have been highly encouraging and
the Chicago City Hall Rooftop Garden is serving as a model for other buildings
with green
rooftops, both in and outside of Chicago.
While the garden is not
normally accessible to the public, Chicago Gateway Green has exclusive footage below
of Bill Kurtis
interviewing Mayor Daley atop the City Hall.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Indoor Gardening for the Long Chicago Winter
Fall is here and winter is soon to follow. Don’t let the cold weather
get you down. Planting an indoor garden is a great way to transition from
outdoor to indoor activities. As long as there is enough sunlight, you can grow
anything! Flowers, herbs, or spices; it all up to you.
Deciding what to plant really depends on each individual
grower. Herbs are leafy and delicate. They can either be used in food
preparation or as traditional
medicine. Spices are tougher, fibrous, and much more fragrant than other plants.
They can be dried and used year-round in cooking or as a chemical-free air
freshener. And of course there are flowers! Plant flowers for their pleasant aroma
and ability to brighten up any room. Chicago
Gateway Green uses flowers at many of the expressway sites for their added aesthetics.
The first step for
creating your indoor garden is deciding whether to grow your plants
hydroponically or in dirt. If growing them in dirt, prepare your pots by mixing
in organic nutrients and sifting the soil. It is important to plant the seeds
or seedlings at the correct depth. This will allow them to grow properly
with the least amount of difficulty. Then begin to water lightly in regular
intervals suggested on the seed package. Make sure that the soil is well
drained. As the plants grow, trim and get rid of old leaves ensure that they
grow to their fullest potentials. That’s it! Sit back and enjoy.
Deciding what to plant really depends on each individual
grower. Herbs are leafy and delicate. They can either be used in food
preparation or as traditional
medicine. Spices are tougher, fibrous, and much more fragrant than other plants.
They can be dried and used year-round in cooking or as a chemical-free air
freshener. And of course there are flowers! Plant flowers for their pleasant aroma
and ability to brighten up any room. Chicago
Gateway Green uses flowers at many of the expressway sites for their added aesthetics.
The first step for
creating your indoor garden is deciding whether to grow your plants
hydroponically or in dirt. If growing them in dirt, prepare your pots by mixing
in organic nutrients and sifting the soil. It is important to plant the seeds
or seedlings at the correct depth. This will allow them to grow properly
with the least amount of difficulty. Then begin to water lightly in regular
intervals suggested on the seed package. Make sure that the soil is well
drained. As the plants grow, trim and get rid of old leaves ensure that they
grow to their fullest potentials. That’s it! Sit back and enjoy.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Millennium Park
 |
| Photo from www.luriegarden.org |
With a maze of a parking lot beneath its' grounds, Millennium Park is technically on the roof of a parking garage. The park is arguably most well-known for "Cloudgate", or as most people refer to it, The Bean. Still, the 24.5 acres of open space offer more than just a spectacular view of the skyline. Between Lurie Garden, Jay Pritzker Pavillion and Crowd Fountain (with the faces), its easy to spend a few hours strolling the grounds and enjoying your favorite city.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Business Spotlight: Uncommon Ground
This special edition of Business Spotlight features one of the greenest restaurants in the nation, Uncommon Ground, and their Organic Rooftop Farm Director, Dave Snyder.
Name: Dave Snyder
Title: Organic Rooftop Farm Director
What neighborhood do you live in?: Garfield Park
Favorite thing about Chicago?: The people. Everyone is friendly and sociable.
What is Uncommon Ground's green angle?: At Uncommon Ground, we source our food from both organic and local farms. Because of this, the different seasons dictate the specials and the menu is always changing. In the end, our kitchen scraps are sent to a composting service as well. Still, we have a small carbon footprint since a majority of our food goes right from the roof to the kitchen. Both locations have 4-star certifications from the Green Restaurant Association.
 |
| Photo Courtesy of Uncommon Ground |
We also enjoying educating the community through our open houses and private garden tours. It gives us a chance to mingle with the community and share what we do on a regular basis.
Enjoy the open house yourself this Friday, August 3rd at their Edgewater location, 1401 West Devon at 6:00pm. For more information on their private garden tours click here.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Seeds vs. Seedlings, Part 2
One of our first posts featured Sara Gasbarra, lead garden girl of Verdura Chicago, and her rooftop garden at the Hilton Chicago. At that point in time the garden was mostly young and promising seeds and seedlings.
Today, just a few weeks later, Sara says most of the herbs such as basil, mint, tarragon, thyme, rosemary, lemon balm, dill, and marjoram are ready for harvesting and the tomatoes and peppers are in full bloom! She's expecting cherry tomatoes (sungold, black cherry and sweet million varieties) and chile peppers (serrano, jalapeno and inferno) to bloom soon as well. Yum!
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Rooftop Gardens from around the World!
Need some inspiration for your rooftop garden? Look no further. The gardens featured below are creative, unique, and exciting.
- Chicago City Hall Rooftop Garden
- Washington Mutual Center Green Roof
- For more rooftop gardens click here
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