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Green Roofs in Sustainable Landscape Design
by Steven L. Cantor
W. W. Norton, 2008
Hardcover, 320 pages
In this large-format book on the
increasingly popular practice of green roofs in urban conditions,
New York-based landscape architect Steven L. Cantor aims
to provide basic information and instill in the reader the
vocabulary and technology needed to understand and make
decisions about such an undertaking. He splits the book
into six chapters, presenting an overview of green roofs,
details on plant selection and other technical aspects,
green roof precedents in Europe (the book is written for
an American audience, but Cantor acknowledges how advanced
Europe is with green roof technology and design), case studies,
and trends that point the way for future developments. Depending
on the reader's knowledge of green roofs, certain chapters
are more helpful than others; for example, a landscape architect
might only be interested in the case studies and trends,
while an owner trying to determine if he or she will install
a green roof will find the overview extremely valuable,
be baffled by the technical chapter and enjoy the visuals
for the precedents and case studies. The varied content
allows this book to be worthwhile for a larger and more
diverse audience than the title portends.
For this reader the overview helped
nail down the terms common in the construction of green
roofs, and the case studies presented a diverse range of
applications of the different types (intensive vs. extensive,
flat vs. sloped, etc.), making the first chapter come to
life, if you will. Projects like the Peggy
Notebaert Nature Museum and Millennium
Park in Chicago and the California
Academy of Sciences in San Francisco are good examples
of the range of ideas and outcomes available with green
roofs. The first illustrates how green roofs on a building
can become an extension of the trees and other green site
features, the second shows how green roofs (combine with
other infrastructure and building) can activate urban voids
created from early industrialization and make an impact
on a larger scale, and the third expressive the formal innovation
and architectural integration possible with these green
surfaces. The book rounds itself out with a bibliography,
additional resources, and specifications for the professional.
All tolled, the book is a very good overview and reference
for architects and other involved in green roofs, not just
landscape architects. Future editions would be most welcome,
as the United States sees more installations and more research
on this important aspect of sustainability.
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