How do your past or current projects contribute to ecological, economical and social sustainability of the surrounding area of Calgary?

I am a green building designer. In the past few years, most of my work has been related to vegetated or green roofs. When properly designed, this green building technique can deliver a multitude of ecosystem services to the building owner, its occupants and to the community. A few of the long list of the potential benefits that green roofs provide include: improved stormwater management, reduced urban heat island effect, improved energy efficiency, amenity spaces, wildlife habitat creation, improved air quality, connected landscapes, enhanced liveability and many other advantages.

The significance of the benefits depends upon the particular site characteristics and the owner’s design intent for the project. Many of my projects have been created for social and aesthetic reasons while at the same time addressing environmental issues because the green roof was used or viewed by the people in the buildings. I work hard to keep costs down so that they are affordable to more people and more of them get built.

What are the main incentives your company is taking to conserve energy?

When our clients choose to add a green roof, they often do so for reasons other than improving energy efficiency. However, this technology can help reduce heating and cooling loads and conserve energy in a number of ways. The benefit is more pronounced in existing buildings especially those with larger roof to wall ratios.

Research has shown that the added insulation and thermal mass of the green roof buffers against the transfer of heat. The green roof assembly also shades the waterproof membrane and the evaporation of moisture in the system (evapotranspiration) keeps the roof cooler in the summer and shoulder seasons. This is not only more energy efficient but helps extend the service life of the waterproof membrane. In winter, while the energy savings may be a modest, the addition of the green roof has a moderating effect on thermal comfort in the building.
Solar panels tend to lose efficiency when overheated. For every degree Celsius above 25°C the panels lose 0.5% efficiency. However, when the panels are combined with green roofs, the cooler surface temperature of the green roof helps improve their efficiency. The shading of the green roof by the solar panels helps retain moisture in the green roof system which is also beneficial.

Air intakes for building ventilation systems are often up on rooftops. Locating the intake adjacent to a green roof helps pre-cool the air coming into the building as the green roof reduces ambient air temperature around the green roof; this conserves energy which otherwise would have been necessary to condition the air.

At Green T Design, in addition to adding green roofs to buildings, we strive to use as much local and regional products and materials both to keep cost lower and to minimize the energy and greenhouse gas emissions associated with transportation. We are also mindful of the amount of energy used to produce various materials used in green roofs and try to avoid overdesigned solutions while maintaining current Best Management Practices of green roofing. The beauty of green roofs is that they also contribute many other ecosystem services while moderating rooftop temperatures and are interesting and attractive to look at.

Is your company facing any difficulties towards communicating about sustainability? If so, how will your company resolve the difficulties? What are some of the barriers to success?

At the second annual Cities Alive conference, the international green roofs and green infrastructure conference, it was observed that urban centers leading in the uptake of the technology had both demonstration sites and ongoing academic or field research. Taking a cue from these leading centres, I initiated the Alberta Ecoroof Initiative (AEI) with a core collaborative team which included the building owner, roofing contractor, green roof supplier, native plant growers and design colleagues. The purpose of the partnership was to build capacity and public awareness of the benefits green roof technologies through the development of a local demonstration site. Community outreach in the form of tours and presentations and field research examining some of the characteristics of the technology followed once we had completed the first phase of the site (in 2005).

Nevertheless, despite the recent increase of green roof development in our region we continue to combat some of the myths and misperceptions about their viability. The increase in the number of built projects, the information shared between the various disciplines involved in green roofing and continued collaboration amongst those involved in the AEI project are helping improve the development green roofs in our region and dispel some of the myths.

It is my hope that once we better understand the extent of the benefits to our region, there will be increased success and implementation.

What are the most critical aspects for sustainable developments, and what does it mean to your organization, staff and the public?

The most critical concern facing designers of sustainable projects is promoting and educating a greater understanding of the issues that sustainable development is trying to address. The consideration of the environmental debt is as serious a problem as economic debt and needs equal billing. When the public becomes more aware of the interconnections among the social, cultural and economic dimensions of sustainability, they will make more informed decisions that are of greater long-term benefit to the environment and hopefully changing public attitudes which will lead us the transformation of governments and industry.

Green roofs and living architecture, as a sub-set of sustainability, are just now becoming a topic of interest in our region. As more projects are developed, clients now have probing questions about their design and long-term care. At Green T Design, in addition to designing and building green roofs, the education of our clients is a necessity to ensure that the their project goals and design intent are optimized. We provide advice on the technical aspects of the design as well as the trade-offs, benefits, pros & cons, maintenance and costs. We strive to implement the latest in green roof practices, provide seminars for both professional organizations and the general public to help build capacity. Other educational activities we’ve undertaken include co-chairing the 2008 Alberta Prairie Green Roof Conference and Tour and the development of a research and monitoring program for green roofs in our region to improve our local understanding of performance benefits.

Our “Trail Blazers” are people and businesses that are working hard to make Calgary a more Sustainable City. Be sure to let them know you saw them on this website and tell them how much you appreciate the great work they are doing. They deserve the recognition. Every two weeks we will highlight our special Calgary “Trail Blazers.”