Can GREEN in architecture improve the climate in cities, reduce heat build-up, reduce fine dust formation and increase people’s well-being? The exhibition “Greening the City” of the German Architecture Museum in Frankfurt (DAM) is dedicated to the advantages and challenges of urban greenery – especially greening houses and roofs in existing and new buildings. In addition to the scientific perspective, the exhibition also takes a look at the technical possibilities and practical issues.
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Things can’t get any greener. Or can they? The topic of Building Greening as a response to climate change (felt especially in cities) is more current than ever and has not become any less important during this pandemic – on the contrary. And yet, actually realized cases of green roofs or walls are slow to spring up, at least in this country. Or is there simply a lack of oversight? The DAM in Frankfurt has now made a virtue of necessity and has, in the run-up to its current exhibition “Simply Green – Greening the City”, invited Best Practice examples from near and far; a photograph and short explanation sufficed. The response of 120 entries before the opening of the exhibition was pleasing, so they say. Entries ranged from more traditional house walls with ivy and vines, to new urban farming examples with raised beds on the rooftop. There were submissions from both larger firms (Schneider-Schumacher, Sauerbruch-Hutton) and from tenant communities, who seem to be particularly active in this field.
Fresh wave of green innovation
The exhibition aims to encourage a fresh wave of green innovation, an ambition currently realized more by its handbook since the building’s closure due to Covid-19. The handbook appears to be practical, informative and argumentative. It approaches the topic with questions that are often posed by interested parties as well as readily by greening-sceptics: How beneficial to the environment is the greening of an individual building? What techniques of wall-based greening exist? Which plants are suitable? How does irrigation work in winter? What effect do green roofs have on the reduction of precipitation and noise levels? How can you calculate costs? Which permissions are needed?
In light of the positive conclusions about the values of building greening that one can come to after reading this handbook, the question remains: Why has so little of it been implemented in this country? A glance at the section of the handbook with real-life examples reveals how the majority really are located abroad: Singapore, the worldwide center for green buildings, is of course mentioned, as are Chinese metropolises as well as the almost historic prototypes by Stefano Boeri in Milan (Bosco verticale) and Edouard Francais in Paris (Flower Tower).
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Development is mostly focused on large cities
Further research unveiling examples from Australia, Canada, Japan, the Netherlands and the US only proves this point. The fact that development is mostly focused on large cities is no surprise, given the climatic effects within densely built-up areas. A hesitant yet apparent trend seems to be the combining of green buildings with new parks in their vicinity. This would presumably be desirable both climatically and socially.
It also becomes apparent how a small number of individual players, operating worldwide and making this topic their core brand, now set the tone: WOHA in Singapore, MVRDV from Rotterdam, Stefano Boeri in Milan, as well as Parisian firms Jean Novel, Vincent Callebaut and OXO Architectes. The German firm Ingenhoven Architects can also be added to this list. According to Nicole Pfoser, professor at the University of Nürtingen-Geislingen, the reasons for the comparably limited spread of this development in these parts are additional costs of producing and maintaining the greened facades, together with a lack of established inclusion in development plans.
A lack of showpieces to increase public confidence
A worldwide leader in this field, Singapore accelerates this development through a regulated Green Plot Ratio, a site coverage index for green spaces, which is specified in the development plans of the city state. Finally, Pfoser argues that there is a lack of showpieces to increase public confidence, especially with regard to public administrative buildings. In this regard too, it seems Germany is less cosmopolitan and innovative than it likes to think of itself as being.
Talk in context of the exhibition „Simply Green – Greening the City“ with Richard Hassell and Wong Mun Summ (WOHA, Singapore)
In any case, readers viewing the exhibition – or rather the handbook – will in future be able to better confront developers. And maybe architects will gain inspiration from those pages on which are shown the creative possibilities that building greening offers for the design of facades, as well as their immediate and wider surroundings.
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Exhibition „Simply Green – Greening the City“. DAM, Frankfurt, 23.01. – 11.07.2021
The exhibition is still closed because of the current hygiene measures due to the Corona pandemic, nevertheless it is possible to get the handbook or to use the digital offers.
Handbook: Hilde Strobl, Peter Cachola Schmal, Rudi Scheuermann Hg./Ed.: ‘Einfach Grün. Greening the City’. Frankfurt, 2021, ~300 pages.
From September 28th to 30th, 2021, the World Congress of Building Greening 2021 will take place in Berlin. The theme will be “Meet the World of Building Greening in Berlin!”. 100 speakers, five series of lectures and a contribution by the world-renowned facade greener Patrick Blanc will attract interested people from all over the world to the German capital.
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Climate change, adaptation strategies, expectations for sustainable construction, rainwater management, preserving biological diversity, funding opportunities, cost-benefit considerations – all these issues will be addressed at the World Congress of Building Greening 2021 in Berlin. From 16 to 18 June, 100 speakers, 40 exhibitors and 20 cooperation partners will come together to impart knowledge on building greening, showcase best practice examples and network.
Sustainability, policy and practical examples
These are the main topics:
- Urban strategies (urban dialogue, subsidies, water and climate sensitive urban development, urban resilience and future city)
- Sustainability (Ecological overall concepts, sustainable urban development and economic efficiency analysis)
- Health (climate adaptation strategies, quality of life, binding of particulate matter and nitrogen oxide)
- Biodiversity (biological diversity, plant selection, species and insect protection)
- Market (data, potential analysis and green roof index)
- Politics (How does green buildings move Germany, Europe and the world)
- Rainwater management (blue-green infrastructure, flood prevention and retention roofs)
- Architectural and practical examples (best practice, industrial and residential construction, high-rise greenery, urban farming)
- Technology (basics, high-tech solutions, innovations and monitoring)
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Programme, location, registration
Organizer of the congress is the Bundesverband GebäudeGrün e.V. (BuGG), flanked by the world and European associations (WGIN and EFB) and the two partner associations from Austria (VfB) and Switzerland (SFG). The exclusive congress partner of the World Congress of Building Greening 2021 is Nürnberg Messe.
The patrons are German Federal Minister Horst Seehofer (Federal Ministry of the Interior, for Construction and Homeland), German Federal Minister Svenja Schulze (Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety) and German Senator Katrin Lompscher (Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development and Housing). The Senate Department for Urban Development and Housing also provides support in the technical and organisational preparation. The World Congress is also supported by the Federal Institute for Research on Building, Urban Affairs and Spatial Development (BBSR).
Details of the event programme, the venue and registration options can be found here.
Outdated shopping mall transformed into new city center with world’s largest green roof in Cupertino, California
The Sand Hill Property Company plans a new city center in Cupertino in the Silicon Valley, California. The outdated Vallco Shopping Mall is about to become The Hills at Vallco. The 30-acre park will not only be the largest community green in Cupertino, but the world’s largest green roof. Before Rafael Viñoly Architects and OLIN Landscape Architects created the design, Sand Hill asked residents and entrepreneurs in several meetings about their ideas and dreams, almost 3.800 suggestions were collected.
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The design of the green roof is ambitious: a 3,8 mile track for walking and jogging, orchards and organic gardens, a vineyard, an amphitheater, children’s playgrounds and a refuge for native species of plants and birds. The greening will be adapted to the hot and dry climate of the area. The green roof is part of the energy concept of the complex and –combined with natural ventilation and smart technology – is to regulate the temperature in and around the buildings. Recently more and more projects –and even whole cities such as Paris – focus on roof and facade greening to cope with extreme temperatures.
Once a thriving spot in the city, the Vallco Shopping Mall has lost most of its tenants and costumers, over 50 percent of the building are empty. In 2014, Sand Hill bought the Mall and all of its 50 acres from the four owners. For the first time a unified vision is now possible. “We’ve done some research and we haven’t found a single shopping mall that’s started construction since 2006. This is clearly a dying model. That’s on display at Vallco”, says Reed Moulds, Managing Director of Sand Hill. The huge empty concrete massif is surrounded by the empty parking slots, totally lost in Cupertino. “I think there’s going to be a lot of opportunities to be very creative about how we reinvent our malls that aren’t used the way that they’ve been used in the past.”
The Hills will offer space for retail, restaurants, 800 accomodation units and entertainment plus venues for ice skating, bowling, sports and an AMC Theater. There will also be room for the whole life cycle of companies – from Start Up to established business – on more than 2 million square feet of office space.
Additionally to the project Sand Hill aims to change transport and education in Cupertino. Infrastructure is to be changed in favor of pedestrians and cyclists; residents will be able to use a shuttle-bus for free. A new elementary school and an innovation center will support children and teenagers in their development. The mixed-use innovation center will serve as a hub for work-based learning initiatives with workshops, room for exhibitions and robotics competitions.
The project is a 3 billion US-Dollar investment in the technologic heart of the United States. Cupertino is home to many advances in information and computer technologies, that changed everyday life forever. Computer company Apple is the most important employer for the 60.000 inhabitants, the construction of Apple Campus 2 will surely cement this fact. The Hills at Vallco will only profit from the development, as it will be located between Apple’s Infinite Loop headquarters and Apple Campus 2. Currently the project is in the official approval phase.
All visualizations: The Hills at Vallco.
Paris has passed an ambitious program to increase plantation in the city until the year 2020. One million squaremeters of roof and façade greening are to be installed, 75 acres of new green areas to be created and 20.000 new trees to be planted.
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The special feature of the program is this: A third of the façade greening are to be used for urban gardening and agriculture. Every school will get its own fruit and vegetable garden and beehives will be installed throughout the city. The city administration wants to prove, that urban agriculture is manageable. The Parisians were involved early on. A third of the participants opted for façade greening in the project “Du vert près de chez moi” (“The green near me”).
Public buildings become green buildings
200.000 squaremeters of façade greening will be found on public buildings. Each new construction will have the greening included in the building plan. The greening itself is a challenge for the dense and historic architecture in Paris. It is likely to change the principles in the preservation of sites of historic interest.
The project fights for a better city climate, a cleaner city air and biological diversity in the city. In the summer of 2003 a heat wave in Europe affected France and Paris in particular. Due to the urban heat-island effect, the nights in Paris were more than eight degrees Celsius warmer than the rural areas surrounding the city.
The city administration discusses a rain map that zones the city into different areas. Property owners would have to hold rainwater for a period of time, for example with roof greening.
