Green Architecture

I'm often inspired by the beauty of leaf architecture...

A Week of Live-Roofing!

This week has been full of living roof experiences, which is one of my favorite types of work.  Earlier in the week I gave a presentation on the WCC living roof (and a tour of the roof) to a group of visiting sustainability students from the University of Maryland touring NZ with their professor Dr John Lea-Cox.  The roof is looking fantastic, with some great growth of the native plants.

Then, spent friday helping Zoe from Living Roofs and Blake from GreenScene to put in place a native living roof on the newly constructed Whangarei Council toilets at Bream Bay Walkway at Urqhurts Bay in Whangarei - what a stunning location...

... first order of the day was to hiab the substrate onto the roof.

then the process of spreading, laying out the plants and planting.

It was a long day, but the end result was great, and the coming months we'll monitor to ensure the plants survive over the summer (not the most ideal timing for planting but needs must).  I'll update with photos of the completed toilet in a few weeks.

In the News!

Found out via an email from a colleague that I have been featured in the Science category of the North & South New Zealanders of the Year Awards (North & South’s celebration of Kiwi’s who made a difference in 2011) as being a “bright spark – the inventors and innovators across science, medicine and technology who add to the sum of human knowledge and push the boundaries of human endeavor”.

The award commendation was as follows:

Renee Davies: Unitec’s Landscape Architecture department head is an award-winning eco-landscape designer, who established New Zealand’s first extensive commercial “living roof” using only native plant species.  Not satisfied with the greening of the country’s roofs, Davies is now developing a high-rise environment for endangered native lizard species; living roofs are potentially ideal sites to establish populations of skinks, she says, being free of mammal predators and introduced lizards, plus offering a sufficient insect food supply for the vulnerable natives.   Ref:  North and South Magazine, Issue 310, January 2012

I have no idea how or who, but nice that the research is seen to be making a contribution!

Green on Green

A recent visit to Whirinaki forest has highlighted yet again the beauty of the New Zealand forest and the multitude of senses enlivened by the array of gorgeous green which is the predominant palette of our (and indeed any) forest environment.  I am reminded of a quote whose author escapes me at present, but it provides a wonderful description of how the green of the forest can be all -pervading and enveloping.

"The green of the forest becomes ingrained.  It seeps into your skin and saturates the retinas of your eyes... it is almost as if you become a part of the forest chlorophyll itself".

Whirinaki forest is a place i've been wanting to visit since I was a teenager, when the illustrious David Bellamy visited NZ and championed the cause to save the forest from logging.  I still remember the controversy at the time - economic livelihood and jobs vs intrinsic values.  I must say that I was not disappointed and the place was as awe-inspiring as I had always imaged.  I have to admit to being very pleased that I can still stand in the shadow of the tall Kahikatea giants and know that many generations after me will hopefully have the same sensory opportunities to explore.

I always find our NZ native forest plants to be a never-ending source of inspiration for design.  Epiphytes inspiring a green wall - as this link to my own green wall creation illustrates.  Or the natural tapestry of plant mixes inspiring a revegetation planting.  When in the forest I tune in to not only visual observation, but also with a sensitivity towards sounds, scents, textures and flavours, all of which combine to create the overall experience of sensory opulence.