Green Roofs and Green Walls - SUS 2020: Home

Green Roofs and Green Walls | SUS2020 | Kurt T. Fischer

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Our existing building stock is responsible for consuming or mismanaging vast resources including water, energy, and other materials at an alarming rate, while contributing to a whole host of economic, human health, and environmental impact issues. While future buildings under design may be "greener" and built to higher sustainability protocols than ever before, there still remains potential negative impact. In this course, we will explore two green building envelope technologies available to designers that each has the ability to address multiple health, environment, and economic issues, especially in urban settings. Few green building technologies can make this claim. While green roofs have a long and storied history, it is only within the last two to three decades that they have seen wider adoption as a sustainable design tool to mitigate the impact of modern buildings on the biosphere. Green walls have also been around in various forms for quite a while and are just starting to come into their own with new systems now available for both exterior building facades and interior spaces. 

In this course, you will assume the role of the professional green roof and green wall consultant. You will examine the many choices available for designing, constructing and maintaining green roofs and green walls, the benefits and challenges of each, and the critical things to be aware of as you design and construct them for your client. By the end of the course, you will have the knowledge to accurately determine project goals, select appropriate systems, prepare a conceptual design and present it to a client; then prepare cost estimates, final designs, planting plans, bid specifications, and long-term O&M plans. - Fischer