09th Jul2010

BPA 905 Building – Rooftop Greening for Energy Efficiency

by Jason King

The green roof development for the Bonneville Power Administration’s 905 Building in Portland is progressing nicely – working with Green Above Ground partners Snyder Roofing and Teufel Landscape under General Contractor Allen-Bradbury Construction from Auburn, Washington.  The project is coordinated by the General Services Administration, and is part of energy upgrades as part of the stimulus.  The green roof scope include four roof levels that will transform existing terraces into semi-intensive green roof zones.

The transformation from terrace to green roof gave us the opportunity to build up soil areas, adding topography to create microclimates, absorb additional stormwater, and increase habitat.  This creates a connected grouping of rooftop berms emulating a stream system.

The mounding and soil depth also allows for increased depth to incorporate native perennials, grasses, and small shrubs to add depth and seasonal variation without compromising the efficiency.  The entire roof will be irrigated during seasonal hot/dry periods using captured rainwater, making this roof net zero in terms of potable water use.  A rendering of one of the roof levels is found below (click image for larger version).

Construction is underway and will be completed by the end of this summer.

Category : ecoroofs, graphics, images, landscape, planting, portland, projects, roof gardens, vegitecture
2 Comm
06th Jul2010

BES Ecoroof Design-Build

by Jason King

The Green Above Ground team is pleased to announce that we have been selected by the City of Portland for their recent request for proposals for design building services for ecoroofs.   On June 30th, the City announced the ‘Intent to Award’ the contract to Snyder Roofing, the prime consultant and lead for our team.  Other team members include TERRA.fluxus, Teufel Nursery, Cascade Design Professionals, and Verde.  Read more about our team here.

The team already has a long track record of current and past projects throughout Portland, and this project will allow us to expand our current marketing efforts through additional pathways that will increase the overall number of projects locally but also provide ongoing materials for the City to use.  Our basic package of information in Phase I includes a number of current activities:

  • Development of materials (print and web) related to dispelling ecoroof myths and providing real examples of case studies with performance and cost data
  • Targeted advertising and articles in trade-related publications aimed at key market leaders and project decision makers, including publications and other outreach activities targeting minority communities
  • Further refinement of the Green Above Ground website (www.greenaboveground.com) to include project examples and information to possible ecoroof clients
  • Tours to showcase built work and address roofing, design, structural, installation and maintenance activities

We’re very excited about Phase II – which will feature the production of a documentary video that will follow the steps from evaluation, design, installation, and maintenance of a selected project, featuring many local area ecoroof projects in the process.  An example of the type of informative video is found in this short film on the Vancouver Convention Centre rooftop – which shows design intent and construction elements.  We hope to emulate great examples such as this to provide a range of resources.

There have been some short local resources in video format focused on residential scale, but we hope to capture the essence of the process from start to finish for a large-scale commercial project.  Resources like those above will continue to inform and grow the local industry, making it possible for Portland to meet the goals of the Grey to Green initiative of installing 43 acres of ecrooof in 5 years.  We’re happy to be a part of making this a reality.

Category : announcements, ecoroofs, environmental, landscape, planning, policy, portland, projects, sustainability, vegitecture
2 Comm
15th Jun2010

First & Main Grand Opening

by Jason King

Last week marked the grand opening of First+Main – the first new major office building in downtown Portland since the Fox Tower was completed in 2000.  Jason King was lead designer and project manager while at GreenWorks PC (the landscape architecture firm responsible for the work) and attended the event with Principal Mike Faha and Landscape Designer Maia Zampini, who was instrumental in the project success.  Amidst the revelry including views of the amazing lobby space, we took a tour of the fourth floor roof terrace and noted the progress through a wet spring growing season.

Some pics from the gray (but not rainy!) day last week showed off the diverse plant palette, here, the northern section of the roof show trees beginning to fill out, and woody material  is healthy and growing, along with the ornamental grasses.  Due to our wet spring, the irrigation system hasn’t been used to date, and the cistern is brimming and ready to provide supplemental watering to the plantings through the heat of summer.

Our strange weather has definitely confused some of the plantings, with Star Magnolias just ready to bloom, and other perennials definitely behind schedule on their flowering cycles.  The joys of landscape is it’s always unpredictable.

Another part of the roof that looked amazing were the extensive ecoroof sections (6″ soil depth) that were planted with a diverse mix of succulents and perennials for a vibrant tapestry of color and texture.  These areas have filled in substantially, and offer a wonderful groundcover to the spaces.

Congrats to everyone involved in the project, including Shorenstein, GBD Architects, Gerding-Edlen, PAE Consulting Engineers, HHPR (Civil), KPFF (Structural) and many others who made this project a reality.  Also kudos to Hoffman Construction, Snyder Roofing and Teufel Landscape and related trades for an amazing job with the detailed roof implementation.  I also ran into Zach Suchara from Luma Lighting Design, who said he would send over some nighttime pics showing off the array of LED accents.  Will post those soon.

Category : ecoroofs, images, landscape, planting, portland, projects, roof gardens, vegitecture
0 Comm
30th May2010

Green Above Ground

by Jason King

The evolving nature of the ecoroof industry has created a desire for a streamlined approach to providing design and contracting for projects.  This has been the impetus for Green Above Ground, a a network of design/build professionals who provide a single source solution for local ecoroof projects. Our network is designed to maximize the collective knowledge of our members and offer a full service ecoroof package to clients who will benefit from not having to purchase design services and installation separately. Our experienced project team recognizes the importance of ecoroof technologies, and ensures a high level of quality for every project.

GREEN ABOVE GROUND

The core team consists of Snyder Roofing of Oregon LLC, which will act as the main point of contact, and provide roofing and waterproofing services as well as general contracting. Design services will be provided by TERRA.fluxus LLC, a landscape architecture firm with a broad range of rooftop experience. This is complemented by Teufel Landscape, providing vast experience related to planting and ecoroof component installation, as well as ongoing project maintenance.  We have a team structure that promotes seamless communication and allows us to provide comprehensive and lasting solutions to your ecoroof needs.  We are currently at work on a pair of design-build projects, including retrofits for the BPA 905 Building which should be completed in summer of 2010.

A notable collaboration that really spawned thinking about this opportunity was with the Portland Building Ecoroof.  The design team for this 18,000 s.f. retrofit was led by Macdonald Environmental Planning (Jason King as lead designer & project manager while at MEPpc).  After a competitive bidding process, Snyder Roofing was selected to lead the construction, bringing in Teufel Landscape to provide installation for ecoroof system components.  While not design-build, this created a positive working relationship that has continued on many projects over the years.

image courtesy of BES

A more recent example was First+Main Building, completed in 2010, where the team members worked in tandem to create a 15,000 square foot roof terrace in downtown Portland.  Jason King* of TERRA.fluxus led the design efforts (while working at GreenWorks PC) providing design and project management for this terrace.  The team using Snyder Roofing and Teufel Landscape as subcontractors for waterproofing for the entire building and installation of the roof terrace walls, planters.

The site features our collective team experience with a number of collaborative projects.  A full listing of TERRA.fluxus ecoroof and rooftop garden design encompasses over 3 acres of vegetated roofing  over a span of 10 years, including projects completed by Jason King while at GreenWorks and Macdonald Environmental Planning.

• Van Ness Medical Office Building Green Roof (San Francisco, CA) – 10,100 s.f.
• BPA 905 Building Ecoroof Retrofit (Portland, OR) – 6,000 s.f.
• Multnomah County Rooftop Agriculture Demonstration (Portland, OR) – 200 s.f.
• The Chicken Cube (Portland, OR) – 20 s.f.
• First & Main Roof Terrace* (Portland, OR) – 15,000 s.f.
• The Beacon* (Portland, OR) – 7,000 s.f. (current)
• The Nines Rooftop Plantings* (Portland, OR) – 2,500 s.f. (unbuilt)
• Arnada Commons Condominiums* (Vancouver, WA) – 6,000 s.f. (unbuilt)
• Beranger Condominiums* (Gresham, OR) – 3,000 s.f.
• The Encore Condominiums* (Portland, OR) – 1,500 s.f.
• Independence Station* (Independence, OR) – 6,000 s.f. (unbuilt)
• PSU Urban Studies Annex (Portland, OR) – 1,500 s.f. (unbuilt)
• Orpinela Guesthouse Ecoroof*** (Portland, OR) – 720 s.f.
• People’s Food Coop Ecoroof*** (Portland, OR) – 270 s.f.
• Hawthorne Condominiums Ecoroof *** (Portland, OR) – 1,500 s.f.
• Sweeney Residence Ecoroof (Portland, OR) – 800 s.f.
• Refi Residence Ecoroof (Portland, OR) – 400 s.f.
• Stacey Residence Ecoroof** (Portland, OR) – 250 s.f.
• B33 – Albina Fuel Site** (Portland, OR) – 10,000 s.f. (unbuilt)
• Borealis Living Wall & Roof Garden** (Seattle, WA) – 1,200 s.f.
• Fifth & Lenora Green Roof & Terrace** (Seattle, WA) – 15,000 s.f. (unbuilt)
• Portland Building Ecoroof** (Portland, OR) – 18,000 s.f.
• Sky Lakes Medical Center Healing Garden** (Klamath Falls, OR) – 12,000 s.f.
• Village at Headwaters at Tryon Creek Ecoroof ** (Portland, OR) – 13,000 s.f.
• Multnomah County Building Ecorooof ** (Portland, OR) – 12,000 s.f.

Some projects completed with a firm other than TERRA.fluxus (designated below):
• GreenWorks PC * (www.greenworkspc.com)
• MacDonald Environmental Planning pc ** (www.mep-pc.com)
• With Ecoroofs Everywhere (non-profit)  *** (www.ecoroofseverywhere.com)

Category : business, ecoroofs, environmental, landscape, planning, portland, projects, roof gardens, vegitecture
0 Comm
24th May2010

Chicken Cube Ecoroof

by Jason King

It’s been a bit less than a year since we planted the ecoroof on the Chicken Cube, and it has burst with a flowery showing of color in the past few weeks.  The announcement that the coop will be featured on this years Tour de Coops (Saturday, July 24) was an added bonus as the roof is looking great. And we have plenty of time to finish the run and reconfiguration of the nest box in the next couple of months – if it will ever stop raining on the weekends.  (All Photos Copyright (c) Jason King, 2010 – TERRA.fluxus LLC)


We literally didn’t do any maintenance on this over the past year – a spritz of water a few times in August, and some weeding a few weeks ago, along with filling in some holes with cuttings and a few new additions.  I thought it was time to look a bit closer at how the roof had fared over the year, and see some of the specific elements at work in the plant palette.  For starters, there is still a ton of diversity, with great groupings of succulents punctuated with some perennial color.  There were a few species that didn’t make it, but the overall mosaic seems to have filled in.  About a month ago I grabbed a chive that was left from the garden – and ‘bombed’ the roof – tossing it up there with it’s root ball – and in a few weeks it had rooted into the growing media (the chive closest to the right).

The stars right now are definitely the Chives (Allium) and the Dianthus, which are both in full bloom and visible from the ground level.  A closeup of a few species shows some subtle washes of color – such as the aforementioned chives, as well as the Lewisia (a replacement as the one planted last year didn’t make it).

Another interesting condition with a closer look was some of the flowering with these new blossoms sprouting yellow and red from the Sedum kamtschaticum variegatum.

And the textures, with the addition of the Sempervivum in both red (above) and green (below), providing a noted contrast to the Sedums and perennials.

One interesting aspect was the microclimate that exists due to the surrounding vegetation – and it’s influence on the species.  The Sedum ruprestre shows a marked difference in color from full sun (top photo) with significant yellow bleeding into the foliage.  This is in contrast to the area on the top portion of the roof shaded from most of the direct sun (bottom photo) where it retains much more of a glossy green coloring.  These subtle differences and having the roof literally right out the back door make it a laboratory for monitoring plant health and possible species to try on larger projects.

Much like an Pearl-district Condo, the residents care little for the beauty of the ecoroof they can’t see or interact with… but I’m sure they appreciate it in their own way.

Category : ecoroofs, environmental, landscape, planting, portland, sustainability, tours, vegitecture
1 Comm
12th May2010

In Landscaping, Green is Always Good

by Jason King

An article in Multi-Housing News from May 2010 features a number quotes on the philosophy for sustainable landscape architecture on dense housing sites.  Anuradha Kher authored the article that included input from Jason King of TERRA.fluxus, alongside nationally recognized landscape architects Mia Lerher of Mia Lehrer + Associates, and Deb Guenther from Seattle’s Mithun.  The article mentions the ability to increase renter retention and attracting new tenants, and expands this to include the economic, social, and environmental benefits that can be interjected into sustainable sites.

An excerpt of the article:

“Jason A. King ASLA CLARB LEED is Principal and Landscape Architect at TERRA.fluxus LLC, a company he recently started. He tells MHN that the idea of water efficiency is big and is dominating a lot of sustainable landscaping practices. “Rain gardens and small storm water management strategies are catching on. The nice thing is that they can act as an amenity for sites where you can build the interactive part of the project around the rain gardens or storm water facility depending on the density of the project. Green roofs are gaining a lot of importance because they add to the aesthetics of a property but also because they offer a multifunctional aspect. Prices for those have dropped substantially and there are a lot of incentives to integrate them into projects on a limited budget now.”

King says that the concept of eco-friendly lawns for play areas – as many lawn substitutes don’t work well for heavy traffic/use—is also getting attention. Another is a trend toward protecting existing trees and other site resources like wetlands – rather than the typical trend of wall-to-wall site clearing.

Many landscape architects are looking for opportunities for each portion of the site to do multiple things at once. From a practical standpoint, it provides an opportunity to do things with a little more efficiency on sites that don’t have extra room. The other benefit is maximizing the investment, so if a developer doesn’t have the budget for a storm water facility and open meeting space, he/she can get both at once with creative landscaping. Jason explains, “I think it’s a newer trend but its helping architects look at landscaping as something more than merely  a tool to decorate. It’s more integrated into the specifics of the site and is helping solve some of the problems that were previously tackled through civil engineering techniques.”

Xeriscape landscaping, which by definition is landscaping designed specifically for areas that are susceptible to drought, or for properties where water conservation is practiced, is now practiced more and more commonly as a sustainable initiative.

“There are a lot of great new technologies that make it relatively simple such as high efficiency irrigation like spray irrigation. From the management’s perspective we like to use pretty detailed water budgets, determining owners expectations of water management and coming up with budgets that can save them money in the long term and be sustainable,” adds King.

Plant selection is another area of landscaping that can make a big impact on how sustainable a project can be. Native plants, which have a lot of proponents, are great because they are totally adapted to the region, and are, by definition more sustainable and ecologically appropriate. They also use less water but on the flip side, says King, “They might not be the most appropriate plants for a particular design. Most natives in the Pacific Northwest for example are quite large so if you are doing something on a tight sits, where you don’t have enough room, planting purely native plants opens up many long-term issues.”

King explains that the trend is more to use natives as a base and expand beyond that to regionally adapted plants, to those that are either cultivated varieties of those natives and happen to be smaller or more appropriate for certain types of development. While choosing plants, a lot of things have to be considered and balancing sustainability with drought tolerant aspects and color, seasonal variation etc. are all critical for good landscaping practices.”

Read the entire article here.

Category : announcements, ecoroofs, environmental, landscape, planting, press, publications, sustainability
0 Comm
26th Apr2010

Hope Garden Planting

by Jason King

A great turnout on Earth Day for the Hope Garden Planting, where the beds were prepped and the plantings were installed for the 2010 growing season.  Special thanks to project partners Teufel Landscape and Tremco Roofing for their support, and always, the Multnomah County Green Team to mobilize and continue to maintain the roof throughout the season.  Read more about the day from Sandy McCollum and see a slideshow of the planting at the Examiner.

Earlier in the day, the weeding was completed and beds were laid out for installation.

With an army of volunteers the planting was completed in less than half an hour.

The new addition of the herb garden going in the ground.

Category : agriculture, community, ecoroofs, food, installations, landscape, planting, portland, projects, roof gardens, sustainability, vegitecture
0 Comm
21st Apr2010

Earth Day Hope Garden Planting

by Jason King

Tomorrow, April 22, in celebration of Earth Day 2010, TERRA.fluxus is proud to help out with the planting for the Hope Garden on the rooftop of the Multnomah County Building.   Read more about last year’s installation and see the full list of community partners here.

The garden design takes into account feedback on last years plantings for food that is appropriate for donation to the food bank.  We are also including an expansion of the rooftop herb garden within the ecoroof areas to provide year round productivity for a variety of vegetables and herbs.  This year the event is part of the County’s Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day activities conducted by the Multnomah County Green Team and features many events locally in addition to the planting of the Hope Garden.    The following message from Commissioner Judy Shiprack summarizes the days events.

“This year marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day events around the world, and I would like to extend a warm invitation to attend some of the great activities we have planned to celebrate Earth Day at Multnomah County. These events are a wonderful opportunity to get involved with a few of Multnomah County’s efforts to be a leader in sustainability. Please join me at the morning Board Briefing to learn more about the Green Team’s accomplishments and later at the 2010 Hope Garden planting party to help grow food for the neediest in our community. April 22nd is also “Take Your Child to Work Day”, so if you have your child with you I encourage you to let them take part in the afternoon Hope Garden planting.

I would like to thank the donors from the community whose resources have made the 2010 Hope Garden project possible: Jason King with TERRA.fluxus LLC, Elizabeth Hart with Tremco Inc., and SuSu Hunniecutt with Teufel Landscape.”

Working for a Sustainable Future,

Commissioner Judy Shiprack

Category : agriculture, community, ecoroofs, food, landscape, planting, portland, projects, sustainability, vegitecture
1 Comm
21st Apr2010

In Progress: Reliance Roof Terrace

by Jason King

A project currently underway is the Rooftop Terrace for the Reliance Apartments on Southeast 31st & Division in Portland.  The project is located on the site of the old Reliable Auto Parts building, and is being rehabilitated by the fantastic Urban Development Partners (UD+P) along with Kava Massih Architects from Berkeley California.  A shot of what will be a beautiful addition to the neighborhood:

The ground level landscaping was completed by Jason King while at GreenWorks, and the project’s roof terrace has been continued by TERRA.fluxus to provide a usable open space and entries for the residential units.  The entry stair extends up to 12 rooftop apartments with private deck areas.

The roof needed to be lightweight, as well as have all elements rest on the decking, so all elements are prefabricated or off-the-shelf elements that will be arranged to create the variety of spaces.  To break up the ground-plane, a variety of reclaimed plastic decking colors and textures are combined to prevent the space from looking monotonous, as well as to delineate private and public spaces.

A few shots of the spaces from the model show the use of simple materials palette consisting of galvanized stock tanks, metal planters, and cedar fences and screens.  The planters provide support for the vertical elements, requiring minimal penetration through the decking, while separating spaces visually.  Vertical materials like bamboo accentuate the screening and create a lush environment.

The challenge, in addition to the constraint of the ground plan was to create usable spaces for residents in a somewhat small environment.  Keeping elements vertical allowed spatial arrangement while maximizing usable spaces.  Most of these vertical elements are somewhat permeable, as solid walls would make spaces feel smaller and more compartmentalized.   The vertical screen panels separating units are located within planters and will act as living screens when planted with vines and add a lush character to the roof decks while reflecting seasonal change.

Another interesting feature was custom benches that were created from wood salvaged during construction of another UD+P project down the street at 38th & Division.  A sequoia was removed for construction, and the wood is being milled into thick slabs to act as benches for the roof.  A mockup of the bench with galvanized metal frames is found below.  This attention to detail and commitment to reuse of materials is evident of the ideology of UD+P, and is reflected in the range of sustainable (and beautiful) features throughout the site.

Category : ecoroofs, graphics, images, landscape, planting, portland, projects, roof gardens, vegitecture
0 Comm
12th Apr2010

In Progress: Van Ness MOB Green Roof

by Jason King

One of the most exciting projects currently on the boards at TERRA.fluxus is the green roof design for the Van Ness Medical Office Building in Downtown San Francisco.   This 10,000 square foot project includes multiple levels of green roof meant for visual access from within the building.  Jason King initiated project (originally through GreenWorks) and has continued with TERRA.fluxus through a collaboration with roofing manufacturer Tremco and contractor Lawson Roofing to facilitate the design consultation with owner and design team including architects at Boulder Associates, who have been the main collaborators on the design to date.

The concept plan below shows the three roof levels, including the 2nd, 6th, and 7th floor roofs, all of which contribute the overall aesthetics as well as to provide stormwater management to meet local stormwater guidelines and contribute to multiple LEED credits.

It was determined that a 10″ deep profile was necessary to provide adequate stormwater management.  Instead of a monolithic section of soil and plans, it made sense to create undulating berms.  These created a number of micro-habitats for different plant species, while also encouraging rooftop fauna in the form of birds, insects, and other desired species whose habitats have been displaced through urbanization.  In addition, these waves improve the overall conceptual idea of waves of vegetation that would move in the breezes and break up large expanses of roof – providing a variety of interesting views from all angles.

Early on, a number of precedent images were presented to outline the concept and develop consensus for the group.  The following shows a particular study in the landform manipulation, which became a significant point of departure for the design concept for roofs on the 2nd and 6th Floor.

The plant palette consists of a combination of California native species, including grasses, perennials, succulants, and other species adapted for low-maintenance and minimal water usage per LEED requirements.   The 7th floor roof included a deeper planter that accommodated larger woody materials including shrubs and small ornamental native trees.

A number of sketchup images also provided design studies and allowed for the design concept to be coordinated with perimeter pavers, rooftop mechanical equipment, drains, and other elements to ensure the interface between building and vegetation was seamless.

The concept of design-build for green roof projects offers many benefits, particularly in green roof projects.  The interrelationship of landscape and building in this case required close coordination between contractors and designers to ensure compatibility with a number of project goals.  Decisions made could impact LEED credits, waterproofing membrane integrity, or constructability – this a close group effort was necessary to make sure myriad issues were resolved.

The project is progressing through Construction Documentation phase, and is slated for construction beginning in 2011, with green roof scheduled to be installed in 2012.  This addition to the skyline of San Francisco, and the growing collection of Bay-area green roofs will be an amenity from adjacent buildings, MOB users, and area wildlife for years to come.

[project credits Jason King, design work completed while working at GreenWorks PC]

Category : ecoroofs, heathcare, images, landscape, planting, projects, roof gardens, san francisco, vegitecture
2 Comm
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