ASLA to Install Green Roof on Washington, DC Headquarters

WASHINGTON, DC – The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is replacing the roof on its downtown Washington, DC headquarters building with a green roof. Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates will lead the design process, collaborating with Conservation Design Forum to develop the design and specifications for the approximately 3,300-square-foot roof surface. Design firm Gensler will provide architectural services relating to the roof access.

"Landscape architects are leading many green roof projects across the United States and abroad, so it's only fitting that ASLA provide a demonstration project on this sustainable technology that can cure so many urban ills," said Nancy Somerville, ASLA executive vice president. "We hope to provide a catalyst for more green roof development in Washington and beyond."

A green roof is a roof substantially covered with vegetation. Since the 1970's, green roofs have increasingly become part of the European landscape, where there are over 100 million square feet of planted roofs today. Faced with soaring and unpredictable energy costs and the desire for higher performance buildings, more U.S. building owners are opting for green-roof technology.

"With new technology, green roofs can be put on new or old buildings," says Drew Becher, Washington, D.C.'s Associate Director of Parks & Recreation. Becher, the former chief of staff of the Chicago Park District who is credited with the "greening" and beautification of much of Chicago's public realm, went on to say, "Chicago, Portland, Seattle, and Boston have issued green roof guidelines, which shows that the technology is becoming more popular and mainstream. Many cities are realizing that instead of investing in expensive sewer infrastructure underground, they can require new developments to have green roofs, whose beneficial water retention systems help reduce storm runoff, cutting down on sewer overflow into rivers and streams."

Michael Van Valkenburgh said his landscape architecture firm is looking forward to the project. "Our firm is very excited in taking the lead for ASLA to have a green roof on their headquarters," he said. "It is an important, symbolic step for the organization to affirm our Society's commitment to the green movement and environmentalism, but also to see a way that the issues of design and habitation can be folded into the investigation. It would be a wonderful thing for ASLA to have one of the first green roofs in the neighborhood and we think it could potentially contribute very positively to the image of the Society, as well as the reading of the building in the city fabric."

"The project is intended to be a highly visible demonstration of the practical benefits of vegetated green roofs, and to highlight the critical role of landscape architects in the greening of buildings in urban and suburban environments," said David Yocca of Conservation Design Forum, Elmhurst, Ill. Conservation Design Forum is an ecologically based planning and design firm focused on sustainable irrigation of water in built and natural environments.