Landscape Architecture and Sustainability

Lee R. SkabelundLandscape Architecture/Regional & Community Planning

Kansas State University

July 19, 2007

Dialogue on Sustainability

Green Building: What is it?The practice of increasing the efficiency with which buildings and their landscapes (or sites) use and harvest energy, water, and materials, while reducing building impacts on human health and the environmentvia good siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and future removal or renovation.

Adapted from Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_building

Green BuildingSustainable Design & Construction

avoids resource depletion(energy, water, and raw materials); prevents environmental degradation(caused by facilities and infrastructure throughout their life cycle); and creates built environments that are livable, comfortable, safe, and productive

Whole Building Design Guide, National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS)http://www.wbdg.org/design/sustainable.php

Six Fundamental Principles Optimize Site Potential Optimize Energy Use Protect and Conserve Water Use Environmentally Preferable

Products Enhance Environmental Quality Optimize Operational and

Maintenance Practices

Whole Building Design Guide, NIBS

Top Strategies for Building Green

Choose a Sustainable Site Maximize Water Efficiency Save Energy Make Smart Use of Materials and

Resources Safeguard Environmental Quality

Natural Resources Defense Council“Building Green: From Principle to Practice”

www.nrdc.org/buildinggreen/strategies/default.asp

Sustainable Sites and Landscaping Build on land previously used (brownfields, grayfields,

and other areas with older buildings, parking lots, etc.). Protect existing ecosystems (structure & functions). Use native and adapted drought-tolerant plants. Integrate natural features for amenity and function. Minimize building/paving footprints. Minimize earthmoving, soil compaction, and soil erosion. Fully use sun, prevailing winds, and existing vegetation. Maintain the natural hydroperiod of the site. Minimize impervious areas and use permeable paving. Use stormwater management techniques to assist with

on-site and regional groundwater and aquifer recharge. Minimize heat-island effects. Eliminate light pollution.

Sustainable Construction: Green Building Design and Deliveryby Charles Kibert (2005, pp. 141-142)

10 Principles of Sustainable Landscape Construction

Keep sites healthy (ecologically intact). Heal injured sites. Favor living, flexible materials. Respect the waters of life. Pave less. Consider the origin and fate of materials. Know the costs of energy over time. Celebrate light, respect darkness. Defend silence (attenuate noise). Maintain to sustain (minimize maintenance and

fertilizer, herbicide, and pesticide demands).

Sustainable Landscape Construction: A Guide to Green Buildings Outdoorsby J. William Thompson & Kim Sorvig (2000).

Sustainable Sites InitiativeGoals:

Establish a standard for sustainable site design that includes baseline thresholds for performance in specific areas and clearly defined metrics.

Link research and practice. Advance best management practices Continue discussions with USGBC to integrate

Sustainable Sites standards into existing LEED tools. Consider a future option for a site-only LEED tool. Promote awareness of sustainability standards and

their relevance in the marketplace. Encourage adoption of sustainability standards

through market incentives.

American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) and Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Centerhttp://www.sustainablesites.org/

Sustainable Sites will address:efficiency for the private landowner and

improved quality of the surrounding environment,maximizing conservation potential & sustainability for:

Water Conservation – Design plantings & irrigation for efficient water use.

Water Quality – Design structures, slopes and surfaces to minimize stormwater runoff and replenish soils & groundwater. Use plants to filter out or capture water-borne pollutants.

Biodiversity and Native Species – Establish and protect areas of biological richness through the use of native plants.

Resource & Energy Conservation – Select healthy, long-lived plant specimens. Minimize travel distances for materials. Design sites that do not require energy-intensive maintenance to remain healthy and attractive.

Soil Conservation – Minimize soil compaction and soil loss during and after the construction process.

Air Quality – Use plants to capture airborne pollutants, provide shade, and temper summer heat and winter wind/cold.

(Adapted from “Defining A Sustainable Site”www.landdevelopmenttoday.com/Article750.htm)

ASLA Policy Statements on Sustainability & Related Topics

Landscape architects (as planners, designers, and managers) should share knowledge and encourage communication between colleagues, professionals from other disciplines, public officials and community leaders, clients, developers, contractors, manufacturers, and suppliers to:

● Enhance the understanding of and strengthen the integral relationship between natural processes and human activity and how the concept of sustainable design fits into everyday life. ● Improve practices, processes, procedures, products, and services that link long-term sustainable considerations and development. ● Examine policies, regulations, and standards in industry and government to identify barriers to the implementation of the principles of sustainable development. ● Encourage community and business leaders to bring the existing built and natural environments up to sustainable development standards and reflect the ideals of sustainability in the design, planning, and management of their communities.

source: www.asla.org/members/publicaffairs/Policy/Environmental_Sustainability.pdfsee also: www.asla.org/members/publicaffairs/publicpolicy.html

Sustainable Design & Building PracticesKSU (Solar Decathlon House & International Student Center Rain-Garden)Oberlin College - Oberlin, Ohio (Adam J. Lewis Center) University of Oregon (Lillis Business Complex)Pomona, CA (Center for Regenerative Studies)Annapolis, MD (Chesapeake Bay Foundation)Windhoek, Namibia, South Africa (Habitat Research & Development Center)Portland, OR (Water Pollution Control Laboratory & Green-Streets)Snowmass, CO (Rocky Mountain Institute)Surrey, UK (BedZED Mixed-Use)Ocean Springs, MS (Constructed Wetlands)Long Island, NY (Avalon Park & Preserve) Baltimore County, MD (Spring Branch Creek Restoration)Austin, TX (Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center)Salt Lake City, UT (Utah House)Portland, OR (Natural Capital Center)Kansas City, MO (Discovery Center)Elmhurst, IL (IEPA/CDF Greenroof)

See also: www.architecture2030.org/regional_solutions/case_studies.html

Selected References & Three Project Sketches Energy-Conserving Site Design

Gregory McPherson, American Society of Landscape Architects, Washington, DC, 1984, 326 pp. Regenerative Design for Sustainable Development

John Tillman Lyle, John Wiley & Sons, NY, 1994, 338 pp Ecological Design

Sim Van der Ryn, Stuart Cowan, Island Press, Washington, DC, 1996, 201 pp. The Once and Future Forest: A Guide to Forest Restoration Strategies

Leslie Jones Sauer & Andropogon Associates, Island Press, Washington, DC, 1996, 381 pp. Rapid Watershed Planning Handbook: Guide for Managing Urbanizing Watersheds

Deb Caraco, Center for Watershed Protection, 1999 The HOK Guidebook to Sustainable Design

Sandra Mendler, AIA, William Odell, AIA, John Wiley & Sons, NY, 2002, 412 pp. Sustainable Landscape Construction: A Guide to Green Buildings Outdoors

J. William Thompson, Kim Sorvig, Island Press, Washington, DC, 2000, 348 pp. Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture

Toby Hemenway, Chelsea Green Publishing, White River Junction, VT, 2001, 222 pp. Natural Landscaping: Designing with Native Plant Communities, Second Edition

John Diekelmann, Robert Schuster, University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, WI, 2002, 301 pp. Regenerative Design Techniques: Practical Applications in Landscape Design

Pete Melby, Tom Cathcart, John Wiley & Sons, NY, 2002, 410 pp. Sustainable Construction: Green Building Design and Delivery

Charles Kibert, , John Wiley & Sons, NY, 2002, 434 pp. Soil Design Protocols for Landscape Architects and Contractors

Timothy A. Craul, Phillip J. Craul, John Wiley & Sons, NY, 2002, 339 pp. Handbook of Water Sensitive Planning and Design

Robert France, Lewis Publishers, 2002 Porous Pavements

Bruce K. Ferguson, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2005, 600 pp. Green Roofs: Ecological Design and Construction

Earth Pledge Foundation, Schiffer Publishing, Ltd., 2005, 158 pp. The Green Studio Handbook: Environmental Strategies for Schematic Design

Alison G. Kwok, AIA & Walter Grondzik, PE, Architectural Press/Elsevier, NY, 2007, 378 pp.

Roof water is collected in carved stone basins, then drains into a grated channel before cascading over a five-foot stone-faced retaining wall. The learning lab and auditorium buildings expand onto the courtyard, which is paved with stone, subtly-colored sandblasted concrete, and tile artifacts (historically manufactured in the watershed). Surrounding forest and meadows are pulled into the courtyard and onto building roofs.

Water-sensitive site planning/design project

Cedar River Watershed Education Center - Seattle, WA Source: www.asla.org

Design by Jones & Jones – Planners, Architects & Landscape Architects

ASLA 2004 award winner

A new road reveals previously hidden landscapes.

A new parking lot integrates multiple functions: parking, water collection, and horticultural display. The lot includes an impervious asphalt roadway, with permeable asphalt parking bays off to the sides. A stormwater recharge bed lies under the entire lot. When it rains, water rapidly disappears through the permeable paving and into the underground basin where it infiltrates into the ground.

Water-sensitive site planning/design project

Andropogon Associates, Ltd.

Morris ArboretumSource: www.asla.org

Water-sensitive site planning/design project

Coffee Creek, Chesterton, IndianaSources: www.coffeecreekwc.org/pages/showgallery_visitor.asp (photos)

www.coffeecreekcenter.com/ (text)

Employing Environmental EngineeringRestoration of the Coffee Creek corridor is being implemented with guidance from biologists who understand the local & regional landscape. Level spreaders and vegetation infiltrate water into the soil. The project employs civil engineering without traditional expensive and destructive stormwater drainage systems – and provides a

wide range of shared community open space within a 167-acre preserve.

Restoring Native Ecosystems and Habitats“Unbuilt areas are being restored to a pre-settlement landscape to minimize soil erosion and rebuild soil integrity, re-establish native plant & animal communities and encourage increased bio-diversity.”

Level Spreaderslows runoff

Wetland Celltreats sewage

Greenroof

Stream

Prairie

Water-sensitive site planning/design project

Coffee Creek, Chesterton, IndianaSource: www.coffeecreekwc.org/pages/showgallery_visitor.asp

Managing & Monitoring Site SystemsMonitoring reports are prepared for water quality, fish, birds and vegetation. Fire is used to maintain the prairie.Watershed Preserve

Trails Map

Kansas City Discovery CenterSpring 2006 photos – lrs Go to: http://mdc.mo.gov/areas/kcmetro/discovery/

Teaching stewardship in a holistic manner…

Fall 2004 KSU-LAR Stormwater Management Charrette

Fall 2006 photos – lrs

Potential Stormwater Management Retrofits near KSU’s Derby Dining Center

Moore Hall/Claflin Rd. Bioretention Area (Spring ’09?)

Haymaker & Ford HallBioretention Gardens(Fall ’08?)

Derby Green Roof *

International Student Center Raingarden(Spring 2007)

West & Ford Hall Parking Retrofit (Summer ’09 construction?)

Boyd Hall/Old Claflin Rd.Raingarden(Fall ’07 / Spring ’08 implementation?)

ISC/Residence Hall Raingardens, Amphitheater & Pathways(Fall 2009 charrette; Summer 2010 implementation?)

* Collaborative Project with BNIM and other firms(Fall 2007 Studio Project; Construction date TBD; includes designing a Green Roof for Seaton Hall’s West Wing walkout)

Restoring Hydrologic Processes along Campus CreekThe KSU International Student Center Design/Build Raingarden Demonstration Project

Project inspired by KSU-LAR Stormwater Management Charrette (Oct. 2006)

July 16, 2007Spring 2007 Construction Photos