Professional Practice
Climate Change Mitigation: Green Infrastructure
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According to the U.S. Green Building Council, buildings consume . Landscape architects plan and site buildings for energy efficiency, using green infrastructure and natural systems to maximize emissions reductions, while helping communities adapt to a changing climate and improve resilience.
Green roofs and green walls keep buildings cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter, reducing energy needed for heating and cooling. In one study, a green roof in Ottawa, Canada was found to . Green roofs can also be as much as , reducing the urban heat island effect. While specific energy savings will depend on location, climate, and design specifics, the bottom line is that green roofs contribute to meaningful reductions in building energy demand.
Outdoor landscape design can also help buildings reduce their energy demand. Planting deciduous trees on the southern and western sides of a building can offer shade from intense summer sunlight, reducing energy needed for cooling. A 2009 government study found that just one tree could reduce a house¡¯s emissions from summer electricity use by an average of . Trees can be used for windbreaks, too. A North Dakota study found that windbreaks could help houses .
Using water also requires energy. of California¡¯s total electricity use is spent just getting water to residents, businesses, and farms. According to Project Drawdown, reducing household water consumption could . Because , the design of a home or building¡¯s surrounding landscape can have a meaningful impact on total emissions.
Landscape architects create water efficient landscapes that require minimal irrigation and save energy. They work with a site¡¯s terrain and structures to capture, direct, and reuse rainwater. And by planting regionally-appropriate native plant species that have evolved to thrive within the given environment, landscape architects create beautiful, ecologically-functional outdoor landscapes that require less irrigation and other forms of maintenance.
All of these efforts make communities and residences more adaptable and resilient to climate shocks.
Resources
Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵ Green Roof
, Landscape Architecture Magazine
, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Energy
, American Society of Landscape Architecture (Animation)
, U.S. Department of Energy
Sustainable Residential Design: Increasing Energy Efficiency, American Society of Landscape Architects
Water
, American Society of Landscape Architects
, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Sustainable Residential Design: Improving Water Management, American Society of Landscape Architects
, Curbed, February 8, 2018
, The Dirt blog, December 18, 2015
Research
, Umberto Berardi, Energy and Buildings, June 2016
, Tobi Eniolu Morakinyo et al, Energy and Buildings, June 2017
, Michigan State University
, Steffen Lehmann, City, Culture and Society, March 2014
Seeding Green Roofs for Greater Biodiversity and Lower Costs, Richard Sutton, FË¿¹ÏÊÓƵ
Projects
A New Norris House and Landscape, Norris, TN
University of Tennessee College of Architecture and Design
Burbank Water and Power Eco Campus, Burbank, CA
AHBE Landscape Architects
Connecticut Water Treatment Facility, New Haven, CT
Michael van Valkenburgh and Associates
Brooklyn Botanic Garden Visitors Center, Brooklyn, NY
HMWhite
California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA
SWA Group
Museo del Acero Horno3, Monterrey, Mexico
Surfacedesign Inc. + Harari arq
Nueva School, Hillsborough, CA
Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture
Underwood Family Sonoran Landscape Laboratory, Tucson, AZ
Ten Eyck Landscape Architects, Inc.