Our last lecture for the semester was given to us by Anna, a professor from the landscape department. Originally from Germany, Anna brought to the class a huge knowledge base of green roof's and a variety of different practices. The green roofs that were shown as examples from Germany were outstanding. Some places looked as if you wouldn't even know you had neighbours because the buildings and its rooftops were completely outfitted with greenery. The main difference in the number of green roof's here in Winnipeg versus Germany was not due to climatic factors, but instead the difference in our laws. In Germany, developers must compensate to add more green space if they are to build something. This is a concept that Winnipeg should definitely start looking into.
The different layers that are needed to create a green roof and different soil levels to accommodate certain plants were explained to us. We also learned the difference between a Green Roof and a Roof Garden, the latter being accessible to the public and the prior only used for ecological purposes. Some may say green roof's are "tarting up a building", but I believe green roofs are an excellent way of integrating the built form and nature. The roofs provides us with heating and cooling services and water retention, at the same time putting green landscapes back into the city.
Jae ended the semester with an anecdotal experience in his architecture career involving, 14 cats, a dying woman, and a grow op. My views about design have definitely changed and expanded as a result of Natural and Human Systems. My human-centric thoughts that design is for people first has definitely changed with the realization that architects design for everyone and everything (including cats). I must say overall I really enjoyed the variety of people who lectured in our class. I found the blog to be extremely effective in getting students to explore all the innovative types of designs and technologies out already in development or practice.
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