Thursday, August 6, 2009

Wildflowers and Veggies - Eco-Roof, Portland County Building


Portland, Oregon
Photos and Text Copyright © Alice Joyce
Multnomah County Bldg Green Roof Photo © Alice Joyce


Multnomah County Building Eco-Roof
According to the brief found online, the green roof on Portland's Multnomah County Building headquarters is expected to double the life of the roof.



Speaking from experience,
I'd say the project achieved its stated goal:

To create a landmark demonstration ecoroof with amenities such as a stone terrace and educational signage.


















Multnomah County Bldg Green Roof Grasses/Wildflowers/Skyline Photo © Alice Joyce
I missed meeting with the county's sustainability manager, Kat West, when I stopped by to see the ecoroof, but Kat had messaged me about the picturesque quality of the plantings,
covering 12,000 sq. ft., and she mentioned the roof's organic vegetable garden, which provides produce for donation.
Views of the roof's wildflowers and grasses can be enjoyed from buildings in the neighborhood.
For your own up-close look at the Multnomah Building's eco-roof
at 501 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd. in Portland, take note:
Open to the public during regular business hours;
take the elevator to the 5th floor.


7 comments:

  1. I thought I'd heard something about this- I haven't been to the Hawthorne district in so long...time for a visit!

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  2. Hi Alice~~ Your photos are fabulous. I can only imagine how dazzling it must be to see this in person.

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  3. Tessa,
    I hadn't been to the Hawthorne district in over a decade!
    It's wonderful to have access to this roof, and I do recommend a visit. Thank you for leaving a comment.

    Grace,
    Seeing the beauty of the roof, and realizing that it's creating a new habitat in this urban environment does have a dazzling effect!

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  4. I love the idea of eco-roofs, though they're slow to catch on at this end of the continent, at least to the best of my knowledge. (Having said this, I'll discover there are 42 in Halifax, or something!)

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  5. Hey Jodi,
    I wonder why Vancouver would be more progressive when it comes to eco-roofs? Now you've got me wondering about the green roof scene in Nova Scotia. There you go, I couldn't help but google it... we'll see!
    Hope you're having a good summer. It is as wet as the U.S. East Coast?

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  6. That is a great roof! If only we had more of this around.

    Ryan

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  7. Goregeous photo's, it's always a pleasure to look at where you have been! Lets hope this is a trend that really gets going - it would be nice to have roof top gardens like these in all cities around the world. Thanks for sharing.

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