Greening Boston Children's Museum

The Greening of the Boston Children’s Museum

Neil H. Gordon

October 3, 2007

Outline

• The green parts of our Project

• Green Kids

• Evolution of our Plan

• What we learned

• Measuring success

Fun Facts and Talking Points about Green Roofs

What is a green roof?A green roof is quite simply a roof that has had some kind of plant life laid down on top of it.

Why have a green roof?• the plants soak up rainwater, thus preventing stormwater runoff. Especially in cities, when it rains, the water tends to run right across buildings, parking lots, streets, etc and doesn’t get absorbed. Along the way it may pick up pollutants that are then deposited with the water into sewers and natural waterways. This sudden deposit of water can cause sewers to overflow, waterways to flood and soil to erode. A green roof can reduce this problem by up to 82%.• most roofs are covered in asphalt, tar or some other dark heavy material that absorbs the heat, resulting in urban “heat islands.” A green roof helps to eliminate this effect, possibly to the tune of 5-10°F if an entire city area had them. • They can also help keep the building better insulated, saving money on heating and cooling costs! Plants give off water, which results in “evaporative cooling” (kind of like sweating).• green roofs are more attractive than traditional roofs, and can actually make people feel better.

Other Interesting Talking Points

• everything but the trays is made from recycled materials

• the soil is custom made, and includes the particles from rocks that were heated to the point of explosion. the resulting pieces are tiny and porous, and can hold more water

• the first layer to go in (the green material) can hold 14x its weight in water

• the second layer (the black hairy piece) is made in part from recycled soda bottles

• we are using some experimental species that haven’t been used for this type of project before

How to Build a Tray

Materials• 1 black plastic tray—fun fact: perforated bottom allows for drainage, preventing plants from getting waterlogged and causing the roots to rot• 1 green sheet of material• 1 black hairy sheet –fun fact: roots will grab on to this layer, making the plant more stable, especially in windy conditions• 1 bag of soil (1 bag covers a little over 1 tray, so you won’t need it all)• 9 plants

How to • Place green sheet at bottom of tray, with the fuzzy and stitched side up. Tuck it in securely, especially at the corners• Place the black hairy piece on top of that, also tucked in securely.• Pour in the soil to about ½ “ from the top. Make sure soil stays in the fabric, and does not flow behind or beneath it! Do NOT pack soil tightly in. Encourage kids to use their fingers to spread it out evenly; talk about what it feels like. The soil must completely cover the fabric.• Some plants are packed in a sandy medium. Pull these out of their individual trays carefully. Do not try to tease the roots apart. • Some plants are in a darker, more damp medium. Their roots may be all tangled up and retain the “ice cube” shape of the tray they were in. You may very gently and carefully loosen their roots.• Dig a hole that’s the same depth of the plants root system. When you place the plant in the hole, the plant’s crown should be even with the soil in the tray. Tuck your little plant in.• Avoid placing the plants in nice neat lines. In nature, seeds/pollen are distributed by wind, birds, insects, bats and other animals. Random is better!

Have fun!

Evolution of our plan

• Broad project goals

• “Discovering” green

• Creating tools and process for decision making

Goals & ChallengesVision:

Create compelling reasons for visiting and varied opportunities for learning.

Transform bridge-to-bridge waterfront into a campus of indoor/outdoor venues, attract a multi-cultural audience and provides safe access to the water’s edge.

2 October 2004

Integrative Design Collaborative

Buildings + Habitat + Community

20 Woodland Street · Arlington, MA 02476 · 781.483.3040 v · 617.797.6099 c · [email protected]

www.natlogic.com

MEETING NOTES

Date: August 30, 2004

To: Boston Children’s Museum

From: Bill Reed

Re: Notes from the Green Design Workshop, August 25, 2004

Museum’s stated purpose for looking at green design:

o Commitment to children via mission, respecting the world in which they live with pro-environment objectives.

o A way to educate children and their adult caregivers about respecting their world using the building and site as a tool;

o Seeking to measure success in terms of tangible improvements, not necessarily LEED points.

Early 2005

LEED rating system Options & Opportunities •      Enhances the sustainable story of the project and expresses the

commitment to sustainability that the BCM has made and can express during fundraising present and future.

•        Emphasizes opportunities for sustainable approaches to be seen and touched by the building occupants

•        Fits within the budget constraints for ‘green’ that were outlined previously•        Reduces the gray area and unknown aspects about credit approaches,

boundary conditions, and calculations.•        Aligning the LEED rating system options with the context of the project.

The Green Roundtable, Inc. y,

What we learned

• Lots of choices• A lot of professionals to get on the same

page• Need to have a clear mandate in face of

“V.E.”• Value of having a good building engineer

on your team• Rebates?

How will we measure success

• Creating the next generating of environmental stewards

• Do our customers “get” our values? -- Is it visible?

• Do the systems perform – water saved, electricity use reduction, flourishing green roof, etc.

• Does it add value to our story?