Objective & History

Objective

The Green Roof Symposium will be an opportunity to increase awareness and learn from local and national experts about the design, implementation, and benefits of green roofing.

History

The idea of green roofs dates back to ancient times. The first signs of roof gardens were noted in the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and most famously in the hanging gardens of Babylon in the seventh and eighth centuries B.C. More modern forms were seen in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in both Paris and Chicago. Towards the 1960s and 1970s, Germany became the leader in experimental and modern forms of extensive green roofs. Today, in Germany, one in ten roofs has a vegetative cover and 43 percent of all roofs in urban areas are green roofs. In the United States, Portland, Oregon and Chicago, Illinois provide incentives for new buildings to have green roofs. Chicago, Illinois has taken the lead in becoming the greenest city in America.

Audience

Architects, Landscape Architects, Urban Planners
Botanists and Horticulturists
Building Owners, Developers and Managers,
Contractors Consultants, Roofers,
Engineers - Civil, Mechanical, and Structural
Government Planners and Facility Managers
Local Greenhouse and Nurseries
Organizations interested in Sustainable Community Development
Scientists - Environmental, Academics and Researchers