Trend For Green Growing Roofs Is Putting Down Roots In The City

Time flies, and the rustic origins of green roofs in B.C. have since mingled with Japanese and European design innovations. Ms. Hungerford and her husband now own two houses with green roofs -- quite a bit more sophisticated than their early-seventies ancestors -- in West Point Grey. Ms. Hungerford appeared as the Saturday Morning Gardener on Paul Grant's CBC morning show for five years, and has also written essays for several gardening publications, including the book The Twelve Month Gardener. Over the years she sustained her interest in green roofs by clipping magazine pictures of sod-roof Scandinavian cottages and watching for more modern versions on trips to Europe. "Germany was the forerunner in creating large commercial green roofs, and when I was in Berlin I saw a lot of them on institutional buildings." Two years ago, she and her husband began drawing plans with local architect Werner Forster for their home and adjacent rental property on a sloping neighbourhood site near Spanish Banks. Mr. Forster, who passed away in the fall of 2005, was the architect behind many of Vancouver's top restaurants, including Il Giardino, le Crocodile, and West. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC20060407.VANGREEN07/TPstory/TPendertainment

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