G R E E N I N F R A S T R U C T U R E A N D S U S TA I N A B L E D E S I G N
of its inhabitants, and reduces if not eliminates harmful impacts on the natural environment. The high-density condominium complex located in the Netherlands shown in Figure 10.10 contains a garden designed using LID principles. This particular design serves several complementary and important purposes when implementing a water retention strategy. The gardens are primarily planted with seasonal flowers, herbs, and vegetables. The canal in Figure 10.10 adds interest as only a water feature can in a dense urban setting. The gardens are essentially a large basin or vessel that has been designed with a capacity for detaining water during heavy storms. Eventually the water is absorbed in the soil and a portion evaporates. Some of the water stored in the concrete canal is used to supplement irrigation of adjacent planting.
The Role of Plants in a Sustainable Landscape It is their interest in nature and perhaps the opportunity of working with plants that draw people into the profession of landscape architecture. Many of the past’s well-known landscape architects considered themselves plants-men and as such knew a great deal about both the aesthetic possibilities of plants as well as their horticultural requirements. Plants also were appreciated for their functional possibilities as well. Plants can provide shade from direct sun and for their cooling effect on a space. Plants are used to create the physical structure to define and create outdoor spaces. Plants can be used to moderate climate (particularly air temperature) of both the exterior spaces and the interior spaces of buildings, thus reducing energy consumption and utility costs. Plants are also used to screen or buffer views, sound, and wind. Plants can be placed with the goal of screening out or making undesirable views less obtrusive. For instance, blocking the view of your neighbor’s windows into your outdoor entertainment space. Selecting particular plants having a density of leaves and favorable leaf shape can buffer the impact of unwanted noise from a known source such as a highway or diminish the intensity of prevailing winds. There are myriad design opportunities for using plants for aesthetic, functional, and cultural reasons. Plants are a flexible material that, in addition to serving some design purpose, will add layers of sensory-related value with their physical changes throughout the seasons and over the years. They instill a sense of permanence and belonging to the spaces created by landscape architects. The term sense of place comes to mind, meaning the physical and ephemeral qualities of a designed space having similarities and providing visual continuity to their context or endemic surrounding.
Plants as Modifiers of Climate Vegetation can be an effective means to lower building energy consumption. Selecting the right plant and placing it in the strategically correct location can reduce energy consumption and costs associated with building heating and cooling control. The presence of plants can reduce urban heat island effects if trees are installed to shade 199
