Considering the latest greening trends

Rooftop and wall greening

"Latest Greening Seminar Report"

1. Establishment of the Urban Environment Research Association

The first greening seminar, sponsored by the Urban Environment Research Association, was held at the KYODO KY-TEC headquarters on November 15, 2024. The theme was "Considering the latest greening trends," and reports were given on rooftop greening, wall greening, biodiversity, and urban forests.
The Urban Environment Study Group brings together cutting-edge urban environment experts, including greening material manufacturers, landscape designers, architectural designers, and producers, to discuss on-site problems and issues. It was established on the day of the event with KYODO KY-TEC as its secretariat.

2. Greening Seminar Report

①Failures of rooftop greening and the latest greening trends PART 2
Mr. Kawaguchi, an employee of KYODO KY-TEC Co., Ltd., gave a report on the latest developments, focusing on examples of rooftop greening failures. He presented several photos of rooftop greening system debris, and explained the dangers and performance assurances involved. He also summarized the causes and countermeasures for rooftop greening withering, and suggested design considerations. He spoke particularly from the design field, reporting that carbon positivity, green infrastructure, and biodiversity are modern demands that should be incorporated into rooftop greening systems.

② Greening using locally grown seeds and seedlings is beginning to spread
From ESPECMIC Corporation, lecturer Tsutomu Yamaguchi, Special Director, began the event by asking participants, "What do you feel when you look at photos of satoyama landscapes?" He then introduced ESPEC's efforts based on global biodiversity trends and regional characteristics, and reported on examples of revegetation using native species of local seedlings. Finally, he presented the "Future Prediction Scenario for Terrestrial Biodiversity," published in Nature magazine in 2020, and once again asked participants what they can do.

3) Cutting-edge efforts in wall greening and the future of wall greening
　President Okada of Greenian Co., Ltd. systematized the evolution of wall greening into the first and second generations, and analyzed the challenges and failure cases of each generation with photographs. He also reported on actual photographs of Greenian installations and examples of problems caused by maintenance methods. Furthermore, he introduced examples of wall greening overseas, including the plants used, greening systems, and examples of failures and advanced examples.

4. Urban forest strategies are being implemented in cities around the world
President Nogami of Nogami Ryokuka Co., Ltd. introduced urban forest initiatives from various sectors and the visualization and quantification of the benefits of trees. He also introduced advanced examples from cities such as Melbourne, Europe, Portland, Taipei, and Ho Chi Minh City. He highlighted the contribution of greenery to spaces that are uncomfortable due to management issues in Japan, such as Sendai's Jozenji Street, and suggested that urban forests could be made more common by protecting existing trees and expanding their scope through area management.

3. Summary

As mentioned above, each seminar delivered real voices from each site, and participants were given various challenges and suggestions. In particular, I think that the examples of on-site defects and failures, including those related to management, provided participants with new awareness for future design and construction.

Furthermore, in line with the demands of the times, carbon positivity, biodiversity, and urban forests, each member was able to renew their resolve to contribute in their own fields in response to the question posed by Director Yamaguchi of ESPECMIC, "What can we do?" The Urban Environment Study Group hopes to continue to deepen its wide-ranging discussions on the challenges and problems of the urban environment, with "on-site" as the keyword.　