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2004 MELA Conferences


These two conferences, which took place at Triton College on Februrary 11 and March 3, 2004 highlighted the Chicago Center for Green Technology, a site that was reclaimed from a wasted brownfield. In a few short years, it has been transformed into a model for urban landscaping, featuring a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) award-winning building that has been renovated using the highest standards of green technology available

 

 

 

 

 

 


 Program

Working from the specific to the general and back again, the conference examined the soil and water problems onsite, how they were overcome, and what kinds of plant materials were brought in--and why--to complete the project. In the process, we gained insight into how we might approach designing for disturbed land found in new subdivisions and reclaimed areas, urban and suburban.

Suzanne Malec, Deputy Commissioner for the City of Chicago's Department of the Environment, looked at the hydrology of the site, and Shawn Kingzette of The Care of Trees examined the soil test. Together, they outlined the massive challenges that had to be overcome to make the site viable.

From the specific to the general: Dr. Rex Bastian brought his remarkable expertise in the area of the Soil Food Web to show how the lessons of the CCGT site can be applied to other projects, large and small. 

Back to the specific...and the general: Bob Porter of the City of Chicago's North Park Village Nature Center and Domenico D'Alessandro of WRD Environmental presented the plant list for the various areas encompassed in the overall landscape design. They described their environmental, municipal and practical constraints, with an eye toward how the lessons they learned can be shared with other landscapers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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