Welcome to what’s latest with Living Roofs—articles, events, and press features, with some special news updates sprinkled in.
Living Roofs receives PPA Award of Merit
We are pleased to announce the Camp Mending Heart green roofs received a Landscape Design Award from the Perennial Plant Association. On this unique project, nine roofs cover four buildings tucked throughout the property. Each is blanketed by a vegetated roof, which visually and ecologically integrates the buildings with the forested site. The resulting exuberant roofs are an unexpected, beautiful, and resilient counterpoint to traditional lakeside homes.
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PPA Award winnersLRI featured in Carolina Home + Garden
Our very own Kate is featured in the Summer issue of Carolina Home + Garden magazine ahead of being a featured speaker at the “Speaking of Gardening” Symposium coming up in Asheville on August 1st and 2nd in conjunction with the Perennial Plant Association’s 2024 National Symposium.
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Carolina Home + Garden - Rooftop RevelationsLiving Roofs honored with NCASLA Recognition Award for Camp Mending Heart Green Roofs
The vegetated roofs at Camp Mending Heart picked up a Recognition Award in the Residential Design category. The project rests along the shore of a mountain lake deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, a region known for its biologically diverse habitats and species. Nine roofs cover four separate buildings tucked throughout the property, each blanketed with a vegetated roof, visually and ecologically integrating the buildings with the forested site.
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Camp Mending HeartLiving Roofs honored with NCASLA Recognition Award for 145 Biltmore Green Roof
The vegetated roof at 145 Biltmore was honored in the General Design category. The vegetated roof atop the multi-unit residential building is more than a decoration; it’s nature-based infrastructure. This urban infill project is located within the French Broad River watershed. The vegetated roof serves as a stormwater control measure and sets a new standard of resilience by reimagining a rooftop as stormwater infrastructure with the dynamic beauty of a wildflower meadow.
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LRI awarded NC Sustainable Business of the Year
Living Roofs, Inc. was recently recognized as Sustainable Business of the Year at the North Carolina Sustainable Business Council’s 7th annual Business Sustainability Awards Luncheon. The NCSBC Awards recognize exceptional businesses in North Carolina dedicated to making a positive impact on people, the planet, and profit through innovative practices, products, and services.
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Living Roofs receives two GRHC Awards of Excellence
Living architecture industry leaders, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC), recognized two Living Roofs, Inc. projects at the Jeffrey L. Bruce Awards of Excellence ceremony on January 9, 2024. The Kiawah Island project won in the Small-Scale Residential category, while 145 Biltmore was honored in the Multi-Use Residential category.
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Kiawah Island ResidenceFrench Broad Crossing project featured in Carolina Home + Garden magazine
French Broad Crossing project featured and on the cover of Carolina Home + Garden magazine’s 2023 winter issue.
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Something Old, Something New - Innovative build captures a stunning bend in the French Broad RiverWe are hiring!
Living Roofs, Inc. is hiring an Estimator to join our growing team. The position will provide high-level estimating services for construction, renovation, and maintenance projects. This position requires an exceptional understanding of construction methods and best practices, a high attention to detail, and an eagerness to collaborate with Living Roofs’ interdisciplinary team.
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EstimatorCODE project featured in Green Building & Design (gb&d)
The CODE (Center of Developing Entrepreneurs) building is on this month’s Green Building and Design (gb&d) cover, and the “cascade of occupiable terraces and green roofs” takes center stage as an amenity for tenants and pollinators. Working with the amazing team at Hourigan made this uniquely challenging construction project a success and an example of the unending opportunities and benefits of incorporating landscape on structure into urban projects.
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Designing for entrepreneursHamburg Mountain home featured in Carolina Home + Garden
Living Roofs, Inc. is pleased the Hamburg Mountain residence rooftop garden design was featured in the November issue of Carolina Home + Garden.
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The Cinematic ApproachAD Germany
Thank you, Architectural Digest Germany for including the Garage Apartments as one of your top seven spectacular green roofs! We are proud to see a Southeastern USA green roof featured alongside projects in Vietnam, NYC, Copenhagen, Calgary, and Shenzhen.
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Green roofs: Everything you need to know - and 7 spectacular examplesHiring!
We are excited to share that Living Roofs, Inc. is hiring a Design Studio Manager (DSM). This new position will help launch and manage Living Roofs, Inc.’s design studio as a separate department. The studio will offer a full suite of design services directly to clients from concept through construction documents and administration, and collaborate with Living Roofs, Inc.’s construction team to produce shop drawings and installation plans. This position requires exceptional leadership aptitude, a willingness to collaborate with others in the design and construction processes, and advanced technical drawing and rendering skills. If you are interested in joining a progressive company dedicated to creating resilient and beautiful vegetated roofs and living walls, please visit our Careers page to submit a cover letter, resume, and design portfolio representing your range of skills and experience as it relates to this position.
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Learn more and applyThe Good Guide Podcast - BBB Carolinas
Thanks to the fun team at The Good Guide Pod for inviting us down to the NC capital to talk all about green roofs and why we do what we do.
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The Good Guide Podcast - How Green Roofs Bring Cities to LifeNow Hiring!
Tis the season! We are hiring Seasonal Green Roof Maintenance Technicians (or SGRMT for short.) The position is ideal for entry-level candidates and seasoned professionals with experience in landscaping, conservation, ecological restoration, public garden horticulture, plant nurseries, or related fields. SGRMTs help maintain existing green roofs and occasionally assist in green roof installations. This seasonal position will conclude at the end of the maintenance season in the fall of each year.
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Check out the LRI Careers page to learn more!LRI Featured in Mergoat Magazine
Big thanks to Mergoat Magazine for including us in your FIRST issue (p. 108)! We always love an opportunity to talk to fellow green infrastructure enthusiasts and it was fun to look back on where we started and why we do what we do.
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Living Infrastructure - Designing for Southern Appalachian FuturesJoin Team LRI
Living Roofs, Inc is hiring a Horticulture & Maintenance Manager. Please help us spread the word and share this with all of your green roof and horticulture pals. This permanent full-time position is responsible for managing all aspects of plant ordering, plant installations, and ongoing green roof and living wall maintenance.
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Visit our Careers page to learn more and apply!Building Community Resilience with Nature-Based Solutions
FEMA's guide helps communities identify and assemble the staff and resources (including funding opportunities) to implement nature-based solutions to build resilience locally. Check it out to learn how "Nature-based solutions offer significant benefits, monetary and otherwise, often at a lower cost than more traditional infrastructure."
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A Guide for Local CommunitiesNow hiring!
Hiya friends! LRI is currently hiring an Estimator/Project Manager - please help us spread the word! The position is responsible for projects from initial inquiry or lead until the project is handed off to the construction team. The Estimator/Project Manager will provide continued support through the construction phase and assisting in the closeout process at the conclusion of the project. Candidates with previous work experience in estimating or project management in construction, landscaping, hardscaping, roofing, masonry, and related fields are encouraged to apply.
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Visit our Careers Page to apply!LRI Project Featured in Green Built Alliance Directory
Thanks to Green Built Alliance and writer Melissa Reardon for featuring the 145 Biltmore project and sharing the multitudes of benefits green infrastructure and green roofs provide our communities.
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Beyond Ornamentation - Living Roofs and Green Infrastructure as a Path to Climate ResilienceGreen Roofs Included in Bill to Combat the Causes and Impacts of Excess Urban Heat
With heat waves expected to become longer and more frequent due to climate change, Reps. Ruben Gallego (AZ-07) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) introduced the Excess Urban Heat Mitigation Act of 2022. The bill creates a competitive grant program through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide funding for eligible entities to combat the causes and mitigate the effects of excess urban heat.
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The Excess Urban Heat Mitigation Act of 2022 establishes a grant program for entities to combat excess urban heat.LRI green roof featured on Rethinking The Future
We are delighted to share that one of our Lake Toxaway green roof projects was picked up and featured in Rethinking The Future. Our team worked closely with the client and Platt Architects to design and build the sloped green roof for this stunning project. Check out the link to learn more!
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A green roof with a lake view.LRI Service Day!
Caring for our waterways on and off the roof! We took some time with Asheville GreenWorks to help keep our waterways and community clean. It turns out we are pretty good trash picker-uppers, and it was nice to spend some time along the French Broad River and together as a team.
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Now Hiring!
Looking for the coolest summer job ever? Well, look no further because we are hiring a Seasonal Green Roof Tech to help install green roof and paver systems, and maintain existing green roofs.
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Garage Apartments Awarded NCASLA Merit Award
The 2021 NCASLA Award Winners are in, and we are delighted to announce that the Garage Apartments Green Roof was recognized yet again! This hardworking, beautiful piece of infrastructure was recognized for its beauty and function. This roof continues to teach us so many lessons, including how green roofs promote biodiversity, reduce roof temperature, provide habitat and food sources for native pollinators, and reduce stormwater runoff.
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2021 NCASLA AwardsThe Native Plants Healthy Planet Podcast
Big thanks to the rad hosts Fran Chismar and Tom Knezick of The Native Plants, Healthy Planet Podcast for chatting with our very own Kate Ancaya and Shannon Currey of Hoffman Nursery about native plants and green roofs. The podcast is presented by Pinelands Nursery and is worth a listen (or 10!). Fran and Tom know a lot about plants and are a whole lot of fun too.
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The Native Plants Healthy Planet PodcastGrasses for Green Roofs!
Team LRI co-founder and landscape architect Kate Ancaya recently caught up with the team over at Hoffman Nursery to chat about grasses and green roofs. The folks over at Hoffman are the kind you want on your team: collaborative, knowledgeable, and curious. Check out their green infrastructure chart and Kate's "go to grasses"!
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More Grasses for Green RoofsJoin Team LRI
We are hiring an Administrative Assistant to join our team and support the company with a variety of tasks and responsibilities.
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We are hiring!
Living Roofs Inc is growing and hiring a Project Designer to help with various drafting, graphic production, and administrative tasks. This position is ideal for a professional who thrives working on a diverse range of tasks ranging from pre-construction drawings and details, plant sourcing and scheduling, and production of presentation graphics. An ideal candidate for this position must be willing to adjust to a dynamic schedule that requires excellent organizational and communication skills. For example, some weeks might be filled with design work, while others are full of plant orders and administrative tasks to support our team during construction. There is an option for this to begin as a part-time position of 25-30 hours/week with an opportunity to grow into a full-time position, if preferred.
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City of Columbia Water and Wastewater Management Facility Awarded AIA Regional Award
We are late (but delighted!) to share that the City of Columbia Water & Wastewater Management Facility project received a prestigious AIA South Atlantic Region (SAR) Merit Award for Adaptive Reuse on September 16th, 2020, at the virtual awards gala of the annual SAR “Aspire” conference. The team over Watson Tate Savory knocked it out of the park on this one! The award was one of only 29 given in the region which includes Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Follow the link below to read more on this incredible project and the accolades it has recieved!
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City Water Awarded AIA Regional AwardNow Hiring!
Are you interested in building green roofs? Of course you are! Team LRI is growing and hiring Green Roof Technicians to join our crew. Send your resume and references on over to [email protected].
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Pro Landscaper Sustainability Issue Features Article by LRI Founder Emilio Ancaya
Check out LRI's own Emilio Ancaya's article discussing the benefits of one of our pollinator meadow roofs right here in the heart of Downtown Asheville, NC. Published previously by Asheville's Green Built Alliance, this article delves into the history and development of this unique project, and explains how it serves the building and local community as a site for supporting local biodiversity, adding rooftop amenity, providing excellent stormwater management and structural insulation, contributing to improved air quality, and combating rising urban heat island effects.
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Rooftops ReimaginedLiving Roofs, Inc. Partners with UNC Asheville Fellow to Assess Green Roof Benefits for Pollinators
Living Roofs, Inc. is pleased to present our collaboration with University of North Carolina Asheville 2020 McCullough Fellow, Linnea Van Manen on her research project “Assessing Green Roof Benefits for Pollinators.” During the Summer of 2020, Linnea partnered with LRI and utilized the pollinator meadow green roof at Garage Apartments right here in downtown Asheville with the goals of studying the practical application of urban agriculture and its impact on pollinators, and contributing to the existing literature regarding the relationship between vegetated roofs and pollinators.
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Assessing Green Roof Benefits for PollinatorsLiving Roofs, Inc. Featured in Article at Blue Horizons Project
Check out this excellent article at Blue Horizons Project discussing the merits and benefits of building green roofs right here in the Southeast, spotlighting Living Roofs, Inc. and featuring insight from our very own Kathryn Blatt Ancaya. The article highlights downtown Asheville's Garage Apartments project, a green roof that was designed, installed, and is currently maintained by LRI. This project currently provides a range of advantages for the building, its residents, and the surrounding area, including pollinator habitat, stormwater retention, and aesthetic value. Follow the link to find out more about this project, and the virtues of green roofing in North Carolina and beyond!
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An Asheville-Based Company Working to Ignite the Green Roof RevolutionLiving Roofs, Inc. Featured in Latest Issue of Living Architecture Monitor
The Fall Awards Issue of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities' Living Architecture Monitor is out, featuring Living Roofs' 2020 Award of Excellence in the Small Scale Residential green roof project category. The article recognizes Living Roofs' comprehensive involvement in the conception and installation of The Sandyland Cove green roof complex in lake Toxaway, NC. The award was announced previously earlier this October, and we are thrilled by the latest acknowledgement of our team's efforts toward the success of this unique project. To read the full article at Living Architecture Monitor, please follow the link below, and go to livingarchitecturemonitor.com for more.
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Fostering Resilient Communities at Any ScaleLiving Roofs, Inc. Green Roof Featured in Columbia Regional Business Report
Check out this article in the Columbia Regional Business Report spotlighting the City of Columbia Water and Wastewater Management Building’s green architecture, including a 14,000 square foot green roof designed and built by Living Roofs, Inc. in collaboration with Roofmeadow. Installed in 2017 and currently maintained by Living Roofs, the green roof at City of Columbia features a lush meadow of native and ornamental grasses and wildflowers, providing stormwater management and pollinator habitat along with a series of surrounding rain gardens. For more information on this project, see our page on the City of Columbia Water and Wastewater Management Facility at livingroofsinc.com.
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Thinking green pays off for Columbia architectsLiving Roofs, Inc. Honored with 2020 Award of Excellence from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities
We are proud to announce that Living Roofs, Inc. has received a 2020 Award of Excellence from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities for The Sandyland Cove project in Lake Toxaway, NC. The project won this year's GRHC Small Scale Residential Award. The Sandyland green roof complex consists of three roofs across the residence’s main house, guest house and boat house and feature thriving communities of native cool and warm season grasses, perennial wildflowers and herbaceous groundcover. Aside from providing beautiful amenity spaces, the roofs reduce stormwater runoff, insulate the buildings below, and provide important wildlife and pollinator value in the form of food and habitat. The Sandyland project was a labor of love for all involved from conception to installation to ongoing maintenance. We are thrilled to receive this recognition for the effort our team has put into its development.
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Green Roofs For Healthy Cities Announces The 2020 Awards Of Excellence WinnersGreen Built Alliance Features Article By Emilio Ancaya of Living Roofs, Inc.
Blue Sky, Green Roof: Reimagining Asheville’s Rooftops - Article by Emilio Ancaya for Green Built Alliance
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Blue Sky, Green Roof: Reimagining Asheville’s RooftopsLiving Roofs Inc featured in UNC Institute for the Environment Clean Tech Blog
Living Roofs Delivers on Economic, Environmental and Social Sustainability - UNC Institute for the Environment
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Living Roofs Delivers on Economic, Environmental and Social SustainabilityCapital at Play
Capital at Play features Living Roofs Inc in the May 2020 issue
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Up on the RoofSix North Carolina Companies Protecting the Planet
Living Roofs Inc recognized in the April 2020, Earth Day issue of Our State Magazine
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Six North Carolina Companies Protecting the Planet - When it comes to helping the environment, these folks are making a difference — on Earth Day and every day.WE ARE HIRING!
Living Roofs, Inc. is adding to our green roof installation and maintenance crew. No green roofing experience is necessary. We are based in Asheville but we travel throughout the southeast installing and maintaining green roofs and living walls.
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Living Roofs Inc honored with Award of Excellence from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities
We are proud to announce that we received a 2019 Award of Excellence from Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. The Garage Apartments project in Asheville, NC won the year's Multi-Unit Residential Award. On top of an apartment complex and eye-level with a neighboring hotel's pool patio, this small roof is a visual treat and designed to promote biodiversity, reduce roof temperature, provide habitat and food sources for native pollinators, and reduce stormwater runoff in downtown Asheville.
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WE ARE HIRING!
Living Roofs, Inc. is seeking a skilled landscaper who has experience with plant installations and maintenance. Knowledge of irrigation installation is a plus. This position includes being part of our green roof installation team. No green roofing experience is necessary. We are based in Asheville but we travel throughout the southeast installing and maintaining green roofs and living walls.
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New York City Passes Bill Requiring Green Roofs on New Buildings
In April, the New York City Council approved the Climate Mobilization Act. The Act is a series of bills and resolutions aimed to improve energy efficiency, cool the city, improve air quality, as well as reduce stormwater runoff and promote biodiversity.
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2019 Green roof maintenance season has begun
The green roof maintenance season is underway! Green roofs across the Southeast are greeting the spring temperatures with new growth and buds. Maintenance is one of the services we offer and is crucial to keeping your green roof performing and looking its best. We also provide rehabilitation strategies and services for green roofs that are underperforming or need a little TLC.
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Raleigh, North Carolina Stormwater Program : Rainwater Rewards
Raleigh Rainwater Rewards Program will reimburse the cost of qualifying green roofs up to 90 percent. The amount of reimbursement is dependent on project location, available funding, and project cost. Reimbursements range from 75 to 90 percent of design and construction costs.
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Raleigh Rainwater Rewards ProgramWNC Magazine includes Living Roofs, Inc. project in Burnsville, NC
The green roof was a small part of this incredible project and collaboration with the talented team over at Carlton-Edwards Architecture.
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Fresh Air : Barry and Sandra Bearden's Sky-High Mountain Air Retreat Blends Green Construction with Contemporary StyleLegislation introduced to expand green roofs in New York City
In an effort to reduce energy output, a bill was introduced by three City Council Members that aims to mandate green roofs, solar power or wind turbines to be installed on new skyscrapers going up around New York City.
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Council Members Rafael Espinal, Donovan Richards, Stephen Levin Launch Campaign to Green New York City RoofsRoofing Magazine highlights a Living Roofs, Inc. project in Durham, NC
Xero Flor America, LLC and Living Roofs, Inc team up with a talented team of architects and builders for a project in Durham, NC.
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Green and Sustainable Roof Systems Highlight Durham Custom HomeWE ARE HIRING!
We are seeking a skilled landscaper who has experience with plant installations and maintenance. Knowledge of irrigation installation is a plus.