RESEARCH in DUBLIN

To keep the level of inspiration high the team of Kaospilots have visited a couple of rooftops in the city of Dublin.

First stop the Marrion Hotel, next two residential buildings, and at last our own roof...

Marrion Street -- MARRION HOTEL


Essex Street West -- RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS


High Street -- OUR OWN ROOF

KP Crew, represented by Daniel Seifter on Newstalk w. Karen Coleman --> 13-05 2007

On Sunday the 13th, Daniel Seifter participated in a panel discussion in the award winning radio show NewsTalk together with the Swedish and Danish Ambassadors in Ireland. Interviewed by the well know reporter Karen Coleman, Daniel explained about how the KP Project in Dublin could benefit the society; economically, socially and environmentally! Listen to the interview here!

PROJECT DESCRIPTION :: SKY GARDENS IN DUBLIN

NAME
Sky Gardens in Dublin
An educational and sustainable hybrid project for a better environment and social innovation

WHEN
May 1st – 30th 2007

WHAT
We will together with Cultivate and Erik van Lennep make a hybrid project with focus on how urban roof spaces in Dublin city could be used in a more sustainable and contributing way, benefiting the environment in Dublin city, its citizens and the proud owners of the green roofs. The company Plant4Life are in a start up phase where the next step is to develop a “toolkit”, which will be used to attract companies to invest in a Sky Garden. Our mission is to research the area “green roofs” and based on the founding, create this toolkit.

HOW
During the month of May, we (5 KaosPilots) will work and live in the city of Dublin to feel the temperature of a developing city and to use our knowledge to endorse why an environmentally and sustainable way of thinking is necessary in this development process. Through different research methods, creative brainstorm sessions and marketing strategies à la KaosPilots, we will find the innovative aspects of green gardens on rooftops. We will then use this knowledge to put together the toolkit, which Plant4Life will use in the continuation of this project.

WHY
As a student at the KaosPilots, you finish the first year of education with an exam project called “The May Project”. We wanted to focus on our own values and select a project accordingly. The group is sharing the following values:

We want to increase the understanding for environmental sustainability.
We want to inspire people to take innovative actions towards environmental and social challenges in western cities.
We want to apply the knowledge we posses and the tools and methods we’ve learned in another culture.

We see that the project criteria are reachable within this short time frame. We have decided to peruse the project from different angles to challenge ourselves on a higher level, cause when we fly – we fly high!

SKYGARDEN :: BENEFITS

These are some examples of what a skygarden would contribute with in the city of Dublin:
-> Quiet green space and gardens for Dublins office workers to enjoy sun, air and water.
-> Better management of urban runoff because roof gardens detain and transpire water.
-> Less particulate load in the air (and less asthma) because roof gardens turn dust into soil.
-> A quieter Dublin, due to the roof gardens absorbation of noise.
-> Less energy consumption by the city, because roof gardens provide insulation (“cool when its hot and warm when its not'”)
-> Fitter and healthier Dubliners, because exercise facilities can be made available on rooftop green space.
-> A more beautiful city, because everyone loves greenery.
-> More birds in Dublin, because roof gardens provide habitat space for feeding and breeding.
-> Less carbon dioxide in the air - and therefore less global warming!
-> Roof gardens and green roofs extend the life of the existing roof fabric by up to 70%. Further savings are also made from improved insulation . They also substantially enhance re-sales values.

SKYGARDEN EXAMPLES


CHICAGO
Completed in 2001; the Chicago City Hall rooftop garden was designed to test different types of green roof systems, heating and cooling benefits, success rates of native and non-native vegetation, and reductions in rain water runoff. The three systems integrated into the design include lightweight soils, at 4, 6 and 18 inches in depth. These varying green roof systems are recognized respectively as Extensive, Semi-Intensive and Intensive green roofs. Soils were fabricated using lightweight soil mixture guidelines developed in Germany over the last 20 years.


NEW YORK
This Manhattan building has a great Sky Garden covering the top of this privately own building. The direct benefits of this Green Roof is lower energy costs due to insulation (to keep the warmth winter time) and shadowing (to keep the buildnig cooler summer time and therefore, less air condition is needed, which means less power generation from nuclear and fossil fuel burning, which improves air quality further). Other aspects is of course the contribution to a better air climate in New York city benefitting every new yorker, longer roof quality expectancy and a higher re-sale prize!

ABOUT :: THE KAOSPILOTS

THE KAOSPILOTS
INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF NEW BUSINESS AND SOCIAL INNOVATION

History
The first KaosPilot students started their education on 5th of August 1991. Years has passed and the Kaospilots have had activities on five continents, among other places outposts in San Francisco, Durban, Havana and Vancouver. 

Our Values
The school's staff and management use the six values to screen every important decision and initiative the school is associated with. Of course not all six core values can be met in every single one of the hundreds of decisions that are made at the school on a daily basis. But they provide inspiration and add purpose to what we do at many levels - not least on an educational level. 

Focus areas
On content side the school has chosen a focus for the development of the curriculum. Within that scope these three main areas have been chosen:

SUSTAINABILITY I CULTURAL DIVERSITY I SOCIAL INNOVATION

The educational program 
During the three years that the educational program lasts the students gain nuanced knowledge and practical experience of the schools’ three core disciplines: Creative Project Design, Process Design and Business Design. The three disciplines form the basis of the school’s academic platform.

COMMENTS // IDEAS // INPUTS ? ..

We would appreciate your comments, ideas and input on our skygarden project!