1 Sep 2013

QUANTIFYING GREEN ROOF BENEFITS

Dr. Franco Montalto and his team of researchers at Drexel University were recently featured in an article in The Environmental Monitor detailing their work in quantifying the many benefits of green roofs in urban environments. The article details their work in monitoring a green roof in the Bronx, New York, and how with their findings they have been able to develop specific urban crop equations for the estimation of evapotranspiration for engineering design.

Below is an excerpt from the article:

As it turns out, a key metric to charting urban green roof success is evapotranspiration, a combination of evaporation and plant transpiration. To learn more about ET and establish better procedures to estimate ET from green roofs, a group of researchers from Drexel University set up an experiment in Bronx, N.Y. Their work, published in the American Society of Civil Engineers’ journal, will make ET estimates for urban green spaces more accurate.

“There are different ways of estimating evapotranspiration. Many of the empirical methods are based on energy and water balance computations, and use crop coefficients to consider variability due to plant type,” said Franco Montalto, associate professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering at Drexel University. “A big question is whether these equations are appropriate for green roofs and other urban green spaces.”

The full article may be found at The Environmental Monitor HERE >

Franco Montalto
1 Apr 2013

INTERVIEW WITH CWPA

Franco Montalto

For their Spring 2013 Watershed Science Bulletin, the Center for Watershed Protection interviewed Dr. Franco Montalto about his experience researching, developing, and monitoring green infrastructure within urban watersheds.

Interview excerpt below:

Q: How do you define GI?

A: I define GI broadly as decentralized engineering, enhancement, or protection of multifunctional landscape features. Although the principal driver for, and characteristics of, each GI project will differ based on local conditions, all GI projects provide multiple benefits.

I wear three hats that include practitioner, researcher, and community stakeholder. As a practitioner at EDD, I am typically tasked with developing GI designs that reduce the rate and volume of runoff generated on urban catchments. However, these same designs can also provide new urban microhabitats; become a source of nonpotable water; remove pollutants; or aesthetically enhance a streetscape, alley, courtyard, playground, or park. As a researcher, I quantify how much water directed to specific GI facilities evaporates, replenishes the soil moisture, or infiltrates. These hydrologic processes underlie many important ecosystem services. Urban evapotranspiration, for example, wicks heat away from the city, mitigating the urban heat island effect. By replenishing soil moisture, GI practices can enhance the ability of urban vegetation to sustain prolonged droughts, though they can also create waterlogged conditions that are detrimental to certain types of vegetation. Infiltration can recharge local aquifers but, if promoted in the wrong places, can also create basement flooding problems or otherwise interfere with the functioning of underground infrastructure, such as buried utilities or subway tunnels.

Read the full article HERE >
1 Jan 2013

DR. MONTALTO AT NYS ASSEMBLY

On January 16th, 2013, Dr. Montalto testified in front of the New York State Assembly public hearing on Extreme Weather.

See an excerpt below:

The entire hearing can be viewed HERE >
1 Dec 2012

DR. MONTALTO ON MORNING EDITION

Dr. Franco Montalto commentated in a report by Christopher Joyce on NPR’s Morning Edition to discuss the use of green infrastructure in protecting the New York metropolitan area from high energy storms such as November’s Hurricane Sandy.

Transcript excerpt:

Engineer Franco Montalto of Drexel University says [beaches] could be “nourished” — built up with sand or sediment to create dunes that hold back the water. “And the evidence seems to be that places that had rehabilitated beaches suffered less damage than places that didn’t,” Montalto says. For years, the Army Corps of Engineers has built sand dunes along East Coast beaches. Although many got swept away by Sandy, they’re relatively cheap to rebuild. It’s the kind of defense that Montalto calls “green infrastructure.” He says the green strategy has multiple benefits.“You know, a beach nourishment project could have value in terms of protecting houses, it could add habitat and could sort of enhance the value of this beach,” Montalto says. New York is seeking about $10 billion to prepare for the next big storm. Some experts, like Montalto, say you get more bang for your buck with a “distributed” defense — dunes, wetlands, bigger stormwater culverts, even urban parks that slow down the flow of water. They’re cheaper and designed to fit the needs of a particular community.
1 Mar 2012

BRONX STORMWATER PLANTERS

Last summer, EDD and the NYC Soil & Water Conservation District (NYCSWCD) designed and constructed stormwater planters in the Bronx.

In the video below, Eric Rothstein and Shino Tanikawa (District Manager for the NYCSWCD) walk us through the design and explain how the hybrid retention and detention system works. Eric and Shino discuss the multiple benefits of green infrastructure, primarily CSO abatement and the resulting water quality improvement off-site in the rivers and bays of New York City.

Read more here in our PROJECTS >

Video courtesy of the Lower Hudson Coalition of Conservation Districts.

1 Dec 2011

HABANA RESTROOM = WORLD CLASS

eDesign Dynamics' work at Habana Outpost was listed as one of the top reasons to live in New York City!

New York Magazine’s annual “Reasons to Love NY” lists Habana Outpost’s restroom as one of the best in the country out of 250 million public toilets. eDesign Dynamics designed the toilet flushing reuse system that first captures roof rainwater, filters the water via a green gutter system, and deposits the water in a storage tank.

See the article at New York Magazine HERE >

See more in our PROJECTS >
1 Dec 2011

HRWA ANNUAL CONFERENCE – LIDRA

Franco Montalto was the opening plenary speaker for the sixth annual Hudson River Watershed Alliance (HRWA) Conference in Hyde Park, NY.

Franco also ran a workshop with Eric Rothstein on the utility of Low Impact Development Rapid Assessment (LIDRA) as a new tool for green infrastructure (GI) planning. LIDRA is a computer model that compares the cost-effectiveness of reducing runoff with different GI technologies. A neighborhood in the Fall Kill watershed served as a case study for the demonstration of LIDRA. The LIDRA model evaluated the performance of GI in the watershed over a 30 year period and tracked the total annual expenditures and life cycle costs of GI implementation.

The conference program can be found on the HRWA website HERE >
1 Nov 2011

BIG WIN AT ARCHITECTURAL FESTIVAL

eDesign Dynamics served as the environmental engineer for the design of a women’s opportunity center in Rwanda, winning second place overall for the Future Projects category at the World Architecture Festival.

The design team was led by Sharon Davis Design in collaboration with Women for Women International. Selected out of 700+ entries from over 59 countries, the project has won worldwide acclaim.

Project information and image gallery can be found on the World Buildings Directory Online Database > and on the Sharon Davis Design website >

Read more about eDesign Dynamics' involvement in PROJECTS >
1 Oct 2011

ABC CARPET WATERWASH OPENING

eDesign Dynamics helped to celebrate the grand opening of the WATERWASH wetland and waterfront park located along the Bronx River adjacent to the ABC Carpet & Home Warehouse Outlet.

eDesign Dynamics partnered with Lillian Ball, Rocking the Boat, Drexel University, Excav Services, and ABC Carpet & Home to create a riverfront wetland park that manages stormwater, improves habitat, and increases public access to the Bronx River.

Project photos can be found on Rocking the Boat’s website >
1 Oct 2011

URBAN THINK TANK HOLCIM AWARD

eDesign Dynamics consulted for the 2011 Holcim Latin America gold award winning team, Urban Think Tank on the design of an urban remediation and civic infrastructure hub in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

As the water resources engineers, EDD designed terraced subsurface flow wetlands that filter and reuse stormwater and greywater and are integrated into a stepped grass amphitheater.

Read more in our PROJECTS >

Project information and images can be found on the Holcim Awards website >
See the Atlantic Cities article: To Add Public Spaces to Brazil’s Favelas, First You Have to Find Space >
See the ArqBacana article: Anunciados os vencedores do Holcim Awards - América Latina >
1 Aug 2011

PHILADELPHIA LID SYMPOSIUM

eDesign Dynamics' Franco Montalto and Amanda Bayley will be making presentations at this year’s Philadelphia Low Impact Development Symposium to be held September 25-28.

Information on the symposium may be found HERE >
Registration information may be found HERE >
Download a pdf of the preliminary agenda and list of speakers HERE >

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