L.A Lines

  Materials for Sustinable Sites

  Meg Calkins, LEED AP

     The adventure into this book started one day, as I sat at the London Public Swimming Pool, while attending the London Under Water Hockey Tournament, as a member of the Guelph University team.  The sport, I may add is exactly as it sounds.  As I rested there waiting for our next match, I realized something.  Bewildered by the other athletes, from all over Canada and the United States that I was actually doing ‘school work’, I was forced to justify to many a score of confused persons, the actual practice of Landscape Architecture. 

    With Calkins book on my lap, I engaged these listeners with tidbits of historical facts, techniques we learn at school and in the field, and the different pathways one is able to take in this career.  At this point I gave the person the book, and said ‘these are the necessary developments in our profession that as a landscape architect, we all need to address.’ 

    The general thoughts that I heard that day were simply ‘cool’ and ‘neat’, while others were very fascinated.  I realized more so at that tournament that very is little known about our profession, despite our long history of creating outdoor spaces. I pointed out to my athletic friends that the term ‘landscape architect’ was developed by a Scottish man a few hundred years past.  There is a great misconception of our profession by the general public, and for many colleagues this is exceedingly frustrating.  We ‘landscapers’, work with nature, science and art to fashion a worldly combination of architecture, ecology within scientific boundaries and engineering.  As to what we do truly with our hands to conceive these memorable outdoor spaces, these tools are identified in the book by Meg Calkins, Materials for Sustainable Sites.     

The Problems

   Today, from looking at events and current trends, we all have to be concerned with being ‘green’ and environmentally friendly.  It should be questioned then if there need be any development at all.  If so, what is its environmental impact?  So what does being ‘green’ mean to us?  The element of being ‘green’ is to produce less waste, being conscious of unfriendly environmental choices and of course building with sustainable materials.  This is a trend that is becoming more popular, just by acting green.

   Being green though, does not mean just the average person simply switching to a more efficient light bulb, but an act of a more drastic and bigger nature.  It is an environmentally friendly energy source.  It is the air we don’t pollute.   It is the water we don’t waste and the land we protect.     

    But for the landscape architect, the act of being green and conscious of the need of environmental protection, means that we are the individuals to set that standard.  Our designs and ideas shadow what and how society shall perceive an outdoor space, especially if it is a unique site that uses sustainable materials.  These are all ideas that Calkins reflects upon in her seminal book.

The Breakdown

    In thirteen chapters, Meg Calkins investigates and recommends how sustainable materials are used and should be used.  Calkins also includes an excerpt by Ruth Stafford in the last chapter on biobased materials that substantiates her overall message.  This book, for the profession of landscape architecture is highly important in identifying the consequences of poorly chosen materials on human health.  Calkins emphasizes this point throughout the entire book. She provides an inventory of common materials and their environmental impacts.  In Chapter Three, Calkins states by “determining how much importance to assign a given environmental or human health impact is challenging.”  This reflects the fact that any environmental or human impact can occur from the usage of any given material.  She also makes the point that “different projects and clients will have different priorities” which could compromise the environment.    

    More importantly this book identifies the issues surrounding the waste crisis., Calkins discusses this  significant issue in Chapter Four.  She notes that factors such as time frames and deconstruction costs and the politics surrounding these issues often lead to the decision to go more practical in terms of development rather advocating for the sustainable options.  On this point, it must not be misinterpreted that it’s necessarily the designer who is responsible for such construction decisions. Often the “client” sets budget constraints or judgments are made by people “higher up” who too often override concerns about environmental sustainability. 

    The Chapters Five through Twelve elaborate in greater detail on the different materials commonly used in site designs and on their own respective productivity and efficiency levels.  For example Calkins looks at concrete, one of the most commonly used design materials, which  has drastic environmental costs.  Production of concrete heavily uses fossil fuels, and generates high carbon emissions produced during construction and extraction.  Calkins remarks that there are “several measures [that] can be taken to minimize the environmental and human health impacts of concrete – and some can result in improved performance and durability.” This means using recycled materials in place of new course and fine aggregates, or using porous concrete to reduce urban heat effects. 

   In relation to the topic of concrete, there have been several alternatives found, one being Hemp. Mme Perrier, a French inventor and designer, discovered that the leftover parts of the hemp plant when mixed with lime, petrifies and is stronger and even lighter at 1/6^th of normal concretes weight and therefore can last longer than any concrete mix.  Of course this type of production for such a product is restricted from current laws in France on hemp production.  Mme Perrier has  built 300 houses a year with the Hemp ‘concrete’.

   Another key component of landscape architecture is our usage of gravel and asphalt, which Meg Calkins thoroughly explains in Chapter Nine.  Calkins relates that “currently over 90% of stone is mined in surface quarries; however underground mining, though more expensive, is increasing due to extraction efficiencies and increasingly stringent environmental regulations in some areas.”  That is just another example of essential decision making and professional changes that as landscape architects, we need to embrace. 

    This guide book illustrates further information on subjects such as brick masonry, asphalt pavement, metals, plastics and rubber and even biobased materials.  The last chapter in the book was written by Ruth Stafford on the subject of biobased materials.  These are materials that we must consciously think of, as they are non-toxic, biodegradable and don’t produce a hazardous waste.  There are many materials to choose from such as cellulose fiber mulch, bamboo products, straw mulch, water soluble polymers, and jute textiles.  These are products that can lead to healthier and safer design choices that protect the natural environment and even human health. 

The Final Word

     The practice of landscape architecture unfortunately relies upon industries that highly damage natural landscapes, such as concrete production, gravel and stone mining, cutting trees, transportation of products which sometimes are at great distances, and the draining swamps and wetlands.  Calkins advocates, and I wholeheartedly agree that we must make a change in how we function, produce and practice our profession.  Our actions may not be thought as damaging the environment, but in today’s modern world, one could hardly say that they have ‘clean hands’.  And yet in this book, there is a tremendous volume of information that can aid our profession to be more protective of our natural landscape, for after all it is our thinking and decisions that reflect upon the natural world.      

    So read this book, and use it as a guide.  Even more importantly, lend it to others and teach the world the importance of the practice of being sustainable.  It’s no longer just up to the landscape architect to change our landscapes – but we can help lead the way.    

 Notes:

Calkins book is visual stunning, filled with wonderful imaging and plates. The format to this book contributes greatly to the field as a useful reference tool.

Thanks to Brian Caico and Meg Calkins for introducing this beneficial working tool that I shall always utilize from now on.