Cornelia Oberlander and Theodore Osmundson Honored for Contributions to Green Roof Movement

In recognition of their outstanding contributions to integrative design practices and the development of the green roof industry, Cornelia Hahn Oberlander and Theodore Osmundson will be recognized by Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and the British Columbia Institute of Technology at CitiesAlive, the 8th Annual Green Roof and Wall Conference and Trade Show, in Vancouver, BC, Canada, on Dec. 2, 2010.

“Ms. Oberlander is still very much ahead of her time,” said Steven W. Peck, founder and president of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. “In 2002, Ms. Oberlander was berating the politicians for not supporting green roofs, and now we have government green roof regulations and investment in more than 20 jurisdictions across North America.”

Since graduating from Harvard University in 1945, Oberlander has worked as a landscape architect on internationally acclaimed projects. Since 1974 she has worked with internationally recognized designers such as Arthur Erickson and Moshe Safdie on projects such as Robson Square in downtown Vancouver and the Canadian Chancery in Washington, D.C.

“To each project I attempt to bring the mastery of art and the science of sustainable development, as well as the ability to work creatively as a member of the team with architects and engineers in relating the finite form of the building and site,” said Oberlander.

Theodore Osmundson graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science in landscape architecture in 1943. By 1946, he had opened his own practice in the San Francisco Bay area, designing many rooftop gardens. The best known is the Kaiser Resources Garden in Vancouver. A recognized expert on rooftop gardens, he conducted weekend summer seminars on the subject at Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Years of travel to study and photograph roof gardens eventually led to the publication of Roof Gardens, History, Design and Construction in 1999. Osmundson passed away in 2009, so his award his son, Gordon Osmundson, a practicing landscape architect in San Francisco, will accept his award. Father and son worked together starting in 1973, and the latter is currently working on a second edition of Roof Gardens, History, Design and Construction.

Visit www.citiesalive.org for more information.

Source: Green Roofs for Healthy Cities