Omni Takes Home the Triple Crown in Philadelphia!
Omni Infinity Media® was used in all three of this year’s top green roof awards across North America.
This sweep – bestowed by the continent’s living architecture industry leaders – is a definitive affirmation that Omni’s approach to green roofs outshines on environmental performance, on beauty, and on longevity. Adding an exclamation point to Omni Infinity’s preeminence, these three awards are added to an all-time total of eight Awards of Excellence for Omni Ecosystems.
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities (GRHC) is a not-for-profit industry association serving as an advocate for green roofs, green walls, and other forms of living architecture since 1999. It recognizes exceptional projects with the Jeffrey L. Bruce Awards of Excellence Design Awards. Recognition is bestowed in five categories for projects that best exemplify GRHC’s mission and push the boundaries of living architecture. Projects were honored in Philadelphia at the CitiesAlive Green Roof & Wall Conference, a multi-disciplinary conference bringing together design professionals, product manufacturers, researchers, and policy makers to discuss innovative green infrastructure solutions to urban challenges.
The rooftop of our own headquarters at 4131 S State Street won the “Intensive Commercial/Industrial/Institutional Green Roof” category. Built in the 1920s, the industrial facility once housed the historic Bowman Dairy Company bottling factory. Its adaptive reuse includes an ADA accessible rooftop that provides flexible event space and an ultra-lightweight Omni Green Roof.
Prior to its adaptive reuse, the site was home to only three trees with no greening on the rooftop; now the roof alone added another 30 trees. Without need for structural re-engineering, diverse and verdant plants thrive on the roof, and include a conifer and birch woodland grove, maple stand, manicured lawn, secret garden with apple trees and rose bushes, and expansive wildflower meadow. In addition to being a popular location for business gatherings, networking events, and community meetings, the rooftop performs as a showcase and laboratory for Omni’s products and processes.
5665 Woodlawn won this year’s award for the “Small Scale Residential Green Roof” category. This rooftop provides 1,000 SF of displaced flora native to the landscape of Minnesota in lieu of a traditional garage roof. The result: improved aesthetics, improved stormwater management, and a reduction in heat island effect. This Omni Meadow has become a low-maintenance home to local and migratory birds, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators.
Visit us on your favorite social media platform to see this amazing space entertaining a mother duck and her ducklings.
Our friends at the design-build firm Recover Green Roofs, an Omni Certified Provider, are this year’s recipients of the “Extensive Commercial/Industrial/Institutional Green Roof” award. They relied upon Omni Infinity Media to transform the roof of an academic center into a verdant, native meadow. Where there might have been a typical dead space. Recover crafted a lush crown of marigolds, zinnias, coreopsis, purple coneflower, black-eyed Susans, sweet William, flax, wheat, switchgrass, early sunflower, and dense blazing star.
Our congratulations are also extended to Parker Plants and Brooklyn Grange for their wins and contributions. We are thankful for these honors and the significant work accomplished by GRHC and its members.
