Agriculture Reference
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communication is the most common “fault” and is a legal grey zone, for which
all design consultants could be made responsible if liabilities are claimed.
3.2 The sTeP-by-sTeP Process for Planning
The planning process for designing a living roof should ideally be visualized
taking place around three consecutive planning meeting tables:
1 “the planning table,” which includes all professionals (referred to as design
consultants) responsible for design of the roof;
2 “the construction management table,” which includes all professionals
responsible for coordination and execution of the construction;
3 “the facilities management (maintenance) table,” which includes all
professionals involved in maintaining the living roof. The construction
management and the facility management table can be assembled only after
the bidding process has been completed for the construction of the living
roof.
3.2.1 Tasks at the planners' meeting table
Setting project objectives, choosing the members of the project team, allocating
responsibilities, clarifying program scale and formulating contracts are the irst
discussions at the design consultant table ( Figure 3.1 ) . Among these topics,
clearly identifying and communicating project goals is critical to its long-term
success. Typical choices of project objectives include, but are not limited to,
stormwater mitigation, outdoor amenity space, urban agriculture, biodiversity,
energy demand mitigation, or a combination thereof. Living roofs are rarely
designed to optimize all the beneicial functions that living roofs are capable of
performing. The client will present his/her aspirations for the project. The design 
consultant team will present the client with suggestions on how to facilitate the
client's design goal(s), as well as ways in which to improve the quality of the
design agenda, by perhaps adjusting the project goal(s) or couple it/them with 
another. For example, if the client voices a desire to pursue stormwater manage-
ment goals, the design team should consider how the project its into the context
of the surrounding urban environment. The project might be part of a group of
living roofs that reduce the stormwater runoff impact on the local receiving envi-
ronment or the project's reduced runoff might need further mitigation on-site or
in an at-grade, public open-space amenity, like a park or garden.
  Holistic  sustainable  design  measures  should  be  considered.  Some  project 
objectives can hinder or compromise the function of other. For example, water
quality goals of stormwater management may conlict with the soil nutrient
requirements of urban agriculture. A few experimental rooftop farms show
potential in satisfying demands for local food production (Caruso and Facteau
2011; Gittleman 2009; McGuinness  et al. 2010; Novelli 2012; NYC.gov 2012;
Philpott 2010). These farms need to be irrigated and fertilized, and even if
 
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