Each year since 2003, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities has issued a call for the most innovative, multi-dimensional green roof and wall projects completed in North America. Recognized in the Awards of Excellence program, projects are almost always the result of integrated design processes involving a number of different disciplines, including Green Roof Professionals. This years award winners will be celebrated at CitiesAlive 9th Annual Green Roof and Wall Conference (citiesalive.org).

What makes a green roof project outstanding? Below is a quick snapshot of this year’s accomplishments. All of these projects reinforce the fact that green roofs and walls are more than just a green building technology—that they can connect the building to the broader environment and the larger community. Food production, green space, community revitalization and building, habitat, and more are addressed by these award winning projects.

Click through to read about each project.

Brooklyn Grange, Queens, NY
Green roof size: 40,000 square feet
Award recipient: Brooklyn Grange (owner and manager)

Central Avenue Constituent Services Center, Los Angeles
Green roof size: 7,585 square feet
Award recipient: Paul Murdoch Architects

EcoCenter, San Francisco
Green roof size: 1,100 square feet
Award recipient: Habitat Gardens (project manager, horticulturalist, designer)

High Line, Manhattan, NY
Green roof size: 230,000 square feet
Award recipient: Kelco Construction (green roof, vegetation and irrigation system installer)

Private Residence in Quilcene, WA
Green roof size: 3,200 square feet
Award recipient: Hadj Design (green roof designer)

Millennium Village, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Green roof size: 197,542 square feet
Award recipient: Durante Kreuk Ltd. (landscape architect)

Nathan Phillips Square, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Green roof size: 118,403 square feet
Award recipient: PLANT Architect, Perkins + Will Canada (architect/landscape architects)

Phoenix Convention Center, Phoenix
Green wall size: 1,400 square feet
Award recipient: Ten Eyck Landscape Architects (design landscape architect)

Steven W. Peck is the founder and president of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, the non-profit industry association with a mission to develop the green roof and wall industry across North America. For more information visit greenroofs.org. Readers are invited to join GRFHC at CitiesAlive to meet the award winners and learn more about these outstanding green roof and wall projects: citiesalive.org.

More information on the 2011 Winners