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Jennifer Lawrence

Dec 31, 2014
10:25

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Thank you for submitting a proposal! We actually have a green roof specialist on our judging panel (Mark Winterer), and he is going to review the proposal to ask for some additional input from you. I'd love to have you look at the heat maps and other data sources specific to Cambridge in our resources tab so that you can give us some specific locations in our community where you think this will be most effective. Sincerely, Jen

Jennifer Lawrence

Feb 5, 2015
09:04

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Hello again: The contest will end tomorrow at midnight. Please consider adding in a bit more information that is Cambridge-specific utilizing the data available in the reference section. Thank you! Jen

Climate Colab

Feb 18, 2015
12:12

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Congratulations on making it to the Semi-Finals for the Urban Heat Island Effect contest. Please take into consideration the comments left by the judges and do please incorporate that feedback into your final proposal. We look forward to seeing your ideas finalized in the next iteration!

Jennifer Lawrence

Feb 18, 2015
10:33

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Dear Instagreen: The CoLab had a typo in their previous message to you. The proposal revision period closes on March 1st, NOT the 31st. Below are your proposal's comments from the judging team. Thank you for participating! Judge 1: This is a cool idea and could definitely go viral and inspire others both as a climate adaptation solution and as kind of a cool public art effort. The concept could definitely scaffold upon more modest modular green roof installations in the area such as the Green Roof Demonstration Project atop Boston City Hall and the Yawkey Building through the aesthetics and scalability described in the proposal. There are of course significant challenges in the Northeast to this sort of effort, which is why most green roof efforts have been more traditional, and it would be good to provide more specific on how these will be addressed and built upon. Judge 2: This proposal is a game changer if implementable in Cambridge, MA; however, there are big questions that this is feasible here. Where is the product grown? If it's grown in Europe, how does it travel to the US without getting damaged? Are the pre-grown plants acclimated to the Cambridge environment? Are the installation costs realisitc? Can you show examples in New England?

Pol Knops

Mar 1, 2015
07:24

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Judge 1: Indeed there are some challenges, but all "manageable". Judge 2: Thanks for the advice. We are developing this in Europe, but off course this needs to be produced locally. But the used substrate (Poly-urethan) can be made regionally (otherwise you ship mainly air). But for sure the nursery/greenery should be local. But for sustainability, but also to lower the transportation time. During the transport are the substrate plates stacked on top of each other. As you can imagine this isn't too got for the plants. So we are looking for regional companies which want to use this idea in the States. For the first tests Poly-urethane material could be shipped over and the plants grown locally. At a later stage also the Poly-urethane can be produced in the area. The installation costs are realistic, but as we are based in Europe indeed we have to be careful for using these data in the States. No, sorry we can't show examples in New England. But if one has got contacts we are more then happy to set up business with them ;-). Best regards from the Netherlands, Pol Knops

Pol Knops

Mar 1, 2015
07:38

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Sorry Judge 1. I couldn't revise the remark above. The idea is to make a green roof much easier to install and more nice to look at. And this could be combined As I working in the Netherlands indeed it is difficult to judge to local situation in New England or the US in general. We are looking for a local partner as we realize that your need local knowledge, probably more regional plant variety, and to lower the transportation time. And also the developer needs to speak with the end-user. So their input (what kind of plants, how much water retention, building regulations) should be done "locally". If there are suggestion for partners we are open for this. Best regards, Pol Knops

Laur Hesse Fisher

Mar 4, 2015
09:47

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Dear proposal authors: The Finalist selection phase has been extended so Judges could finalize their comments. The Fellow team will be in touch with more details as they arise. Thank you for your patience and understanding. ~~ Laur Climate CoLab Project Manager

Climate Colab

Mar 6, 2015
12:54

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Dear Instagreen: Thank you again for submitting this proposal. While we feel that green roofs are fantastic for combating the urban heat island effect and your special substrate sounds quite innovative, we have decided not to move your proposal on to the finals. Good luck with future proposals you submit! Sincerely, Jen