As a fellow for the Design Trust for Public Space, Michele Adams of Meliora Environmental Design is helping New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to create a set of sustainable guidelines for the city’s 29,000 acres of Parkland. Park Design for the 21st Century will culminate in the publication of the High Performance Landscape Guidelines- the third in the trilogy of sustainable design manuals.
Meliora Design
100 North Bank Street | Phoenixville, PA 19460 | P: 610-933-0123 | F: 610-933-0188
Meliora is currently engaged in Green Streets Design in East Falls, a popular neighborhood of Philadelphia. While the primary focus is on stormwater, designs must also address issues of current traffic needs, traffic calming, bicycle and pedestrian users, and community greening. The challenges of the project include both design and regulatory issues with overarching goals of both improving East Falls at the neighborhood scale and developing standards, guidelines, and a permiting approach for green streets on a much broader scale. In addition to the City of Philadelphia, the Schuylkill River Watershed is comprised of many small towns and neighborhoods similar to East Falls. East Falls can help to create a systems change that will move innovative green street designs forward throughout the city.
In a project to demonstrate the feasibility of implementing sustainable stormwater management, Meliora developed environmental site design concepts for three hypothetical redevelopment sites in Maryland for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The document includes illustrative concept level BMP plans, narrative describing environmental site design compared to conventional design, stormwater capture calculations, and cost comparisons. Chesapeake Bay Foundation is using this document to influence forthcoming state stormwater regulations, as well as a tool for public education.
Meliora designed urban stormwater concepts for new affordable residential housing along the 3rd Street Corridor. As part of a community greening effort, these elements include tree trenches, green roofs, planter boxes, rain gardens, and “green street” bump outs for improved pedestrian safety.
For the Philadelphia Water Department, Meliora is currently leading a team that is developing Stormwater Concept Plans for public properties including parks, schools, and recreation centers. The aim of this project is to demonstrate opportunities to implement green infrastructure practices at both publicly and privately owned large pervious areas. These sustainable stormwater management recommendations will potentially be used by site owners to capture the first one-inch of stormwater runoff in exchange for a reduction in impending stormwater fees. Further, the work of this project will help develop a site evaluation process that can be used by PWD to inform land owners city wide about green infrastructure design strategies and benefits.
Meliora Environmental Design is currently completing a Sustainable Stormwater Master Plan for Purdue University. Under the new program, the University will begin a program of Low Impact Development and green infrastructure retrofits for campus stormwater management. The core goals of the plan are to shift from an end-of-pipe solution to management of stormwater where it is generated- through the use of site soils and vegetation. This program will improve water quality, reduce localized flooding and surcharging problems, recharge groundwater, and serve as a model for Indiana.
Meliora Environmental Design is currently completing a Sustainable Stormwater Master Plan for Purdue University. Under the new program, the University will begin a program of Low Impact Development and green infrastructure retrofits for campus stormwater management. The core goals of the plan are to shift from an end-of-pipe solution to management of stormwater where it is generated- through the use of site soils and vegetation. This program will improve water quality, reduce localized flooding and surcharging problems, recharge groundwater, and serve as a model for Indiana.
