Google Earth Ecoroof Tour

One of the fun elements of Google Earth is the steadily growing library of buildings that have been modelled in a simplified 3-D format (perhaps by many of the unfortunately unemployed with time on their hands). I stumbled upon the Multnomah County Green Roof (Amy Joslin Memorial Ecoroof) and thought it was pretty cool.

:: Multnomah County - images via Google Earth

There's definitely some washed out quality of the vegetation (perhaps due to aerial photography, or perhaps just due to season) - but you can definitely read the vegetative quality, particularly when there is a pattern, such as the banding on the Portland Building Ecoroof below.

:: Portland Building Ecoroof - images via Google Earth

I decided to randomly fly around town, taking some aerial shots of some of the great buildings around town with some greenery... obviously this is not a complete survey, but a fun diversion.

:: Broadway Housing - image via Google Earth

:: SoWa Condos - image via Google Earth

:: OHSU Center for Health and Healing - image via Google Earth

:: Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center - image via Google Earth


:: Brewery Blocks (The Louisa + The Henry) - image via Google Earth

Some of them are unfortunately a bit mis-scaled and badly represented, such as the two small-scale ecoroofs atop the People's Food Coop building below - nothing like the real thing, which is lovely:

:: People's Food Coop - image via Google Earth