Bruce Dvorak

Bruce Dvorak focuses on sustainable architecture, and green roof technology in particular. A green roof is a vegetated roof or deck designed to provide urban greening for buildings, people, or the environment. Green roofs are constructed from layers of materials such as waterproofing, root protection, drainage, growing media and plants. Research about how green roofs can be applied across North American ecoregions is needed to understand not only their design and construction, but their benefits and maintenance needs as well. The Interdisciplinary Green Roof Research Group that he leads was established to better understand the application of green roofs to central Texas. Green roof technology was evolved in Europe to mitigate for ecological stresses from urban development such as flooding, urban heat islands, air pollution, and prevention of drought. In North America, green roof research is beginning to demonstrate similar benefits, however, research in southern US climates is lacking behind the northern US. He also led the creation of a living wall—a vegetated wall designed to achieve similar benefits of green roofs—at Texas A&M. Dvorak is an associate professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning in the College of Architecture and a fellow in the Center for Health Systems and Design at Texas A&M. He earned a bachelor of landscape architecture degree from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and a master of landscape architecture degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign.