The Green Lantern is a small, detached shed in the back yard of a home in the Magnolia neighborhood and adjacent to the Kiwanis Ravine. The program called for a small structure in which to house a lawnmower, wheel barrow and related garden equipment. Space in this very developed garden was limited, and the owner wished to minimize impacts both to the garden and to the view of the ravine from the house. Sustainable construction strategies and techniques were also expressed as a goal for the project. To minimize its scale when viewed from the house, the shed is embedded partly into the garden slope. The shed roof is sloped toward the house and is planted with a “Green Grid” green roof system of pre-planted pallets that are set in place and then clipped together. Rain screen siding of Ipe wood planks over translucent Polygal sheet material protects the structure, yet spacing of the planks allows for daylight to illuminate the interior of the shed. Rainwater not absorbed by the planted roof is collected in a cistern for use in watering the garden or refreshing a nearby water feature.
