Inside/Out: Rooftops as Resilience

Welcome to the seventh season of "Inside/Out" -- landscape architecture site tours across our region. Prioritizing issues of climate and health, equity and resilience, each tour discusses ideas and implementation as we explore these landscapes together.

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Green roofs are more than design features; they are tools for climate action. This tour highlights how rooftop landscapes can cool cities, manage stormwater, and increase urban biodiversity.

The tour takes place at 127 Tremont St., The Monty Boston, a landmark green roof project overlooking Boston Common that demonstrates how policy, design, and stewardship intersect to create meaningful environmental impact. Attendees will gain practical insights into stormwater performance, green roof design, plant communities, maintenance strategies, and the collaborative process required to deliver successful living infrastructure projects. The session will illustrate how landscape architects, planners, developers, and policymakers can leverage green roofs to meet regulatory requirements while advancing broader ecological and community goals.

This tour will be led by

Philip Sima, founder, Balance Architects

Brendan Shea, building envelope & green infrastructure expert, Soprema USA

Mark Winterer, co-founder + owner, Recover Green Roofs

Steph Almasi, director of horticulture and maintenance, Recover Green Roofs

Read more about each speaker below.

Members and non-members, coworkers + students, friends + families + kids. Tickets are FREE, tour size limited, registration appreciated. Please come dressed for the weather, prepared to walk outside.

We aim to go in most weather. We will email all ticket holders and post any changes here.

We look forward to exploring with you!

About this tour:

Philip Sima of Balance Architects will provide opening remarks on the transformation of 127 Tremont from a dilapidated office building into a luxury residential property overlooking Boston Common. He will discuss the project's vision, design goals, and the role the green roof played in creating a more desirable, resilient, and amenity-rich urban living environment.

Brendan Shea of Soprema will provide insight into the project's design process, sharing how design intent, stakeholder collaboration, and value engineering shaped a high-performing green roof that balances environmental goals, project constraints, and long-term functionality.

Recover Co-Founder and Owner Mark Winterer will discuss the evolving stormwater policies and incentive programs driving green roof adoption in Boston and beyond, demonstrating how thoughtful regulatory frameworks can transform rooftops into critical climate resilience assets.

Recover’s Director of Horticulture and Maintenance, Steph Almasi, will then explore how green roofs function as living infrastructure—absorbing intense rainfall, mitigating urban heat island effects, and creating valuable habitat within dense urban environments. She will highlight the long-term role of plant selection and maintenance in sustaining ecological performance and enhancing human well-being through connected green spaces.

DIG DEEPER

Read more about The Monty Boston - Stormwater Retention with a View at Recover Green Roofs.

Photos above and below courtesy Recover Green Roofs.

Photographer Carlos Paronis and The Garden Club of the Back Bay.

Organized by the Boston Society of Landscape Architects, "Inside/Out" is an ongoing series of small group, outdoor, on-site walking tours of landscape architecture throughout our region. Prioritizing issues of climate and health, equity and resilience, tour discusses ideas and implementation as we explore these landscapes together.

View a short video of Inside/Out highlights.

Is there a landscape you'd like to visit -- or one you'd like to share? Let us know!

Join us outside.