Green Roof
One of the trends in eco design is building a green roof. This consists of vegetated roof covers with plants, growing media, or the engineered soil taking the place of concrete, tile or shingle roof. A green roof plays the same basic role as a conventional roof, that is, to keep the building dry, but with a major differential: they are living, breathing systems planted with many types of vegetation. Green roofs have been around in various forms since the famous hanging gardens of Babylon. In Germany, modern green roof technology goes back 35 years and it gets a lot of government support.
They are a lasagna-like layered system of materials covering the roof, engineered to keep the building water tight and create an environment for plants to thrive. In terms of layout, there are different options. They can be modular, with drainage layers, filter cloth, growing media and plants already prepared in movable, interlocking grids, or, each component of the system may be installed separately.
They are a lasagna-like layered system of materials covering the roof, engineered to keep the building water tight and create an environment for plants to thrive. In terms of layout, there are different options. They can be modular, with drainage layers, filter cloth, growing media and plants already prepared in movable, interlocking grids, or, each component of the system may be installed separately. There are companies that offer such designs. Potential customers can also customize their green roofs by specifying components they would like to add. They usually include a high quality water proofing and roof repellent system, a drainage system, filter cloth, a lightweight growing medium and, of course, plants. It all sounds very nice, but what are the benefits of green roofs to justify their implementation? According to Greenroofs.org, they provide owners of buildings with a proven return on investment (ROI) and opportunities for social, economic and environmental benefits.
On a material level, they offer protection of roof membrane which results in a longer lifespan, which could be two times longer than conventional roofs. They also offer savings on energy heating and cooling costs, depending on the size of the building, climate and type of green roof. Still according to Greenroofs.org, field experiments by Karen Liu in Ottawa Canada, found that a 6-inch extensive green roof reduced heat gains by 95% and heat losses by 26% when compared to a conventional roof. Other potential economic benefits include reduction of the size of the HVAC equipment, less insulation, incorporation of cooling or water treatment functions, marketing exposure, less or no need of roof drains, regulatory requirements for storm water management become easier to meet, sound insulation, community space, aesthetic appeal, boosts employee productivity, facilitates urban agriculture projects and many other advantages depending on location and local legislation. Check out our article on Grasspave which is an incredibly green parking system.
