Guest Blogger Post: Benefits of Green Roofing by Taylor Dardan

Courtesy flynncompanies.com

I would  like to welcome Taylor Dardan as a guest blogger and present his post, "Benefits of Green Roofing."  Please enjoy his writing and encourage others to write about green roofs.

Green roofs are increasingly popular globally because of their financial and environmental benefits. Green roofs can be used in residential as well as commercial real estate.

A major concept with all green technologies is the financial savings.   Green roofs are estimated to last almost twice as long as conventional roofs, with reducing maintenance and replacement costs. Green roofing also helps with savings on heating and cooling costs.  Sale on Select Outdoor Lighting at Target.com

When referring to the exterior of buildings and homes, green roofing has a huge positive impact on outdoor air quality. Many green roofing systems involve the absorption of carbon dioxide, and other air pollutants in the process. The plants produce oxygen, while consuming carbon dioxide.  Green roofing also combats smog, and lowers other types of air pollution.

Green roofing also provides benefits toward reduction of indoor toxins as well.   Indoor air quality is often compromised by toxins such as mold, asbestos exposure, and other harmful chemicals. The use and installation of green roofing systems can reduce the presence of potential of health risks related to these toxins.

Installing a green roofing system is a very serious undertaking. The benefits of using green roofing should continue to grow as the technology becomes more advanced and the knowledge spreads. The decision to switch to greener roofing, improves the environment, but also can improve your health and reduce your costs.

New Mexico Highlands University's Green Roof

Diamond and Schmitt Architects

New Mexico Highland University, in Las Vegas, NM, was in need a of new student center built with sustainable building technology.

According to the NMHU, an "...outdated and nonfunctional Mortimer Hall..." was demolished to make room for the new student center, complete with a green roof.

The building, said NMHU president Jim Fries, "...will be a center of activity for our campus,” Fries said. “It will offer new amenities that will enhance the quality of campus life for our growing student body.”

The Canadian architectural firm, Diamond and Schmitt, partnered with the Albuquerque, NM firm, Studio Southwest, to design and build this 65,000 square foot, 3-story building.

It includes, "...a dining facility for the residence halls, a flexible theater space, student service offices for Campus Life and Housing, computer lab, game room, multicultural conference space, ballroom, campus bookstore, campus post office, café, copy center, and an executive boardroom for campus governance groups.  A skywalk will connect the student center to the Donnelly Library."

In addition to a green roof, the building, which hopefully will attain LEED Silver, include the use of geothermal energy, high efficiency lighting, rain collection, renewable wood, and high R-value insulation.

Costs were estimated at $18 million and construction completion is scheduled for 2011.

Sweden's Largest Green Roof

The city of Malmo, Sweden is building a Fair and Exhibition Centre that will have the country's largest green roof.  Erik Giudice Architects created the winning design.  The property will be developed by Midroc Property Development.

 According to World Architecture News, the building is:

"...approximately 19,000 sq m comprises exhibition halls, conference rooms, a restaurant, offices, commercial and support spaces."

The design allows for the addition of an additional 5,000 sq m for mixed use, including housing.  Further, the structure will be accessible by a rail link between Malmo and Copenhagen.

While this project includes a very large green roof, it isn't the only one in Malmo.  According to Green Roof.se, the Augustenborg’s Botanical Roof Garden is 9,500 sq m. It covers several buildings and open to the public.  I highly recommend reviewing the site via the link I posted above, as it is an aggressive and very interesting project.

If you are looking for a city to visit with green roofs, put Malmo on your list!

Some Green Roof Reading

I have written over 100 posts about green roofs from around the world.  However, I have only referenced one book.  I would like to recommend a few more to add to your library.

The first is Green Roof Systems:  A Guide to the Planning, Design and Construction of Landscapes over Structure, by Susan Weiler and Katrin Scholz-Barth.  If you are looking for a text book approach to green roofs, with fancy charts and diagrams, this is it.  Both Weiler and Scholz-Barth are well known in the field.  Their experience has made this book standard reading for professionals designing and building green roofs.

If you love green roofs, but live in the city and have no yard, the book for you is:  Planting Green Roofs and Living Walls by Nigel Dunnett and Noël Kingsbury.  While you have to have something of a green thumb, this book walks you through the steps to green up a wall or roof.  There is advice on which plants to choose as well as designs.  This book is also a help for landscape designers who have never actually done a green roof.

If you are most interested in the design of green roofs, Steven Peck wrote Award Winning Green Roof Designs.  Although it is more directed to professionals, it has great photos and descriptions of some incredible green roofs.  It is also a good companion to the Weiler Scholz-Barth book above.

One final book for your consideration is by Caroline Tilston, Rooftop and Terrace Gardens: A step-by-step guide to creating a modern and stylish space.  This book is the DIY guide for terraces and the like.  It has design suggestions, layouts, as well as detailed instructions.  If you live in the city and have roof access, this is the book to liven up your space.

Is this an exhaustive list of books?  Certainly not, but it is a representative sample of materials available.  In addition to these books, I would like to give a particular shout out to a green roof expert on Twitter, Dusty Gedge (@greenroofsuk). He has great tweets and is worth following.

Happy reading!!

Transbay Transit Center Green Roof

San Francisco is already known for its green roofs on bus shelters and the California Academy of Science, now the newly designed Transbay Transit Center will have an enormous green roof as well.

According to World Architecture News,

"The glass-and- steel complex, which will serve 12 transit systems... includes new features as well.
One of those features is a 5.4-acre rooftop park with a 100-seat outdoor amphitheater ... cafes and restaurants. The park will have 20 sub-environments including an amphitheater, a playground, public artworks and a lily pond.... A 1,000-foot long fountain shaped like a bus will automatically be activated when a bus passes underneath the park."
The design was approved on 29 April 2010 by the Transbay Joint Powers Authority Board (TJPA).

According to California Construction, construction will begin in August of 2010 with an estimated cost of "$1.589 billion budget for the first phase of the project, updated to include the cost of building the below ground train box."

Also noted from the article are the addition sustainability features of the project.

"Some of its sustainable features include a geothermal system to assist in substantially reducing energy consumption and a greywater recycling system that will be manage and re-use waste water in the facility. The Transit Center will be entirely naturally ventilated, and, to a large extent, naturally lit."

As San Francisco continues to burnish its green credentials, the new Transbay Transit Center will certainly be a worthy replacement for the current iconic structure. Curiously, it reminds me of the Crossrail Canary Wharf Station. I guess there are only so many ways to build a train station with a green roof.

Oikostegi - Green Roof in Greece

Greece is known for its ancient culture and well-preserved historic architecture. Did you know they also have green roofs (Oikostegi in Greek)?

The most recent green roof in Greece is on the Treasury building in Athens. Used as a scientific test bed, much like the green roofs in Chicago, this green roof was shown to reduce cooling cost for the 10 story structure by 8% and heating costs by 4%. While these may not seem very significant numbers, they are only part of the equation.

Green roofs not only reduce heating and cooling costs, but also reduce storm water runoff, as well as reducing fine particulate air pollution. Additionally, photovoltaic cells perform more efficiently on green roofs, due to cooler roof temperatures.

Greece can benefit from more green roofs due to its hot summer climate, as well urban air pollution. In a land of ancient beauty, green roofs fit right in!

A Missed Opportunity in Bangalore's NeoTown

With a booming economy and population, Bangalore suffers from high air pollution and a lack of clean drinking water. So, why did Andy Fisher Workshop (AFW) design NeoTown with no green roofs? Who knows?

As reported in World Architecture News, NeoTown is supposed to be, "...a blueprint for future sustainable developments by Patel Realty." According to the photos provided by AFW, NeoTown is a vast expanse of flat roofs, with not a single piece of green to be found.

I am particularly critical given the that AFW has incorporated gardens before, in India, and for Patel Reality's sister company, Patel Engineering. Specifically, in Mumbai, "...High level link gardens and a rooftop nursery connect the horizontal towers and strengthen the buildings green credentials towards gaining a LEED Gold rating." Hat tip to Architectural Buzz.

While it is easy to sit back and criticise, a project of this manageable (50 hectare) size would be a perfect display of green roofs and would greatly further the design's goal of water conservation. Should anybody from AFW be reading this post, green roofs greatly reduce fine particulate matter air pollution, storm water runoff, as well as reducing HVAC costs by approximately 25-30%. Perhaps AFW can go back and add green roofs to this otherwise fine piece of urban design.