Green Roof Video Friday - The Solaire

I hope you enjoy this video about the Solaire, an apartment building in New York City with two green roofs.  The building also has on-site water treatment as well as a 33 KW solar system.  It is LEED Gold (the first multi-family high rise to do so)!

One of the most important elements of the green roofs on the Solaire is that they reduce storm water runoff.  In New York City, property owners are assessed a tax based on the volume of storm water runoff.  Fortunately, there is a tax reduction if the building has a green roof.

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The green roofs also reduce the heating and cooling costs by insulating the roof for both the heat of the sun, as well cold winds.  The green roof also reduce the heat island effect, which is when buildings in large cities absorb the heat of the sun and release the heat through convection.  This convection can raise the city's temperature over 6 degrees Fahrenheit.

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.

Grow Cities with Green Roofs

Growing cities bring more air pollution. Cities such as Houston, Texas are using green roofs to combat air pollution and manage storm water runoff.

A recent NPR piece about growing and sprawling cities, states greater Houston's population at about 6 million people (podcast here). With its hot and humid climate, as well as oil refineries, air pollution is a very serious issue. Additionally, as Houston grows, storm water runoff and its management also becomes a more significant issue, as much of the runoff ends up in the Gulf of Mexico.

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The Houston Business Journal reported in 2007 people were thinking about and building green roofs. The green roof is 12% more efficient than a baseline building, and helps to reduce the urban heat island effect.

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From the article:

According to Wooten (Kirksey Associate Russell Wooten, project manager), green roofs address two green building issues that are of special concern in Houston:

• The heat island effect. Green roofs reduce what is known as the heat island effect: Due to large areas of hot paved surfaces in urban areas, it's often up to 10 degrees hotter in the city than in the surrounding countryside.
• Stormwater. The plant materials on green roofs absorb a large amount of stormwater.

...green roofs increase the roof's life span, filter pollutants and carbon dioxide out of the air and filter pollutants and heavy metals out of rainwater.

Another successful green roof project in Houston is the University of Houston Architecture School. Geoffrey Brune of the Architecture School states in a piece from ABC12.com:

"If all the buildings in Houston had green roofs then the temperature would be very different. … I think it would be significantly noticeable … by several degrees."

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Additionally, the U/H green roof is on a building with a sloped roof, not typically seen with green roofs. The building is proving that green roofs are feasible on not just for larger structures with sloped roofs, but also for residential structures, which typically do have sloped roofs.

As Houston's population continues to grow, the application of green roofs to new buildings will help bring cleaner air to its new residents.

Venlo, NL Green Roof

Venlo, the Netherlands, is joining the sustainability movement with its new municipal building.

World Architecture News reports the building, designed by Hans Goverde of Kraaijvanger • Urbis, will have two terraced green houses. The green houses will act like green roofs in that they will provide natural insulation and use storm water runoff.

The building will be the centerpiece of a larger development of sustainable buildings based on the "Cradle to Cradle" principles of William McDonough & Michael Braungart.

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"Cradle to Cradle" is a set of principles that, "...an industrial system that "takes, makes and wastes" can become a creator of goods and services that generate ecological, social and economic value." Venlo demonstrates these principles by collecting storm water runoff for the green house, and using the underground parking garage to help maintain building temperatures.

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Another example of "Cradle to Cradle" is the green roof on Ford's Rouge River plant in Dearborn, Michigan. The 10 acre green roof on the main assembly plant, in combination with porous pavement and swales, greatly reduced the storm water runoff that was regularly polluting the Rouge River, and save Ford over $35 million.

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As the economics of sustainability are borne out, and buildings such as Venlo's municipal building are constructed, we will begin to see more green roofs, cleaner air for cities, and an overall improvement of environmental conditions.

Green Roof Supplier, LiveRoof

You can't have a green roof without the, well, green. LiveRoof is a supplier of the plant life that goes on green roofs.

LiveRoof selects plants to suit the regions for which they will go, and then uses a network of regional growers to provide the appropriate plants. Mountain House Freeze-Dried Food

According to Jeff Geoghan's Lancaster PA real estate blog,
The plants are selected based on their water retention, heat resistance, growth height and other factors. Plants used fall into the "sedum" category. Paul (Cook) explained how the plants take approximately 3 months to fully grow once the order for a roof system has been placed.

Sedum are plants with very shallow roots and part of a group of plants known as succulents. Succulents will consume and hold large amounts of rain water, and the green roof substrate will retain much of what is left over, reducing storm water runoff. $10 Off All Online Flower Orders. Over 75,000 florists world-wide offering same-day flower delivery at a discount.

Another nice thing about LiveRoof is that home owners can install the roof themselves. LiveRoof provides a video to help. I would suggest that you find out how much weight your roof can sustain per square foot and if any additional bracing is required to install the green roof. Free Shipping on any purchase over $25

LiveRoof, via ActiveRain says, "The system itself runs about $12 per square foot on average for a residential installation. So, if you have a 20x20 roof its 400 square feet or $4,800." While this is a readily accessible solution for home owners, make sure the roof is properly prepared with a water barrier, etc before you purchase and install the system.

Thanks to my twitter friend @lancasterhomes for the story.

Green Roofs at Airports

Although I have written about the green roof Kloten (Zurich) International Airport Dock E, I was thinking about a different type of green roof. What if there were green roofs on jet ways?

As I taxied to the gate in Boston, I thought about how hot, cold, or muggy the jet way would be. It is rare, at least in the U.S. airports that I have traveled through that jet ways were comfortable. Air France offers free stopovers in Paris.

So, what if they outfitted jet ways with green roofs? The would immediately be cooler in the summer, warmer in the winter, and would help with storm water runoff.

While retrofitting existing jet ways with green roofs is probably infeasible, it may more realistic with new jet ways. Designer cards at Cardstore.com

Just a thought for all of you airport managers out there.

Where Green Roofs are the Law

When writing my post about Toronto mandating green roofs for new construction over 2000 sq m., I had remembered that Tokyo had a similar law, but hadn't provided any source material.

Since then, I decided to find out what localities or countries required green roofs by law. While I don't wish to discuss the merits or demerits of mandating green roofs by the force of law, I am happy to discuss the benefits from the green roofs themselves. Water Barrels and Storage

As mentioned above, Toronto's City Council passed a law in May of 2009 requiring roofs over 2,000 sq m. to have green roofs that cover between 20-50% of the roof's surface. For Toronto, storm water runoff and pollution control are significant issues, as well as reducing heating costs. However, it turns out the Tokyo is the leader in legislating green roofs.

The Fujitsu Research Institute reports that the law, Ordinance on Environmental Preservation, originally passed in December of 2000, implemented in April 2001, and revised in June of 2008, is focused on reducing petroleum in general, though it also spells out other green activities, including green roofs.

Greenroofs.com highlights that the Ordinance requires "...new buildings greater than 1,000 square meters (10,000 sf) or over one-quarter acre to green at least 20% of its useable roof space." For Tokyo specifically, a key goal in implementing this ordinance was to reduce the urban heat island effect. Mountain House Freeze-Dried Food

Not to be outdone by the Japanese, Switzerland has a federal law requiring green roofs. The law, however, is administered at the Canton (state) level, with each state taking a slightly different interpretation.

Again, greenroofs.com is a wealth of information, with this quotation:

"The cities of Basel, Zürich, and Luzern, for example now require that every new flat roof be planted per building code. As of the end of 2005, approximately 20% of the flat roofs are green roofs within Basel in the city of Basel in a year there will be around 80. This equals about 80 city projects totaling 480,000 m2, with the outlying countryside projects also around 80, estimated at 500,000 m2 (Dr. Stephan Brenneisen, 2005)."

As we have seen, legislating green roofs does create great benefits for the localities in which the laws are past. Buildings use less energy as the green roofs reduce HVAC costs, and they also reduce the load on storm water management systems. Additionally, major cities reduce the urban heat island effect. Clearly, these are tremendous benefits, though I don't personally believe they should be mandated by law.

Australia's First Carbon Neutral Office Building

Gizmag.com reports that Australia is building a four story, carbon neutral building. What makes this building unique is not its green roof, but rather, all of the building's power needs are met by non-carbon sources.

Additionally, the power generated in excess of its needs will eliminate the carbon emissions used in construction. Go Green and SAVE at GreenGardenTools.com Eco Friendly Power Tools & More.

The developer, Grocon, notes,

"Any carbon emissions used in the building’s ongoing operation will be offset by renewable energy from large photovoltaic (solar) panels on the roof as well as wind turbines,” says Daniel Grollo, Grocon’s CEO.

Approximately 75% of the roof surface will be dedicated to a green roof. The green roof will be made up of simple grasses. Additionally, the green roof will help capture rain water for the building itself, as well as reducing storm water runoff. The building also includes a gray-water treatment capability, using a reed bed system. Hydroponic garden

This building may be a economical model for future construction, as it uses many traditional building materials, such as concrete, heat pumps, and "...reasonably traditional commercial building materials."

Manhattan's Green Roofs Grow

New York City, and Manhattan in particular, has a great collection of buildings with green roofs. Now, the city can add another series of green roofs found in Clinton Park.

Ten Arquitectos and Enrique Norten have designed a unique mixed-use structure that not only puts housing units on a diagonal, but also puts a green roof on top of each floor. Mountain House Freeze-Dried Food

World Architecture News.com writes,

Each floor steps up from the one below, allowing for unobstructed views to the park and Hudson River and providing private roof terraces with green roofs on every floor.

As one can see from the picture, the amount of green roofs would appear to cover the entire footprint of the building. A green roof of this size will improve storm water runoff management, as well reduce fine particulate matter air pollution. Water Barrels and Storage

The building itself, as mentioned above is mixed-use. Again, from WAN,

...the building fills a void in the urban fabric by integrating multiple commercial uses... providing 900 housing units in the 27 floors above. The base include(s) a 50,000 sq-ft auto showroom with 250,000 sq ft of service floors below grade, a 30,000 sq-ft horse stable for the NYPD Mounted Police, a 7,500 square-foot market, a 30,000 square-foot health club, and 200 parking spaces.

The diagonal layout allows not only for multiple green roofs over a single footprint, the design also reduces the urban heat island effect by moving mass away from its neighboring buildings. This building will not only architectural interest to city, but provide much needed environmental benefits as well.

Hyderabad's Greenest Roof

Many of the green roof projects I have written about are designs that haven't been completed, like Dongtan in China and
the Eco Bay Complex in Abu Dhabi.

However, the CII-Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre (GBC) opened in Hyderabad, India in 2004! I found a press release at the Indian Brand Equity website discussing the opening of the project.

At the time of its opening, it was the only LEED Platinum building outside of the US.

One of the key aspects of the building is its zero discharge of water. In India, where clean water is not readily available and the monsoon season overwhelms the limited water treatment facilities, the ability to capture and recycle all water is exceptionally significant. Additionally, the green roof helps reduce the cost of air conditioning, desperately needed in such a hot climate.

Other elements of green building used for the GBC include the use of recycled materials, such as fly ash, as well as photovoltaic cells for solar energy.

This project received funding support from the US taxpayers in the form of a matching grant of $1.2 million over three years.

According to the US Embassy in New Dehli, "The grant will assist the centre as it develops detailed plans for each major area, including green buildings, green business incubation, and water and energy conservation."

India has demonstrated its desire and capacity to build green buildings. Let's hope to see more green roofs like the Chennai Airport and the GBC in the future!