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.

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outdated and nonfunctional Mortimer Hall..."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.

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.

A New Green Roof in Delhi, Michigan

OK, the picture you see doesn't have a green roof, but the green roof is there, really! According to "Capital Gains," the Township of Delhi, near Lansing, Michigan put a 7200 square foot green roof on the Sam Corey Senior Center.

The Senior Center, in addition to having a green roof, also has "...a geothermal closed-loop ground source heat pump." Additionally, it is the first LEED-certified building in the Township. The Township decided to use the green roof to mitigate storm water runoff and reduce HVAC costs. The Township estimates the green roof will absorb 9/10 of an inch of rain and save 35-50% in HVAC costs. $20 Off AeroGardens

The green roof was built using elements from LiveRoof. Headquartered in the Netherlands, LiveRoof uses a modular system, making installation and maintenance easy. Similar to flats of annuals, if changes need to be made or changes in the design are desired, it is simple as replacing the flat.


As I mention in the title section of the blog, green roofs provide tremendous cost and environmental benefits without being overly complex or expensive. Were I a taxpayer in Delhi Township or the state of Michigan, I would congratulate the responsible parties for wise use of my tax dollars.

Taiwan's Green Roofs

Inhabitat.com reports the Chinatrust Bank plans a 3-skyscraper complex, complete with green roofs.

The buildings have a host of green building features, including passive heating and cooling mechanisms, the use of daylight for lighting, and of course, green roofs. Water Barrels and Storage

NBBJ Architects of Los Angeles, designed the three buildings. NBBJ is a leading designer of green buildings, including their own LEED Gold headquarters.

The Chinatrust Bank headquarters is "...complex comprises three high-rises: a 30-story headquarter building, a 21 story office, and a 10 story hotel. A community-centered retail base will occupy the lower 4 levels, and an open-air central plaza will unite all of the spaces into one cohesive unit." Organic Flowers & Gourmet Gifts

Chinatrust Bank chose the green roof element to help reduce heating and cooling costs, as well as reduce storm water runoff and fine particulate air pollution. Further, the green roofs help to reduce the urban heat island effect. Let's hope that we will see more green roofs in Taiwan!

Bill Gates' Green Roof

For many, Bill Gates is a man they love to hate. Yet the Microsoft founder, and yes, philanthropist, has put an enormous green roof on the garage of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation HQ.

Its not just any green roof. In the style befitting the world's richest man, it is the biggest green roof in all of Seattle. It covers 60,000 sq ft.

According to earthfirst.com, which is the primary source for this article, both the garage and headquarters building are seeking LEED gold certification.

In a press release from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the green roof, once fully established, will sustain itself via rain water. Additionally, the foundation campus will use rain water and other non-potable water for irrigation and other purposes. Discover Top Rated Mighty Leaf Herbal Tea. Tea lovers love our delicious herbal tea blends. You will too. Save 25% on your first order!

The structure was designed by NBBJ, and the campus will be built by Sellen Construction.

Canada's Largest Green Roof is in Vancouver

World Architecture News reports:

...Vancouver Convention Centre West, ... with 6 acres of green roof it boasts the largest in Canada, and the largest non-industrial green roof in North America. This combined with many other eco-measures is set to help the project achieve LEED Canada Gold certification.

The green roof itself is a thing of great beauty and purpose. According to the article, there are "...400,000 indigenous plants and grasses,..." Additionally, a roof this size helps to control heating and cooling costs, as well as reducing air pollution. Discover Top Rated Mighty Leaf Herbal Tea. Tea lovers love our delicious herbal tea blends. You will too. Save 25% on your first order!

This is not a beautiful project, but also allows Vancouver's green roof credentials to take root. While the city boasts the Centre for Architectural Ecology - Collaborations in Green Roofs and Living Walls, the Convention Center will also create habitat for marine life, as well as improve the shoreline.

While the green roof is the most obvious "green" feature of the structure, it also uses the most advanced in green technologies. There is a significant waste water recycling. Heating and cooling is aided by using a heat pump system, "...that takes advantage of the constant temperature of adjacent seawater,..." and uses window placement for lighting. Water Barrels and Storage The Convention Centre's expansion was designed to be "...used as a hub to support 7,000 media during the XXI Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games."

The design and architectural work was done by Architects LMN and Vancouver-based Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership as well as DA Architects & Planners.

This beautiful new addition will also serve to provide Vancouver with the opportunity to compete with Toronto for the World Green Roof Congress in the years to come. Mountain House Freeze-Dried Food

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!

Mexico's First LEED Gold has a Green Roof!

The first building in Latin America to be LEED Gold Certified is the HSBC building in Mexico City. This is quite a point of pride for Mexico, as the building is the first in Latin America, and it is also good for the people of the city. FREE SHIPPING on orders over $50.00 at InhabitLiving.com

Green roofs help reduce CO2, storm water runoff, the heat island effect, as well as reducing fine particulate air pollution. Additionally, the green roof on this building is the largest in Latin America, helps reduce utility costs by up to 25%. $20 Off AeroGardens

For HSBC, this building is not a one-trick pony. According to the HSBC 2007 Sustainability Report, "The Group seeks to achieve, by 2011, a minimum of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design) gold certification or the equivalent for 50 of its major buildings."

Congratulations to HSBC for their commitment to LEED, green roofs, and sustainable building.

Beijing is Trying to Control Pollution with Green Buildings

In a previous post titled, "Bejiing Worst Smog in a Month - Green Roofs Can Help!" I wrote how the Chinese government is concerned that the 2008 Beijing Olympics will be spoiled by air pollution.

That concern is becoming a reality, with the government expanding its restrictions to a broader geographic surrounding Beijing. Aside from these restrictions, the government is taking positive steps to improve air quality through green buildings.

National Public Radio (NPR) did a story about green buildings and green roofs in Beijing. You can listen to the story here. It outlines that China surpassed the US in becoming the world's single largest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) and "The government has set ambitious goals for reducing emissions and increasing energy efficiency by 2010."

To that end, the Chinese government is focusing on its buildings, as they consume half of the electricity in China. It is well known that green roofs can aid this effort by reducing utility costs by up to 25%. Additionally, the green roofs on these buildings well help reduce fine particulate air pollution and reduce CO2 levels in the city.

These steps toward energy efficiency and pollution control are noteworthy. In addition to green roofs and green buildings, China would do well to improve the pollution controls on their factories and power plants.

LEED With Green Roofs

Green roofs help builders and buildings get Platinum LEED certification. The picture, above, is the Northern Arizona University Applied Research and Development building, located in Flagstaff, AZ.

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and is trademarked by the US Green Building Council (USGBC). The USGBC defines LEED as:

LEED is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

The certification and rating system is done by consensus of the various LEED committees.

Relative to building, a flat green roof helps to meet LEED standards for energy consumption, carbon footprint reduction, and storm water runoff reductions. Additionally, flat green roofs reduce fine particulate matter air pollution. While LEED recognizes the building as a system, a flat green roof is a great addition to improve both the building and its certification.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Gets Green Roof!

Kuala Lumpur, one the leading cities in South East Asia, is working to increase the amount of "green" buildings, including those with flat green roofs. Some exist today, though they don't meet LEED standard.

According to Yap Yew Jin, in his article, "City & Country: Moving in the green direction" Kuala Lumpur is set to have a new green building with:

The building will have energy-efficient glass for its window panes and will rely mainly on natural daylight to reduce usage of artificial light," Soon tells City & Country. Other unique features include a green roof design (podium top and roof top gardens), solar cell street lights, and rain water harvesting and water-efficient toilet fittings.

While many developing countries struggle to balance the need to improve environmental quality with the costs of doing so, many find that the investment is worth it. The savings are found in both energy savings, as well as improved resale value that flat green roofs bring.

WTW Bovis' Soon says green buildings are considered market differentiators with their lower staff turnover and lower energy consumption. "In fact, green buildings are said to be able to save up to 30% in energy consumption and reduce carbon footprint by about 30% to 40%." He adds that green buildings with integrated designs are slightly cheaper, with the cost increasing as it goes up the value chain. "However, the returns on investment would be quite significant," he says.

Kuala Lumpur should be proud of this new building, as it will serve as a beacon for others to build energy efficient buildings with flat green roofs.

Data Centers Need Green Roofs!

In a recent article in Business Week, titled "Going Green is Good for Your Wallet," the author wrote about two studies that indicate that buildings built to LEED specifications are commanding higher prices as well as higher resale.

While this is good news, particularly for flat green roofs, the article also relates that there are gaps. In particular:

Surprisingly, the actual EUI performance for LEED-certified, high-energy-use buildings, such as laboratories and data centers, was nearly two-and-a-half times higher than what was predicted during their design. ...Projects that were supposed to see energy savings of up to 40 percent actually “underperformed code by 60 percent.” “The NBI study provides a much-needed comparison of energy models to reality,” he says (Andrew McNamara, director of new construction services at Bright Power, a New York-based energy consultancy).

Relative to data centers, the leader in the "greening" of data centers is Aiso.net (Affordable Internet Services Online, Inc.). According to their site and what others have written about them, AISO is building a flat green roof for their data center.

The new green roof can reduce our cooling requirements by up to 50%. When finished, AISO will be the first and only public data center in North America with a green roof.

It would be quite a site to see all of the flat roof data centers, become flat green roofs! I bet the owners would also be happy with the reduced utility costs. Considering the competitive nature of data centers and hosting, this is a great opportunity to create a competitive advantage.

Here's to AISO.net for the commitment to flat green roofs and green building!

California Academy of Science's 2.5 Acre Green Roof

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities awarded the California Academy of Science its 2008 Award of Excellence, in the category of Extensive Institutional, for its 2.5 acre green roof. The award narrative can be found here.

From the citation:

"In the heart of San Francisco’s beloved Golden Gate Park, the California Academy of Sciences’ new LEED® Platinum-rated museum now hosts the largest green roof of any natural history museum in the world. ... For San Francisco, the green roof creates the most concentrated area of native wildflowers within the city."

The design was done by Renzo Piano Building Workshop, who is noted for achievement in the field of green roofs.

To drum up positive press for this effort, San Francisco put green roofs on bus shelters! Click here to read about it!

Green Roofs in China, Helping Beijing Breathe

The greatest inspiration for me to blog about green roofs was my trip to Shanghai, China in January of 2008. There I saw incredible air pollution, which literally was choking.

While I sat in several different office buildings, many stories into the skyline, I observed huge swaths of flat roofs, mostly black, sitting idle. Additionally, I remembered the discussion about how energy starved Shanghai is, as well as concerns about water.

As one of my meetings ran long, and somewhat boring, I began to map out a strategy of how Shanghai could adopt flat green roofs, reduce air pollution, and minimize storm water runoff. I admit, the plan was grandiose, so that's why I settled on a blog instead.

It turns out that in 2006, several stories ran about green roofs in Beijing, where, according to the US embassy, has worse air pollution than Shanghai. Here are some quotes from articles at that time. There is also a nice mention of LEED in there.

"The Beijing Linked Hybrid project, a self-contained city of linked vertical buildings designed by Holl, includes hundreds of apartments as well as stores and schools, and every roof is green. Storm water collected in rooftops will help feed a self-sustaining water system to protect the buildings against water shortages in Beijing, Holl explained.

"They want it and they're willing to pay for it," Holl said of his Chinese clients.

China launched a nationwide drive last month to make energy-saving buildings that help ease fuel shortages and reduce greenhouse gases. The country has also signed an agreement with the United Nations to promote environmentally friendly practices in staging the 2008 Beijing Olympics." from "Landscape architects tend to a green roof" found at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12512892/.

From the Christian Science Monitor:

""There isn't much pressure for us to promote the green concept," said science ministry official Yang Guoxiong at last week's green inauguration.

"The national government has incredible intentions for a green future." says Mr. Mars. "Really mind-boggling. But we are in an interesting paradox, and I am asking, 'Is it better to have high ambitions, or to be realistic?' " http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0403/p07s02-woap.html

Let's hope the rest of China can catch the green roof wave and bring clean air to their cities and citizens.