Green Roofs Gone Wild

One day soon, you may need a botanist, farmer or landscaper to care for your roof. Many property owners who once worried about rain are now eagerly awaiting it. Further, they’re enjoying substantial energy savings in both cold and warm weather. Why?

It’s called “green roofing” and the concept has gone wild. The term actually carries a double meaning. It’s popularity has grown with relation to the use of sustainable roofing materials, but more and more often, it is literally referring to the actual color and matter that many properties, new and old, are using to reduce energy savings, increase insulation and manage excessive storm water. While some traits certainly apply to many of the latest roofing materials, in this case we are literally talking about green vegetable gardens, orchards, lawns — just about anything plant related that you can think of.

The first property owners in the U.S. to make the move into this type of roofing tended to be schools and research facilities. They used the roof areas for experiments and teaching labs for students. Today, many commercial and residential properties are making the leap into green roofing. In fact, the trend has grown so strong that there are even nurseries who specialize exclusively in green roofing plants — like Emory Knolls Farm with 700+ roof projects.

Here are a few examples of owners turning their buildings into unique green spaces.

• Near the World Trade Center, the roof on the Resnick property at 255 Greenwich Street has been planted with grass. In this case, the property owner did it to prevent storm water runoff, to help insulate the structure, to take a bite out of pollution and greenhouse gases and to help cool the building during the summer months.
• The Doane Stuart School in New York covered its roof in soil and light weight planting materials – 46,000 individual plants. The plants will insulate the structure and save on energy costs, but more importantly, it will provide a beautiful space for the students to come and walk, study or just think about life. It is divided into four ecosystems which include North American native plants, New York Native plants, sparse grassland vegetation and ornamental plantings. Throughout the year, the view will change as plants come into flower in different seasons or change color during the fall months. And the herbs and edibles will be harvested in season.
• The Ford Motor Company needed a unique system for managing runoff and rain water when it remodeled its Rouge plant in 2000. Part of their solution was 10.4 green acres up on the plant roof. At that time, no one in the U.S. had really thought of green roofing , so they turned to Germany , where many factories had already implement green roofing solutions. This roofing system is designed to handle things like “decade” and “century” storm — much like the storms we experienced here in Phoenix this year.
• The Nashville Music City Center, a 1.2 million square foot convention center, incorporated a unique green roofing design. The wavy roof has three sections that mimic the rolling hills of Tennessee. The design represents the frets and body of a guitar, while the solar panels make up the body itself. The roof was designed to handle 2.6 million gallons of storm water, while acting reduce urban heating.

Of course weight is a consideration when creating green roofing. New innovations in light weight soil and plants have helped, especially when converting older buildings that were not originally designed for green roof spaces.

Finally, the cost of these new roofing systems can seem a bit prohibitive, especially when reviewing educational and public-related projects. However, many of those already using such solutions are stating that they more than make up for the difference in upfront costs through energy bill savings. Moreover, as more and more companies implement green roofing, the price continues to drop.