This past week Marni Horwitz lectured on green roofs at the HSNY on 37th street. It was not about flashy public projects or tropical, high maintenance green walls. It was about the type of simple ligtweight, low maintenance green roof that would benefit a building - and collectively benefit the city - and what investment and benefits to realistically expect. And yes, they are still abundant in beauty.
~A few notes from Marni's the lecture, and how you can contact her, after the jump~
At the lecture we all had a chance to help plant a small model green roof. It was very, very easy. And surprisingly lightweight, thanks in part to a special soil called Gaia Mix.
Marni's company is Alive Structures. Take a look at her website to learn more about green roofs (and walls) and see some inspiring pictures of real roofs. She also gives a free first consultation, where you can learn more about the planning, installation and maintenance process.
If you want to learn more online, you may want to take a quick look at G Sky, a Japanese company that manufactures the membranes and modular roof systems used in green roofs. They have an area that details benefits, and another page that shows what the layers of the systems look like.
matt at apartment therapy dot com
Copyright © 2008 Apartment Therapy
these green roofs are a great concept. but what about the every day realities of building maintenance? what if for some reason a crack develops on the underside of the roof or any other structural damage. repairmen will have to get up there and tear through the plant life to diagnose the problem and make the repairs. i once helped tar a friend's roof top because of a leak. i just don't know if covering a building's roof with plant life is realistic. i think it could work if the green roof was erected on a 9 foot platform above the actual building's roof. that way, the maintenance crew and any other contractor would have access to the roof for inspection and repairs AND the green canopy above would still be able to thrive and block the sun from directly hitting the roof.
view peahen's profile
I guess structural problems are a different matter, but problems caused by water filtration and such are preempted by the protection between the actual soil and the roof. They install a whole lot of layers, including a water-proof one, and another one that is designed to drain away excess water from the soil.
And you don't have to completely cover your roof, you could 'green' the areas that aren't used for maintenance and don't have mechanical equipment.
view zanthia's profile
There are also a number of tray systems available, so that sections of the green roof can be removed without having to disturb the entire roof area.
view graphxgrrl's profile
We have to dig up earth to fix sewers, why not roofs?
view SFGail's profile
I like the idea, but it would never work in California. Five minutes after the grass was installed some idiot would let his dog crap on it.
view zazzu's profile
zazzu- who, batman?
the only issue i can see is someone actually taking care of the roof and not letting it get run over with weeds.
view ung's profile
Excellent. I'm forwarding this information to the 'greenies' who keep our 'green dept' going.
Many thanks!
view EAM's profile
they sell trays with sedum and other drought resistant plants so there is virtually no care for the plants involved. paths could be left for building maintenance and the trays can be easily moved for any sort of access.
this should be mandatory for every roof in every city.
can you imagine looking out your apartment window at a city full of green roofs instead of grey or black rooftops. not to mention the benefits of cooling city heat; cooling/retaining heat in the buildings themselves; oxygen; etc.
if i has billions, i would offer these to buildings throughout NYC at no cost or a nominal price. they would catch on like wildfire once word of the benefits started spreading.
view jeffnyc's profile
I'm doing a greenroof right now. THe structural requirements are not that much, 25psf for an intensive (4-6 inches deep) roof. Most houses (in DC anyway) can support that already or can easily and relatively inexpensively be retrofitted. THe cost of a budget intensive greenroof is about $10psf more than a regular roof, because you usually need a new inorganic roof first, then the cost of the greenroof, which is the $10psf. Using trays, the cost is only slightly more than a regular new roof because you don't have to get roof-ready first (they can go on a regular rubber roof).
view greeps's profile
Has anyone seen or done one of these on a NYC townhouse? I'd love to see how it would work. Please let me know.
view coyotejed's profile
I will soon be moving into an apartment building which is just getting started on a green roof - its cooperative housing so residents have to volunteer each month - I'm thinking of volunteering with the gardens and roof. Here is a link on research on the benefits and costs of green roofs in Toronto http://www.toronto.ca/greenroofs/findings.htm.
view peacelily's profile
coyotejed,
look up the the trays on the internet. also, there was an article here on AT:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/green-ideas/water-not-required-green-roof-blocks--003045
view jeffnyc's profile