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Green Roofs Changing Urban Landscapes
May 22, 2008 09:28 AM
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Vegetated rooftops are showing up in surprising places, including Major League Baseball stadiums and New York City factories.
30-Second Summary
MSNBC reports that green roofs topped with grasses, succulents and other vegetation are being built across the United States and Canada due to increasing efforts to prevent pollution, lower energy costs and thwart runoff.
Baseball stadiums, including the Nationals ballpark in Washington D.C., are among the unlikely places where green roofs are being built, thanks in part to 1970s German research into “lightweight, low-maintenance green roof systems,” said the MSNBC article.
Several areas of New York City have created green roofs, including buildings in the Bronx, and a factory in Brooklyn. In the Big Apple, buildings produce 79 percent of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s goal is to cut greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2030.
According to a 2002 Time magazine article, green architecture was not embraced by mainstream builders in the U.S. until the 1990s. States started tax-incentive programs for green construction once legislators realized eco-friendly buildings would cost less to heat and cool over the long term.
High costs and the added weight of soil and moisture remain issues for some builders. However, studies show that green roofs are more cost effective than conventional roofs over time, and lightweight green roofs are available.
Baseball stadiums, including the Nationals ballpark in Washington D.C., are among the unlikely places where green roofs are being built, thanks in part to 1970s German research into “lightweight, low-maintenance green roof systems,” said the MSNBC article.
Several areas of New York City have created green roofs, including buildings in the Bronx, and a factory in Brooklyn. In the Big Apple, buildings produce 79 percent of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions. Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s goal is to cut greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2030.
According to a 2002 Time magazine article, green architecture was not embraced by mainstream builders in the U.S. until the 1990s. States started tax-incentive programs for green construction once legislators realized eco-friendly buildings would cost less to heat and cool over the long term.
High costs and the added weight of soil and moisture remain issues for some builders. However, studies show that green roofs are more cost effective than conventional roofs over time, and lightweight green roofs are available.
Headline Links: The green-roof boom
MSNBC reports that “green roofs are sprouting across North America” as a means to prevent pollution, lower energy costs, lessen runoff, and add aesthetic value. The structures are being built in unusual places like the Ford factory in Michigan. The growing demand for green architecture is “fueling a boom for landscape architects, growers, builders and consultants in the know,” as the trend is considered a long-term investment for businesses and communities.
Source: MSNBC
According to Newsweek, the Washington D.C. city council insisted that the new, $611 million Nationals Park would be the first major sports stadium to earn an LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating from the U.S. Green Building Council, in part to “lure the Expos from Montreal.”
Source: Newsweek
The roof of the Linda Tool and Dye metal fabrication factory in Red Hook, Brooklyn is going to become green, thanks to $250,000 in federal funding for the project, according to a January 2008 greenbuildingsnyc.com report. The roof will be installed in 2008, and is expected to prevent the frequent overflowing of Brooklyn’s sewers by absorbing half a million gallons of water per year.
Source: greenbuildingsnyc.com
Background Links: Following Germany’s lead
According to this 2002 Time magazine article, mainstream U.S. builders started embracing green architecture in the 1990s. As states started offering incentive programs, a new generation of environmentally conscious architects was emerging, one that was excited about incorporating the Earth into their designs.
Source: Time
In a WNYC radio interview in April 2007, New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg said that according to the city’s first-ever comprehensive inventory of carbon emissions, 79 percent of emissions came from buildings. Later in the interview, Fordham-Bedford Housing Corporation representatives discuss a green building in the middle of the Bronx, featuring a green roof with “a carpet of succulents” that had been in place for nearly a year.
Source: WNYC.org
Related Links: The weight and cost of green roofs
An article in The Age newspaper from Melbourne, Australia, said that Australia lags behind the United States and Europe in green building projects. Money is part of the problem, according to green roof consultant John Stephens. Others agree, including Stuart Tyler of the Dutch green roof company Fytogreen: “Developers all want to say their building is 'green', and lots of them are looking at us now for their upcoming buildings.”
Source: The Age
According to an April 3, 2008, report in the New York Times, a new affordable housing project was built “green on a budget.” The David and Joyce Dinkins Gardens on West 153 St. in Harlem is an 85-unit building with various green attributes. The building is housing foster care individuals and economically struggling families.
Source: New York Times
The blog Insource Outsource addressed the issue of green-roof weight, a potentially debilitating feature. The added weight of soil and moisture is too much for some buildings to handle, according to blogger J. Thornburg, who is interested in design.
Source: Insource Outsource
Reference: Green roof resources for designers and builders
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities offers green-roof training programs, conference information, designer training and accreditation programs, and a GreenSave calculator for comparing the cost of green roofing with conventional roofing systems.
Source: Green Roofs for Healthy Cities
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