Green Roofs

[Breezyfingers]

[ChicagoChicago]

^^^^ Was that from your work? You can see the building I work in from there, 200 N LaSalle. What is on the roof of the building across from the Thompson Center? They have been trying to grow something up there for years, what gives?

[Breezyfingers]

From the top of a parking garage thereabouts. I have no idea what they're growing up there.

[Harold92]

I'm pretty sure thats a "green roof". I'm not sure how they work, but I guess they have certain enviromental benefits.

[ChicagoChicago]

They actually get tax breaks from the city. Calling that thing a green roof is generous. From that angle it is green, but from above, it's nothing but weeds.

[BorisMolotov]

Actually, I'm sure that they are lowlying semiarid plants that are probably some type of grass. It really doesn't matter what grows on a green roof, so long as something does. They probably don't allow rooftop access for tenants anyway.

[Muskavon]

Originally Posted by BorisMolotov

Actually, I'm sure that they are lowlying semiarid plants that are probably some type of grass. It really doesn't matter what grows on a green roof, so long as something does. They probably don't allow rooftop access for tenants anyway.

yeah, staying a bit off topic, I'd have to think the point would be to plant something that could sustain itself in the environment and not be high-maintenance like a perfect lawn (defeating the purpose). But does this work better overall than just painting roofs white and reflecting heat?

[Taft]

Originally Posted by Muskavon

yeah, staying a bit off topic, I'd have to think the point would be to plant something that could sustain itself in the environment and not be high-maintenance like a perfect lawn (defeating the purpose). But does this work better overall than just painting roofs white and reflecting heat?

Almost certainly, yes. Some of that heat will be absorbed by the vegetation, preventing it from being reflected back into the air/atmosphere and warming the surrounding environment. Further, the plants will consume CO2 and produce oxygen, as well as acting as a "net" of sorts for various pollutants, helping with air quality. Finally, a green roof absorbs a great deal of rain water, preventing that water from flowing into the sewers during hard rains...a benefit for our waste water systems.

IMO, green roofs are a GREAT idea, even if they aren't enjoyed by tenants.

Taft

[woodrow]

^^ the City / County building is half planted (city) and half old school (county). And the green roof works

From asla.org -

Client Statement: The City of Chicago Department of Environment (DOE) initiated the City Hall Rooftop Garden Pilot Project as part of the Urban Heat Island Initiative with the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The rooftop garden was designed to test its cooling effects and its ability to sustain a variety of plants in three different depths of growing media. Monitoring of the plants, birds and insects is underway. Results from monitoring the cooling effects during the garden's first summer showed a roof surface temperature reduction of 70 degrees and an air temperature reduction of 15 degrees

[Nowhereman1280]

As far as why they don't grow anything more than the grassy plants you see goes, its because there is only a couple inches of soil on the roof, not enough to grow trees in. What people in Chicago seem to have found is that the best plants for growing on our roofs are actually native prairie grasses, which appear to be what are planted on that roof. Some roofs also grow succulents, but those have a much harder time weathering our winters while prairie plants just eat that up...

[F1 Tommy]

I think the Chicago "green program" is over blown. Although it may be a good idea, it would do even better if we all stopped driving huge SUV's and put a recycle program together that worked! Why the Chicago Police need a
fleet of huge SUV,s is also beyond me.

[BTinSF]

CA Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park (Renzo Piano architect)


Source: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2152/...041ba72a_b.jpg


Image source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...carollloyd.DTL

[Chicago Shawn]

Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280

As far as why they don't grow anything more than the grassy plants you see goes, its because there is only a couple inches of soil on the roof, not enough to grow trees in. What people in Chicago seem to have found is that the best plants for growing on our roofs are actually native prairie grasses, which appear to be what are planted on that roof. Some roofs also grow succulents, but those have a much harder time weathering our winters while prairie plants just eat that up...

Its a modular tray system with a soil depth of 2-4". This is planted with a verity of sediums, a drought tolerant plant which soaks up water during rainfall and stores it in pods. Prairie grasses need deeper dirt because they store water underground in an extensive root system. With green roofs, deeper soil means much heavier weight, because the soil holds more water; necessitating a more robust structure to support it. The sediums do the job just fine, and often as other wild seeds get carried in by the wind other native plants can be found growing naturally after a year or two.

[Chicago Shawn]

Originally Posted by F1 Tommy

I think the Chicago "green program" is over blown. Although it may be a good idea, it would do even better if we all stopped driving huge SUV's and put a recycle program together that worked! Why the Chicago Police need a
fleet of huge SUV,s is also beyond me.

Green roof benefits go way beyond air quality. They also help with energy conservation, extend the lifetime of a roofing membrane and also immensely help with storm water runoff. Storm water runoff is a big issue in Chicago with our combined sewer system, and if we had more green roofs and permeable surfaces, we would not need to continue construction on the world's largest sewer project and instead turn the deep tunnel into a deep subway.

[America 117]

The chicago city hall green roof.
this pic is from:http://blog.miragestudio7.com/2008/0...ago-city-hall/

[Breezyfingers]

Tried to get a little closer:

[America 117]

How green roofs work
this is from:http://www.lid-stormwater.net/greenroofs_home.htm

[America 117]

http://www.artic.edu/webspaces/green...roofs/main.htm
Chicago green roofs website.
Take a look!!!!!

[Aleks]

AoS has a great green roof. I wish it was more greener though. Every time I looked at the renderings and saw the green roof I was amazed but it hasn't grown enough to look that way.

I took this picture of the new SAM (Seattle Art Museum) which also has a green roof and some trees too. It's and old pic from like 2006 so it might look different now. The structures that are mostly getting green roofs here are houses.

[The Dirt]

Here is the green roof of the EPA region 8 building in Denver:




Brought to you by: http://www.epa.gov/region8/greenroof/