When you look at a rooftop, do you see shingles and tar? Or a potential urban prairie? Cities throughout North America are starting to rethink the rooftop and its traditionally dull appearance, searching for ways to trade it in for a newer, greener model. The new Nationals' stadium in DC has one. Vancouver and Minneapolis are in the process of updating their sports arenas with the latest in rooftop gardens as well.Green roofs, as they're called, are quickly becoming fertile ground for architects and urban planners to cultivate beautiful scenery and energy-saving insulation on boring concrete rooftops. Unlike conventional roofing materials like concrete, tar, and sheet metal, green roofs help cities control urban runoff while reducing the urban heat island effect -- which concrete and asphalt are infamous for.
The 'green roof' concept first became popular in Germany back in the 70's, but it's enjoying a fresh new wave of enthusiasm here in the US and Canada, as populations clamor for a more earth-friendly form of development. Most of these systems utilize low-maintenance plants like grasses or succulents that can survive both extreme hot and cold temperatures. It's the more intensive roof gardens that carry the most benefits in terms of conservation and real estate values, however.
Intensive systems, like the one in place on Chicago's City Hall, require more maintenance and deeper growth areas, but they provide more energy savings benefits. Chicago officials estimate that the green roof saves the city about $3,600 annually in heating and cooling costs. If green roofs were adopted throughout the city, they estimate that the city could slash peak energy demand by 720MW.
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