Green Roofs and Living Roofs From Around the World - Garden Plants and Gardening Forum

smgardener · 01-13-2008, 02:25 PM

Continuing our interest in Rooftop Gardens, and Vertical Gardens, I went searching for great Green Roofs, and found some amazing projects.

Courtesy of DesignShare

The Singapore Polytechnic school of Art and Design was designed with the environment in mind, integrating this incredible curving green roof into the complex.

Courtesy of Wired

The California Academy of Sciences, which re-opened last year after undergoing an extensive earthquake retrofit, has an incredible green roof. Just growing and installing the massive project required huge amounts of innovation:

Quote:

The nursery that grew the plants for the Academy’s roof, Carmel-based Rana Creek, developed an innovative and sustainable strategy to prevent the plants and soil from sliding down these slopes. Using tree sap and coconut husk fiber, a waste product from coconut plants in the Philippines, they created porous, biodegradable trays in which to grow the Academy’s plants. Three inches deep and 17 inches square, these trays are installed onto the roof like tiles. Within a few weeks, the plants' roots grow from one coconut husk tray into the next, locking the trays together into a tightly woven patchwork quilt of vegetation. A wide grid of rock gabions (wire mesh cages filled with rocks) provides additional support and creates walkways for future roof maintenance.

The Apple Store on North Michigan Avenue in Chicago has an elegant Green Roof designed by Douglas Hoerr.

Apple Store Photos Courtesy of Douglas Hoerr Landscape Architecture

Waldspirale, a building designed by the late great Austrian architect and artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, has a sloping green roof spiraling up around it.

Alexander Deppert, Wikipedia

The ACROS Fukuoka building is a pioneering green structure that was built recently.

Courtesy of Metaefficient

The Australian Parliament Building in Canberra was recently redesigned with a beautiful green roof.

Courtesy of Cridders on Flickr

Peter Vetsch has been designing his "Earth Houses" for many years. The Earth Houses take the concept of Green Roofs even one step further: these are houses built into the earth itself.

Quote:

The earth-house concept uses the ground as an insulating blanket that efficiently protects it from rain, low temperatures, wind and natural abrasion. An earth house does not have to be built under the ground, it can be placed onto naturally grown terrain.

This photo is of the Earth House Estate Lättenstrasse in Dietikon, Switzerland by "Earth" architect Peter Vetsch.

Courtesy of Vetsch Architektur

The Ford Motors Rouge Factory, designed by Bill McDonough, has the world's largest living roof. "At 454,000 square feet, it is the largest living roof in the world, effectively turning the roof into a 10.4-acre garden."

Courtesy of Ford Motors

More photos of green roofs can be seen at the Green Roofs Australia blog.

For more information on Green Roof projects, check out this database of Green Roof projects.

sanmannor · 01-15-2008, 09:50 AM

I really like the idea of these especially Peter Vetsch. but I do not think that such a broad use of concrete is a sustainable implementation. the Cement industry is the 4th contributer to CO2 production

---------
the-shire

fygar · 01-15-2008, 12:50 PM

Nice, I really like the one designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

smgardener · 01-16-2008, 05:35 PM

Here's an old school green roof. Found this image in the Library of Congress collection on Flickr.

Quote:

Lee, Russell,, 1903-, photographer.

Garden adjacent to the dugout home of Jack Whinery, homesteader, Pie Town, New Mexico

1940 Sept.

1 transparency : color.

Notes:
Title from FSA or OWI agency caption.
Transfer from U.S. Office of War Information, 1944.

Subjects:
Dugout houses
Gardens
United States--New Mexico--Pie Town

01-15-2008, 09:50 AM	#2
sanmannor Green Gardener Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 3	sustainibility? I really like the idea of these especially Peter Vetsch. but I do not think that such a broad use of concrete is a sustainable implementation. the Cement industry is the 4th contributer to CO2 production --------- the-shire

01-15-2008, 12:50 PM	#3
fygar Green Gardener Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Willmar, Mn Posts: 14	Nice, I really like the one designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser. __________________ My Blog \| My Business

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