Green Roof Resource

The University of Michigan’s Board of Regents approved the design for the new C.S. Mott Children’s and Women’s Hospital on February 17th. The approved design will also support LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. This successful inclusion of LEED shows that the U-M Health System (UMHS) recognizes the importance of the environment and the building environment in children’s health. While not included in the reports published in The University Record or the Michigan Daily, the decision to do LEED certification would not have occurred without the dedication of several people in the university and external communities including Rachel Baker and Richard Bole. Congratulations on a job well done! It’s not easy changing an institution, but they have helped to pave the way for positive change in construction at the University of Michigan.

Inside the February 2006 issue of Land Development Today, Robert Kundert reports on the green efforts of Rosemann and Associates on their own offices in Kansas City, Missouri. The Grass is Always Greener on the Other Side… of the Roof? summarizes the firm’s efforts to learn green building practices to assist their clients by first installing green technology in their own building.

While the article does not report on data, the firm hopes to compare the performance of their white roof on one half of the building to the performance of the green roof on the other half of the building. Some of the qualitative benefits of the green roof have been observed. Most notable were the creation of an outdoor social area for lunch gatherings and gardening as well as reducing the noise from the HVAC systems on the roof for the employees inside of the building. The life cycle analysis of the building and its components is an ongoing project. The roof was installed in 2004; hopefully they will release some quantitative comparison on the roofs before long.

Margaret Atwood summarizes the many benefits of green roofs in a February 6, 2006 submission to Idea Bank, entitled, “Bloodless Organic Flowers Grown On Tops of Warehouses”. She proposes that the empty warehouse space in Toronto could be put to use to reduce the heat island effect and grow food.
“Someone could make a nice business combining the installation of green roofs and the using of the space to grow organic local flower varieties. …

Once the roofs were in place, the building could actually rent the space for growing, thus profiting twice.”

Idea Bank is part of Reading Toronto a project that enlists the creative artists of the city to provide descriptions and comments on Toronto with the hope of discovering a new way to interpret the city.

EPA has produced a document about smart growth and stormwater best management practices. The document helps communities recognize the benefits to urban water management from smart growth techniques. Approaches covered in the publication include regional planning, infill development and redevelopment, treen and canopy programs, street designs, and stormwater utilities.