A Glimpse At The Future Of Green Roofs

Contributing Monkie

Published on December 17, 2009

Filed Under Architecture / Interior Design Tags ,

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green roof 1 A Glimpse At The Future Of Green Roofs

With the Studio lit, furniture in place and The Real G up and running in Room 101… there’s only one thing left to do: Green the Roof! The roof is already pretty “G” with solar panels, a wind monitoring device (surveying the best location for our wind power) and water runoff going into our gardens. But there is more we can do?

In the old days, big city rooftop gardens were found mostly atop hotels or in the apartments of the elite few who could afford greener pastures in lands of concrete and glass shadows. But today’s rooftop garden industry has gone mainstream: now you, too, can take back the slates, tiles and shingles and exchange them for soil, bulbs and brush.

The units are genius: made of recycled materials, they interlock together and can be customized with whatever plants you want. While there are some structural requirements necessary to put them on your roof, they are a great addition to any space. Imagine going on Google Earth and seeing satellite photos of your neighborhood with green everywhere.

green roof 4 A Glimpse At The Future Of Green Roofs

The benefits of a green roof are numerous:

    -improved air quality
    -storm water runoff management
    -energy efficiency
    -longer roof life
    -habitat creation
    -sound absorption
    -improved aesthetics

Factors to consider include:

    -new construction vs. placement on an existing structure
    -$15-25 per square foot ($160-270 per square meter)
    -similar costs to re-roofing a conventional roof versus installing a new roof on a new building

Green roofs come in different forms: Vegetation mats, Vegetation boxes, Plugs, Potted Plants, Sprigs or Seeds. All will give you erosion control and relatively easy installation and freedom to design. Mats and boxes, however, don’t need weeding so much and require less watering, provided you have built-in storm water retention.

Here at G Living, we’ll need something simple that will be mostly self-sufficient. Succulents do well in our desert climate with its ocean breezes, so we’ll have a variety to choose from.

Stay tuned to G Living when we have Tom Hawkins from FloraSource on the Real G.

If you want to get started right away, click here or here for more information on the benefits of Green Roofs.

green roof 2 A Glimpse At The Future Of Green Roofs

green roof 3 A Glimpse At The Future Of Green Roofs

  • http://gliving.com G MONKIE

    I am not sure.

  • Zeli

    Can you say what is the first picture? Who is architect or give me, please, a link, where it was published…
    Thanks

  • http://gliving.com G MONKIE

    To tell you the truth, I have forgotten. Sorry.

  • http://reneefinberg.blogspot.com renee finberg

    i am extremely intrigued with this.
    i did a post on living walls not too long ago.
    i had started on on rooftop gardens, but
    i need to follow through and find out everything!!!
    everything.
    this would be great here in florida

  • http://topsy.com/tb/bit.ly/8Y0tXn Tweets that mention A Glimpse At The Future Of Green Roofs « G Living | Dark Twisted Space Monkies Go Green — Topsy.com

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Beth Whitfield, Will Gorman. Will Gorman said: RT @EcoStyleGuru: A Glimpse At The Future Of Green Roofs – http://bit.ly/8Y0tXn via @AddToAny [...]

  • Apu Nahasapeemapetilon

    awesome!

  • http://www.roofingandmoreinc.com/ Adam Waterford

    Whoever landscaped that green roof, it was amazing! The variety of colors and plant species made the whole house look like from another planet (in a good way!). Don’t forget to include that Green roofing, which also helps you cool-off the whole house by diffusing all the hot air.

  • http://www.crownresidentialroofing.com/roofing-vancouver Brendan Gertner

    I know, right? And the wooden window covers are a great aesthetic feature as well. If I were to make a summer house in front of a beach, or on top of a hill, I’ll definitely imitate this green roofing design!

  • Guest

    do not post anything without citing then, moron

  • http://www.accentroofing.com/ Louisa Sheedy

    You should also consider if your current roof can actually support THAT much weight, since placing rooftop gardens and green roofs requires so much support for the growing medium and plants alone. If it starts raining, that’s when it gets even heavier.



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