Subdude Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 cool solution: Green roof wins kudos for designHouston Business Journal - June 8, 2007by Thora QaddumiHouston Business JournalA garden roof terrace -- "green roof" -- is helping the Satterfield & Pontikes building at 11000 Equity Drive garner sustainability awards. (See related story on Page 8B.) It's one of several green roofs on Houston-area buildings, says architect Julie Hedricks of Kirksey, which designed and specified the roof.The vegetated roof on the second floor reduces overall heat gain within the building, which was completed in November 2006. It results in greater energy efficiency and water conservation with 12 percent less energy usage than a baseline building, says Kirksey Associate Russell Wooten, project manager.Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 These are great ideas. Better to have plants sucking up the sun and making oxygen than have it absorbed into the building and re-radiated at night.Some cities will actually pay for structural improvements so homeowners can put roof gardens on their homes. I think that's a great idea.Unfortunately, I fear that a lot of roof gardens will eventually go untended. But I guess weeds are better than shingles anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 These are great ideas. Better to have plants sucking up the sun and making oxygen than have it absorbed into the building and re-radiated at night.Some cities will actually pay for structural improvements so homeowners can put roof gardens on their homes. I think that's a great idea.Unfortunately, I fear that a lot of roof gardens will eventually go untended. But I guess weeds are better than shingles anyway.One man's weed is another man's canabis.I don't think the environment would mind. There are actually more green roofs in Houston than I imagined. They don't have to cover the entire roof, either. Planters placed alongside a walkway still lower the rooftop temperature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 a roof like this is also considerably more expensive. just installing a lighter colored roof makes a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Marty Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 I remember a PBS program showing a roof top garden on a mid rise apartment. They would have to get rid of the ugly satellite dishes and antennas on the Chase and Wells Fargo buildings, but it think it would be nice too have maybe a bunch of Crepe Myrtles on top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 I remember a PBS program showing a roof top garden on a mid rise apartment. They would have to get rid of the ugly satellite dishes and antennas on the Chase and Wells Fargo buildings, but it think it would be nice too have maybe a bunch of Crepe Myrtles on top.How about some oaks? Just think of the pedestrians dodging 200 MPH acorns every Spring! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Marty Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 The skyline would look good with some Live Oaks on top of the buildings from a distance it would look like Bonsai trees, but we would have to enforce HardHat zones 50 feet from the entrances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted June 12, 2007 Author Share Posted June 12, 2007 Oddly enough, roof gardens are an old idea. In Houston the Savoy, Milby Hotel, Rossonian, and I think the Rice all had roof gardens at some point. Great idea for energy savings, but the dirt is quite heavy and the roof must need some extra support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasArchitect Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 a roof like this is also considerably more expensive. just installing a lighter colored roof makes a difference.exactly right. money is what draws ppl away from doing this. there was a client that was all into having a garden roof, but when the bids came in he took it out of with a quickness. ppl don't realize how expensive this is.lighter color roof and solar fans make big diff. plus there are a variety of ways to accomplish energy savings with a roof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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