Green roofs have increased in popularity over recent year, but as well as their aesthetic appear, green roofs provide a positive investment into the environment. At CAT, the application of green roofs has been used throughout many of their building, although each green roof composes of different materials which each have their alternative properties.

TYPES OF GREEN ROOF

As a group we discussed how green roofs are spilt into two main categories;

A green roof represents a roof which had had greenery place upon it like moss and grass, whereas a brown roof could also have both moss and grass, but in particular contains the plant life which was on (or surrounding) the existing site to which the building sits. Then within these categories of green roof comes two different forms;

In a cityscape, a Thermal Island is created by the escape of heat from the compact building layout within the city; this can result in a temperature different of up to 5⁰ in some areas. In theory, if we were to increase the amount of green roofs within a cityscape, it would not only reduce the loss of the city and decrease the thermal island effect, but also help reduce the accumulation of CO₂ produced within the city.

APPLICATION TO PROJECT

Within our brief, the client has requested at least one green roof space on top of the school. At design and planning stage, it can be argued that there is room for two separated green roofs on top of the building, where each green roof could provide different functions; one extensive for walking upon or using as a social space, and one intensive to be used for food growth. However this is dependent on the school kitchens (whether they will be incorporated within this extension or not) and the policies of the school to grow their own food. The load in which these roofs will create should not be an issue due to the primary frame being cast in-situ concrete.

COMPANIES/SUPPLIERS

Bauder - http://www.bauder.co.uk/green-roofs

Sedum Green Roof - http://www.sedumgreenroof.co.uk/

Blackdown Green Roof - http://www.blackdown.co.uk/green-roofs/

ADDITIONAL LINKS

Green Roof Guide - http://www.greenroofguide.co.uk/

Green Roof Centre - http://www.thegreenroofcentre.co.uk/