Since when do green roofs need to be flat? For countless years, roof tops were the forgotten plane of the building envelope. Relegated to keeping the dry, the rooftop was often only thought of as the convenient place for HVAC elements and similar functions.
Amenity decks began to flourish as building owners used them to attract customers and tenants. Exquisite and luxurious roofpark environments have been successfully created in the process. All of these projects require a roof deck that is relatively flat with minimal slope. This creates a feeling of 2-dimensional space, even with elaborate landscape and structures on the roof.
Fortunately, a number of designers have been looking at 3-dimensional expressions on the roofscape, especially where it manifests in the green roof. They often rely on complex mathematics and ever increasing computing power in developing the geometries of new structures including the roofscape.
Bringing vegetation to the standard flat roof has been a stalwart for the green roof industry around the world for many years. Installing the varied components of green roof assemblies on a flat roof most often don’t have to deal with gravity trying to pull the components down. Even slightly sloped roofs rely on parapets and other simple building building elements to contain the engineered growing media, drainage and plant materials required for a green roof.
The roofing industry has developed assemblies and techniques for steep roof slopes. Most homes have shingle roofs and some of these can have very significant slopes. Metal roofs and some single ply roofing can achieve very steep slopes.
New Technology for Sloped Green Roofs
Adding a green roof to these steeply sloped roofs requires a different approach. American Hydrotech, Inc., (AHI) based in Chicago, Illinois developed an assembly to address this issue while still providing the benefit of a protected membrane roof with insulation. AHI has developed a long term reputation of providing its waterproofing and Garden Roof components on projects where it is anticipated to be a “life of the structure” installation.
In the early 2000’s, the GardNet assembly was researched and developed initially for a mockup for the California Academy of Sciences. The installer and General Contractor (GC) put together a mockup in a parking lot to test the viability of the system. Another method of securement was selected for the sloped areas in the final design.
Read more: GardNet Has Expanded the Range of Roofs That Can Be Greened in the Living Architecture Monitor
Richard C. Hayden, is a GRP and ASLA-Emeritus. He has recently retired as Garden Roof and Blue Roof Department Manager, currently Advisor to American Hydrotech, Inc. (A Sika Company) based in Chicago, Illinois. Richard has a 43-year professional career beginning with 30 years as a private-sector consulting Landscape Architect. Since joining Hydrotech in 2010, Richard has been involved in many of Hydrotech’s iconic projects across the United States and has developed a wide array of Garden Roof and Blue Roof assemblies.
For more information on American Hydrotech, please visit: www.hydrotechusa.com
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