The 10 golden rules for Green Roof design!
1. Know the permissible load of the structure and do not exceed it until the end of the work!
2. Design and implement the correct waterproofing system and protect it until the project is completed!
After the end of the work the Green Roof will protect the waterproofing system.
3. Find the balance between retaining and delaying (buffering) as much free clean rainwater as possible and quickly draining the water that is in excess!
4. Use only HIPS drainage composite (never separate layers or HDPE)!
5. Always use a waterproof layer of hydrophilic mineral wool!
This is valid both in extensive roofs (because of the huge difference in water retention) and in intensive roofs (mainly to prevent clogging of the geotextile by the small particles of the intensive substrate, which almost always includes soil, treated or/and enriched).
6. Use the right substrate and vegetation!
7. Design all details correctly and monitor their implementation!
8. Find and work with the right fellow designers, supervisors and contractors!
9. Explain to the client what he wants 🙂 !
And don’t accept projects without a green roof!
10. Make your first green roof!
Then you will like it so much that you will never make “non-green” roofs.
Information about Green roofs in Europe:
Bundesverband GebäudeGrün e. V. (BuGG), www.gebaeudegruen.info
German Association of Building Greening
Dr. Gunter Mann, Rebecca Gohlke und Fiona Wolff
Supported by Rebekka Renneberg, Michelle Bruchmüller, Susanne Herfort, Simone Luck, Felix Mollenhauer, Paul Struß, Sylvia van Meegen, Laura Vötig and Tina Weigel
Green roofs in Basel, Switzerland: combining mitigation and adaptation measures, 2020
Zurich University of Applied Sciences Wädenswil (ZHAW) and Green and Blue Space Adaptation for Urban Areas and Eco Towns (GRaBS) project
Published by the European Federation of Green Roof and Green Wall Associations (EFB) and Livingroofs.org on behalf of the Greater London Authority, written by Gary Grant and Dusty Gedge of The Green Infrastructure Consultancy Ltd (GIC).
European Tree Planting Standard
Green Roof Growing Substrates: Types, Ingredients,
Composition and Properties
Peter A.Y. Ampim, John J. Sloan, Raul I. Cabrera, Derald A. Harp, and Fouad H. Jaber – Texas A & M University
AgriLife Research and Extension Urban Solutions Center,Dallas, TX 75252
Much more to come!
Here you will find information about:
Prerequisites for designing a green roof and parking-roof:
- Advantages and characteristics of different types of roofs
- Current building standards
- Types of loads
- Types of roofs (cold, warm, “inverted” and without thermal insulation)
- Types of thermal insulation systems
- Details (on board, on facade, water intakes and other roof elements)
- Roof slopes
- Roof drainage
- Fall protection
- Fire protection
- Wind load
- Maintenance of roofs
Designing the different types of green roofs and parking roofs:
- Structure
- Recommended characteristics of drainage composites
- Sizing the drainage system