7.32.USA-8-detail-b green roofs Highlights Relevant to Sustainable Design:
Look into “green” roofs for energy saving through added insulation.
The center of this sketch shows a roof to a rear entrance of a house that is covered with pine needles. The needles collected over the years because the rear of the house is leeward of the wind. As the needles collected, small weeds and grass shoots began to spring up so that now, the roof is entirely green and mossy. One of the white pine trees that surround the house must have also dropped a pinecone in addition to the needles, because a two-foot sapling is growing on the roof. The sapling is probably three to four years old. This is not a recommended strategy for a green roof, but it reminds me of some flowers growing on the thatch roof ridge of a village hut in Japan.
Apparently the flowers were specially selected to hold the roof together as well as decorate the ridge. The flowers have particularly long roots, which help hold the thatch together. Green roofs are gaining some popularity for commercial properties, given the added insulation value that helps reduce energy costs for climate control. The key is to make sure that the plants selected thrive in the regional microclimate and also are drought tolerant so that there is not an added cost of excessive irrigation.
We usually do not associate live plant material with architecture building systems, but in the case of a trellis or arbor, vines like wisteria can be used effectively. In tropical island climates or states like Florida, arbors with floral vines give off great fragrances and also have the capacity to produce edible berries. The result is an architecture that appeals to three senses in addition to sight: smell, taste, and touch. Sound may even be included if the vine leaves rattle under rain or rustle in the wind.
Author and illustrator: Charlie Szoradi is an architect, inventor, and the CEO of Independence LED Lighting. He writes about many other topics related to green roofs through his extensive travels around the world.
If you have found this posting online, it is an excerpt from Mr. Szoradi’s book Learn from Looking that served as the inspiring seed content for this drawing share resource. For additional drawings and insights on green roofs and energy savings, we hope that you enjoy exploring LearnfromLooking.com. You can search via general terms such as sustainability as well as narrower terms such as green roofs and microclimate.
