A living green roof offers so much more than just a beautiful retreat in the middle of the city. It can reduce home heating and cooling costs, reduce stormwater runoff, and even help reduce pollution. The green roof is constructed in several layers. A green roof system usually consists of a water-repellent layer, a root barrier, a drainage system and a soil layer with plants. Green roofs give city dwellers a piece of nature back and offer birds and insects new livelihoods. A look at the following 8 green roofs and roof gardens could inspire you to create your own green roof.
Green roofs as part of sustainable building
The design for this eco-conscious modern home, created by Feldman Architecture, exceeded all of the homeowner's expectations. One of the most impressive highlights is the green roof with terrace. Succulents, aloe plants and Kalanchoe Vivien feel very comfortable in this sunny location.
The house has a number ofsustainable ecological solutions. This also includes energy-efficient lighting, good insulation, recyclable materials and solar systems.
Roof terrace inWest-Hollywood
This modern, two-story single-family home was designed by AUX Architecture and is located in Los Angeles, California. To save space and at the same time make it comfortableOutdoor seating areaTo design it, the architects built a terrace on the roof of a lower part of the building. The roof terrace also serves the function of a balcony because it is accessible directly from the bedroom.
Anatural garden,which hardly requires any care
For the remodel of his family's San Francisco home, designer Peter Liang completed a two-part landscape renovation. With the help of landscape architect Andrea Cochran, he redesigned the backyard and installed a green roof to take advantage of the insulating effect of a green roof. Instead ofwith sedums and succulentsHe planted the roof with native herbaceous plants.
The 53 square meter flat roof now looks like a small hill. Purple thistles, California poppies, meadow clover (red clover) and dandelions have rooted themselves in the approximately ten centimeter deep, light humus soil and form a green carpet.
Above allLookhidden
The team at “DUBBELDAM architecture + design” made this Victorian home in Toronto larger and more energy efficient. Sustainable concepts and energy efficiency played a very important role in the renovation. The company reduced the need for air conditioning and artificial lighting through carefully planned doors and windows that allow natural light and fresh breezes into the home.
Floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors lead to a sunny roof terrace that is completely protected from prying eyes. The green roof absorbs rainwater and ensures natural cooling of the rooms. It's a lovely little oasis of calm with plants that bloom at different times of the year.
Hausin the industrial area of Brooklyn
On the site of a former parking garagein the heart of South Brooklyn, the architect Philippe Baumann created a home for his family. The green plants on the roof garden form a contrast to the gray backdrop offered by the rapidly changing industrial area.
A mixture of native wild grasses, flowers, fruit and vegetable plants grows on the building's green roof. The idea of having their own kitchen garden in the city excites the residents of the house and they enjoy spending their free time together gardening.
Green roofsandUrban Gardening
Here is another example of growing flowers and vegetables on the roof. There are low raised beds made of cedar wood where the residents can garden in peace. The roof terrace is framed by railings made of aluminum mesh and black corrugated metal panels for greater safety. Ornamental grasses are planted along the front of the flat roof to serve as a privacy screen.
FunctionalRoom layouton the roof
What would be the result if you gave a few designers unlimited scope for creativity and a very limited budget? For Andrew Dunbar and Zoe Astrakhan, the possibilities were limitless. The backyard, which is shaded by neighboring houses, gets little sun. This made the roof the perfect place for a vegetable garden, as well as benches and a terrace for relaxing. The highlight on the roof terrace is the whirlpool, which is powered by a 4 kilowatt solar system.
Modular IPE wooden tiles are used to create the roof garden because they allow easy access to irrigation pipes. They are used not only as floor coverings, but also to cover the whirlpool and raised beds. In this way, they combine the different parts of the roof garden into a larger whole.
Barefoot ondemRunning on the lawn
This project presents a sophisticated renovation of a three-story, 19th-century townhouse in Manhattan. A green oasis is designed on the roof, which promotes connection with nature. At the customer's request, the roof is covered in red fescue. This creates a wild and untouched look and the green roof offers a natural experience similar to “walking through a field”.
