Number of acres of green roofs in Chicago: 24.5
Millennium Park, the largest green roof in the world, covering two parking garages, a railway and an opera hall:
 |
| photo by Vito Palmisano for PBS |
Number of green roofs on City, County, State owned buildings in Tallahassee: ZERO
Chicago response to increasing high temperatures in their city is a plan to add
. . .green space and vegetation wherever they can, which has a natural cooling effect.
Chicago's City Hall, for example, contains a spectacular rooftop garden. From native woodland grasses to sunflowers and asters, plants arranged in radiating bands of color bloom throughout the seasons in a sunburst pattern. The roof, 12 stories high, contains 23,000 square feet of more than 100 plant species.
"It's really the Rolls-Royce of green roofs." said Michael Berkshire who administers green projects for the city. Some areas of the roof have rolling terrain with an added 18-inch layer of soil to support trees and shrubs. A rainwater collection system irrigates the roof and several bee hives pollinate the many flower varieties.
If every rooftop in Chicago was covered with a green roof, the city could save $100 million in energy every year.
From the PBS series, Coping with Climate Change, which broadcast in October 2012, the full report is here.
Here's a look at Green Roof performance in high winds, rating green roofs a good idea in hurricane-prone areas and an effective way to capture/redirect rain water: Comprehensive Wind Uplift Study of Modular and Built-in-Place Green Roof Systems, UF Project ID #: 95620, completed for the Florida Building Commission in 2012.
Downtown Tallahassee has a lot of rooftops------
_____________________________________________
0 comments:
Post a Comment