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Green Roof

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Author

Corrie Zoll
Green Institute

A green rooftop is a rooftop that incorporates plants as part of a building’s roofing system. Properly designed, green roofs are stable, living ecosystems that replicate many of the processes found in nature. Green rooftops can provide multiple ecological benefits including stormwater management, water quality improvements, reductions in energy use, air quality improvement and increased wildlife habitat.

Green rooftops are becoming more popular in the Twin Cities as building owners become aware that the ecological benefits listed above are complemented by significant economic benefits. With green rooftops, building owners can see reductions in heating and cooling costs, reductions in stormwater management costs, and a doubling of the life expectancy of a buildings roof membrane.

View a green roof near you:

• Phillips Eco-Enterprise Center (live web cam www.greeninstitute.org)
• Loring Greenway (parts of the path are made up of green rooftops)
• Brit’s Pub
• Minneapolis Central Library (a small portion is visible from the Teen section)
• Minneapolis City Hall (spring 2007)
• Crowne Plaza Hotel 8th floor sky garden

Resources

Resources:

Available at www.greenroofs.com:

  • Green Roof Plants: A Resource and Planting Guide, by Edmund C. Snodgrass and Lucie L. Snodgrass, 2006.
  • Roof Gardens: History, Design, and Construction by Theodore Osmundson.
  • The Green Institute
  • 612-278-7100


Live green roof web cam:

  • www.greeninstitute.org
  • Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, 5th Annual North American Conference. Held in the Twin Cities, May 2007.