As the demand for locally grown produce increases, urban communities are becoming more and more creative in finding ways to meet that demand. Urban agriculture can be as simple as windowsill herb gardens or as vast and vibrant as large community gardens that encompass entire city blocks.  

As global interest has increased in passive, energy-saving technologies, cool roofs have received a significant boost in awareness and research over the past year. In both commercial and residential applications, people are discovering the comfort, energy efficiency and climate change mitigation benefits of cool roofs. 

Successful green roofs can be considered “low maintenance.” However, they should never be viewed as “no maintenance.” Not having a maintenance program in place will reduce the overall effectiveness of the initial investment made during installation.

The green movement has taken over our way of thinking. From hybrid cars traveling the streets to reusable shopping bags being offered in grocery stores, we find these green initiatives everywhere we go.

It’s only a matter of time before solar applications will revolutionize the roofing industry, and the sooner roofing contractors see the light, the better off they’ll be.

Completed in the spring of 2008, the cool and green roof demonstration/research project of Ann Arbor, Mich.-based architecture and design firm A3C took place atop its UrbEn Retreat. The project was implemented with the assistance of Firestone Building Products and in collaboration with Prof. Moji Nawab of the University of Michigan’s Sustainable Design Research Lab.

New Jersey’s Atlantic City Convention Center is the largest single roof-mounted, grid-connected solar system in the United States. At almost 500,000 square feet, the project is a huge investment for the city, which wasn’t about to gamble on its new roof. Facility managers wisely chose to enhance their energy saving investment with a durable and highly reflective TPO (thermoplastic polyolefin) roof membrane.

Sustainability and green design are the largest emerging trends driving change in the roofing industry today. Frequently you will find the terms used separately or synonymously, indicating confusion in true meaning.

Garden roofs are a scenic application that is swiftly gaining popularity globally for commercial buildings in metropolitan areas. They are found on convention centers, college campuses, airports and medical facilities, just to name a few.

Designing and choosing a sustainable roofing system is not a new idea to architects. Garden roofing systems give architects another avenue of design while providing building owners the best of all worlds - beauty, innovation and energy efficiency.