Rooftops Reimagined

Rooftops Reimagined

Emilio Ancaya Explores How A Green Roof In North Carolina Promotes Biodiversity, Combats Rising Temperatures, and Reduces Stormwater Runoff

Nestled on Lexington Avenue in the heart of downtown Asheville is an apartment building that offers a unique and distinguishable feature. Situated on top of the building is a beautiful 8,200 sq ft green roof that can be seen and enjoyed by surrounding buildings, guests at a neighboring hotel pool deck, and people walking the city’s hilly streets.

The Green Roof On An Apartment Building in Asheville

The roof is a meadow supporting a diverse plant community focused on pollinator habitat and food sources. It seems only appropriate since Asheville was the first city in the United States to be certified as a Bee City USA.

Native plant species with high pollinator value – such as Asclepias tuberosa, Eryngium yuccifolium, Pycnanthemum muticum, and Rudbeckia fulgida – were selected to promote biodiversity and a thriving urban habitat for pollinators such as bees, moths, butterflies and birds.

Liatris, Solidago and Rudbeckia Bloom In Late Spring and Into Summer

Beginning in the spring and continuing through fall, the roof teems with different species of pollinators doing important work. During the winter, seed heads and old flower stalks provide food and habitat for permanent bird residents.

Installed in tandem with the building's construction in 2017, the green roof system begins above the roof membrane. It includes a roof protection layer (a fleece fabric made from recycled materials), a drainage layer, filter fabric and green roof growing media. The growing media is composed of a blend of expanded slate, compost and fines (such as sand). The growing depth is six inches to support a diversity of plant species.

Toward the end of the building's construction, a crane lifted the materials to the roof for the crew to install. Once the growing media was prepared, an irrigation system was installed. Then the plants were arranged according to the planting plan, planted and watered in. The roof continues to be maintained with monthly visits during the growing season.

The green roof helps serve as an important counterweight to rising temperatures in downtown Asheville by keeping the apartment's rooftop temperature cooler during the hottest months

From providing breathtaking views and access to nature in an atypical locale, this green roof features an array of benefits. Asheville faces climate challenges related to increasing temperatures associated with the urban heat-island effect and a documented reduction in the city’s urban tree canopy. The green roof helps serve as an important counterweight to rising temperatures in downtown Asheville by keeping the apartment’s rooftop temperature cooler during the hottest months.

Bee Balm and Mountain Mint Support a Wide Variety of Native Pollinators

The roof also serves as an extraordinary stormwater management tool. A stormwater analysis for this green roof modeled the total stormwater retained and detained at peak flow levels using historical rainfall data. The study found that this green roof retains all rainfall up to one inch of rain and annual prevents over 100,000 gallons of stormwater from entering public storm drains. Rainwater is absorbed by the plants, then released into the atmosphere through evapotranspiration.

Even for a 10-year storm and a 25-year storm, the roof reduces total runoff volume by 69% and 59%, respectively. This can have a major effect in reducing the amount of water rushing into our stormwater system during historical weather events, thereby reducing the potential for damaging flooding and overburdening our stormwater infrastructure.

Green roofs like this one can have a dramatic effect on preventing pollutants and sediments from rushing into storm drains and ultimately making their way to creeks, streams and rivers. Because of their ability to retain and detain stormwater, green roofs serve as a useful tool for meeting municipal stormwater requirements. They also can afford more flexibility to designers who may no longer need an underground cistern or retention pond to meet city stormwater management requirements.

In addition to the environmental benefits of promoting biodiversity, combating rising downtown temperatures, improving air quality and helping reduce stormwater runoff, green roofs provide compelling economic benefits. Green roofs extend the lifespan of a traditional roof by at least three times, significantly reducing the costs of maintaining a roof over time. By helping control temperatures during the city’s hotter months, the roof also reduces costs for cooling the apartment building

As property owners continue to adopt green roof technology, we can envision a future where the city’s rooftops provide crucial habitat with newly created biological corridors. And we can imagine a day when green roofs can help Asheville become a more resilient city in facing emerging climate challenges.

About Emilio Ancaya

Emilio Ancaya, GRP (Green Roof Professional), is the cofounder of Living Roofs Inc., a green-roof company based in Asheville. He has designed, supervised and installed green roof projects across the country.

www.livingroofsinc.com

About Green Building Alliance

This article originally appeared in the 2020 issue of the Green Building Directory, published annually by the nonprofit Green Built Alliance in Asheville. Green Built Alliance has a 20-year history of advancing sustainability in the built environment by administering green-building certifications such as Green Built Homes.

www.greenbuilt.org