"Past, Present & Future: Roofing"
"Here Comes the Sun"
"Life Getting a Bit Greener at Saint Xavier"
"From the Ground Up: Going Green"
"Roof Gardens a Cure for Water Runoff?"
"Making a Profit and a Difference"
"Hospitals Go 'Green' to Cut Toxins, Improve Patient Environment"
"New Green Roof System Reduces Need for Costly Irrigation"
"California's First Green Hotel to Open"
"DEP Office Exemplifies Green Building"
"Hines, CalPERS Seed Nation's First Green Fund"
"Solar by Rule, That's the Plan"
"6,000 Sedum Plants Green Up Roof on Refurbished Building"
"Silicon Valley Sets Its Sights on Solar Power"
"Energy-Efficient Buildings Across 10 States to Open Doors October 7"
"Army Says It's Easier Being Green"

National Roofing Contractors Association Executive Vice President Bill Good says the evolution of roofing products that are environmentally safe and energy efficient has been the "real trend" since 2001. He comments, "We're having a lot of discussion in the industry [regarding] roofs that are reflective and emissive — roofs that keep buildings cool." Roofs that are highly reflective in brown, gray and white shades lessen ambient temperature in a facility by reflecting the sun's energy away from the building. As a result, the cooling load is lowered, a larger amount of energy efficiency in a building is created and it is less expensive. "We're at this wonderful place in the transformation," Good states. "We're not only doing a good thing, but we also can make it economically worthwhile." Green roofs are another trend that has appeared. Plants and planting materials replace typical roofing materials such as tiles, shingles or ballast. Although each system differs in regards to the amount of layers and layer placement, every green roof has one or more layers, a drainage system, growing media and plants that blanket the whole surface of the roof. Such systems help increase the energy efficiency of a building, make oxygen for the environment and dry up run-offs from stormwater. Good believes that in the future, there will be greater dependence on metal roofs, and that the sector is also witnessing the initial generation of commercial roofs with photovoltaic cells incorporated into PVC membranes.
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In September, the Whole Foods Distribution Center in Cheshire, Conn., took the wraps off a huge solar photovoltaic system on its rooftop. Company officials report that the 121-kilowatt system is designed to provide 10 percent of the facility's total energy needs. It is made up of more than 1,000 Evergreen Solar Modules that weigh around 30 pounds each. In total, the system is five times bigger than the second-largest solar installation in the state. Jennifer McDonnell, Whole Foods' Green Mission Specialist, states, "This project is a practical example of how a large corporation like Whole Foods can use renewable energy generated at their own facilities to offset the usage from the grid, which is generally nonrenewable resources." The retailer has other solar installations throughout the Northeast, including two in New Jersey and a third in Rhode Island. The funding for the Connecticut installation was provided by SunEdison of Maryland and the utility-supported Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. Future projects for SunEdison include a 723-kilowatt solar-electric rooftop at the Coastal Pacific Foods Distribution Center in Ontario, Calif.
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The $9 million Rubloff Hall at Saint Xavier University in Chicago is one of the nation's few "green" student dormitories. The five-story building features a green roof equipped with a material that reflects sunlight and enough sedum plants to cover 1,000 square feet. The plants help reduce rain runoff and enhance cooling and heating. Students are not allowed on the roof in an effort to keep green features as unobtrusive as possible. The 88-bed building is expected to use 30 percent less energy compared to similar residence halls, reports facilities management assistant vice president Paul Matthews. He adds, "Our long-term savings will be realized in lower utility bills that will add up over 10 or 20 years." Other energy saving features include lighting that is turned on by sensors, water faucets that turn off by themselves and sidewall displacement ventilation.
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SGA Cos. has pledged to begin building an 85-unit condominium project in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Takoma Park, Md., early next year. Dubbed Ecco Park, the development will feature a green roof on which small plants and shrubs will be grown in an effort to reduce the captured heat. If all goes well, the building should be ready for occupancy in the spring of 2008. SGA is a Maryland-based developer.
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A library now being designed in Sarasota County, Fla., will feature a green roof in an effort to help reduce stormwater runoff, save energy and slash air pollution. More roof gardens, also called eco-roofs, are being built globally because they can cut rain runoff by as much as 80 percent. They also help reduce the need for retention ponds, which in Florida typically have algae problems. These ponds are intended to prevent contaminants like nitrogen from entering waterways. County Commissioner Jon Thaxton states, "We know we have a problem, and we're looking at things that can reduce the pollutants going into the waterways." Green roofs also help buildings stay cooler by as much as 50 degrees. Chicago currently has the most eco-roofs nationwide as a result of the efforts of its mayor, Richard M. Daley, who installed the city's first garden on the roof of City Hall six years ago. A city official says the initiative saved Chicago $5,000 yearly in utility bills. Martin P. Wanielista, director of the stormwater academy at the University of Central Florida, says a 2,400-square-foot green roof atop a chemical storage facility in Bonita Bay has successfully withstood four hurricanes. Roof gardens usually have a life span of 50 years in areas where they have been tested and cost about $5 to $30 per square foot.
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Michigan-based Bazzani Associates has made a name for itself in the Midwest, specializing in restoring old buildings using such environmentally friendly techniques and tools as green roofs. Company founder Guy L. Bazzani states, "We found that we can build green buildings that utilize 40 percent to 50 percent less energy at the same price as traditional buildings... . When people come to me, I'm their first choice, a locally owned business that can produce at value." Bazzani's green roofs are covered with plants to reduce building temperatures and manage stormwater runoff. Bazzani also is leading a charge in his home market of Grand Rapids to convince other local businesses to embrace social responsibility and promote environmental health. To this end, he founded the Local First organization, which is currently composed of more than 250 independent businesses in the metro area. A similar movement is afoot in Bellingham, Wash., where the local Balle nonprofit network has helped the city of 80,0000 retain its commercial uniqueness as a community of small businesses rather than chain stores.
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Hospitals can be breeding grounds for illness and disease that stem from building materials, medical waste, hospital supplies and cleaning products. Hospitals also house volatile compounds, which can be released into the air from floor boards, carpets and finish materials. The hospital industry has already begun a $200 billion construction project to replace or rebuild hospitals over the next 10 years to remedy these issues. The newer facilities will be sustainable in terms of design and structure to conserve energy, utilize light and materials more efficiently and reduce emissions of pollutants. Kaiser has implemented rooftop solar panels on its latest center in California to reduce energy consumption, as well as permeable pavement materials to filter chemicals from rainwater runoff and rubber-covered floors. Experts note that though no direct link has been made between illnesses among humans and PVC, Healthcare Without Harm suggests that those potentially harmful effects be taken into account when hospitals are reviewing their current air quality and other environmental factors.
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Columbia Green Technologies is rolling out its water-efficient Advanced Vegetative Root System (AVRS), a new green roof system that uses patented Zeba-branded moisture release technology to reduce maintenance costs and establish vegetation faster. The product is aimed at landscape designers, city planners, architects, building owners and developers. Benefits range from improved stormwater management to a reduction in the urban heat-island effect to improved air quality. "With AVRS, we can keep the soil moist and reduce the need for irrigation systems by using Zeba starch-based superabsorbent in our soil mix," explains Columbia President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Carpenter. "In our research and commercial installations, we find Zeba gives us faster and more complete stand establishment in the critical first year, using far less water." Water is retained and released as the plant roots need it by Zeba's sponge-like granules. Zeba brand chief marketing officer Larry Logan reports that his firm's superabsorbent is distinct from other superabsorbents in its nontoxicity and biodegradability because it is based on corn starch. Although green roofing has been popular in Europe for the past two decades, it has only recently begun to be embraced in the U.S.
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The new Orchard Garden Hotel in San Francisco is the first hotel built in California to meet every aspect of national green building standards from foundation to rooftop. Construction manager Oliver Dibble says 75 percent of all material used in the construction process was "from recycled sources." The hotel is scheduled to open in late October to early November. Hotel owner S.C. Huang is an 83-year-old widow who has dedicated her environmentally friendly building to the memory of her husband and other family members. The lodging also is meant to "make people aware of the importance of living in a clean environment," she says.
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New buildings designed for the state government in Pennsylvania must be green, but the state's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Southeast Regional Office in Norristown outdoes most of its peers. Completed in 2004, its features include air vents and electrical and phone wiring installed in the floors instead of the ceilings to allow individuals to more easily regulate office temperatures and lower energy costs. Additionally, the building's roof is lined with containers for plants that not only add to its beauty, ut increases its useful life. "We estimate it will double the life expectancy of the roof," says Heather Cowley, regional pollution prevention manager in the DEP's office of energy and technology deployment, adding that the roof provides both insulation and reuse of rainwater. "In Germany, pretty much everyone has to have one of these to head off stormwater problems... . People like to use it for their breaks."
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Hines has joined with CalPERS to dedicate $120 million of equity to serve as the launch pad for America's first "Green Development Fund." Company officials calculate that the leverage equity will result in $500 million worth of ground-up construction of LEED, pre-certified office structures in several major U.S. markets. The joint venture got its first experience with LEED certification with an office structure in Atlanta, which held the distinction of being the world's first Silver pre-certified high-rise building. Hines' other LEED buildings include the Michelson Office Tower in Irvine, Calif., and another office building in Illinois. Additionally, it has five projects currently registered with the LEED existing buildings pilot program. Dan Rashin, fund manager for Texas-based Hines, notes, "It does cost more to do a LEED-certified building if you develop an A class building. If you're careful, you don't need to substitute premium to justify the building."
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The council of Waverley in New South Wales, Australia, is mulling a plan under which every property in the community would be required to erect solar roof systems. The council would create a sustainability committee that would consist of councilors and experts in climate change and building sustainability. Waverley Mayor Mora Main remarks, "Moving towards a 'solar Waverley' may soon see all our rooftops sporting solar panels." The committee will provide guidance on such things as using solar technology for hot water and space heating, passive solar design and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Possible modifications to planning rules would also be considered to optimize solar use. However, the Productivity Commission in a 2005 study recommended that the Australian Building Codes Board should attempt to prevent local governments from creating variations in buildings' energy efficiency standards. "The costs associated with local government area-based variations in energy efficiency standards are potentially higher than for state and territory-based ones ... because they can cause a higher degree of regulatory fragmentation and uncertainty," stated the commission.
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More than 6,000 sedums have been planted on the roof of the Hempfield Campus' GreenForge building in Pittsburgh. This structure will house the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development agency once it reopens in December. The sedums were planted in an absorbent soil mixture, above a layer of rubber baffling, two layers of "filter fabric" and a watertight membrane to stop leaks. "We're trying to make this campus an alternative energy showcase," reports Westmoreland Conservation District Chief Executive Officer Greg Phillips. The hope is that the sedums will capture and gradually release water from precipitation in an effort to control runoff, insulating the building to ensure that it is cool during summer and warm during winter. Air purification and sound absorption are additional advantages of the plants.
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In California's Silicon Valley, engineers and manufacturers are striving to improve the efficiency of solar cells and chips while making them less expensive. California intends to surpass Germany and Japan as the globe's biggest market for solar products through the state's "Million Solar Roofs" initiative. That program is distributing $3 billion in rebates to citizens who buy and erect rooftop solar panels. The solar power market is also expected to grow as a result of California's groundbreaking global warming law that seeks to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent during the next 14 years. Meanwhile, Applied Materials has unveiled plans to markets tools used for making solar cells, including a technology that can be applied to "thin film" solar cells that are sprayed onto flat surfaces. The market for such equipment is expected to expand three-fold to $3 billion during the next four years. Although solar energy is still two times to three times costlier than fossils fuels, interest is growing as a result of enhanced technology, concerns about the reliability of the power grid and higher fossil fuel prices.
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The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) has put together a national tour to give the public the opportunity to visit selected private homes, businesses and public buildings that are built to environmentally friendly and energy-saving standards. This 2006 Green Buildings Open House began on Oct. 7, 2006, and it will be held at various sites in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and all six New England states. Technologies for integrating photovoltaics on or into the shell of a building to produce electricity will be on display. Solar hot water technology, wind-power technologies, passive solar, water-saving technologies and green materials also will be featured. "Many people feel that our country's energy problems, global warming and fuel costs are beyond our control," says NESEA executive director David Barclay. "The Green Buildings Open House shows specific steps we all can take." In 2005, more than 10,000 people visited the Open House sites. Further information on events and specific sites is available online at www.NESEA.org.
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In Pennsylvania, Tobyhanna Army Depot environmentalists assert that they are the first to plant a garden on the rooftop of a U.S. Department of Defense building. Depot officials installed the vegetative green roof on a single wing of the headquarters building earlier this summer. The Joint Services Initiative provided funds for the project after being convinced that such a roof would improve the energy performance of the building and extend the roof's life. Environmental Management Division chief Randy Didier remarks, "Whoever thought your roofer would one day be a botanist?" Staffers covered the 14,141-square-foot rooftop with approximately 1,500 pre-planted modules. A total of 16 plants were placed in each module at the nursery and cared for until they were ready to be shipped to the site. Mike Parrent, pollution prevention manager, notes: "We asked for sedum perennials because they are drought- and flood-resistant, retain water and have shallow root systems. Sedum is a low-maintenance shrub that does well in this climate."
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