June 7, 2009
EDITORIAL | THE CITY LIFE
Up on the Roof
By FRANCIS X. CLINES
From the 15th floor you can see all manner of Manhattan eccentricities on the street below. But how did the humdrum rooftop of a nearby apartment house suddenly become covered with a blanket of suburban grass? “No, not grass — you don’t want grass,” explains Stuart Gaffin, a research scientist tracked down at Columbia University who turns out to be the city’s rooftop Johnny Appleseed.
A specialist in something called the Urban Heat Island, Mr. Gaffin has successfully campaigned to have over a half-dozen rooftops, including four at green-minded Columbia, entirely matted with small plants called succulents.
They sop up and vaporize rainwater before it can jam the city sewage treatment plants; they cut summer heat that can exceed 170 degrees on a roof. No mowing required. “They’re nature’s geniuses at staying cool,” Mr. Gaffin says, while stepping across the resilient mat of sedum plants flourishing high over West 112th Street. He gestures to the city panorama and estimates 30 square miles of unused rooftop acreage that could be vegetating. “Twenty times Central Park!” he declares, sounding like a producer coveting Broadway.
Mr. Gaffin’s gardens range from vegetation plain as the top of a pool table to more advanced mixes that resemble pointillist abstractions atop two roofs at the Bronx’s Fieldston Middle School. Students tend instruments measuring insulation, water conservation and other virtues of green roofs, which Mr. Gaffin says far outlast normal roofs. They have a weird urban serenity. Far from streetwise rats, the worst critters that have shown up are butterflies and crickets.
The city lags far behind Europe in green-roof savvy, but Mr. Gaffin is as patient as his succulents. He evangelizes roof by roof, delighted to uproot a stray weed above 112th Street. “Field work,” he says.
Toaster, that's actually a point made about solar panels on non-flat roofs... How is grandma going to clean them with Windex?
I think the idea of succulents is an amazing concept. I've been iffy about green roofs because of the increased load. It's not that I don't think it's impossible or disagree with it...
But what is mildly discomforting is thinking about the development of thatch after a few years times. As grass and some plants grow, they're die back cycle increases the thickness of the soil substrate. So, why a roof may handle the a peak rainfall now-- what happens when there's a dirt sponge 4 inches thick?
At least with succulents, there's less of a maintenance problem and since succulents tend to not produce thatch and generally are always swelled with water. That would mean less of a worry in general of weight differences.
Here in Cal, ice plant is a common succulent ground cover in use by the highway department. . .
A docu on Discovery ("Mega Engineering") about doming Houston features a plastic film (1% the weight of glass !), made of a Teflon-related polymer (?) that is "self-cleaning."
Apparently there's a serious proposal for a 1-mi dia, 1800-ft high geodesic dome. At least, the visual documentation, and the suppliers involved, made it appear serious.
The premise seemed flimsy to me: defense against major storms and their collateral damage -- utility disruption, mostly, from what was said -- and, to a lesser degree, temperature extremes (?). If they described how that would work, I missed it.
I mean, Houston kind of created its own problems, is defending its own problems and is promoting its own problems as "successes" since they lack a formal comprehensive zoning ordinance.
Putting a down around Downtown wouldn't do much at all since there's practically nothing in downtown, the buildings are built for hurricanes and that area probably per unit consumes the least amount of energy.
What I find hilarious are douchebags like this guy Randal O'Toole who promote Houston's management and city planning principals as the bee's knees.
Sorry Houston, you can't have a city of single-unit houses. It just doesn't work. What's kind of ironic to this whole situation is most of the tremendously wealthy folks in Houston live in master planned communities in tiny incorporate cities within Houston who have extremely rigorous planning ordinances and zoning codes.
Succulents !
Who knew ?
June 7, 2009
EDITORIAL | THE CITY LIFE
Up on the Roof
By FRANCIS X. CLINES
From the 15th floor you can see all manner of Manhattan eccentricities on the street below. But how did the humdrum rooftop of a nearby apartment house suddenly become covered with a blanket of suburban grass? “No, not grass — you don’t want grass,” explains Stuart Gaffin, a research scientist tracked down at Columbia University who turns out to be the city’s rooftop Johnny Appleseed.
A specialist in something called the Urban Heat Island, Mr. Gaffin has successfully campaigned to have over a half-dozen rooftops, including four at green-minded Columbia, entirely matted with small plants called succulents.
They sop up and vaporize rainwater before it can jam the city sewage treatment plants; they cut summer heat that can exceed 170 degrees on a roof. No mowing required. “They’re nature’s geniuses at staying cool,” Mr. Gaffin says, while stepping across the resilient mat of sedum plants flourishing high over West 112th Street. He gestures to the city panorama and estimates 30 square miles of unused rooftop acreage that could be vegetating. “Twenty times Central Park!” he declares, sounding like a producer coveting Broadway.
Mr. Gaffin’s gardens range from vegetation plain as the top of a pool table to more advanced mixes that resemble pointillist abstractions atop two roofs at the Bronx’s Fieldston Middle School. Students tend instruments measuring insulation, water conservation and other virtues of green roofs, which Mr. Gaffin says far outlast normal roofs. They have a weird urban serenity. Far from streetwise rats, the worst critters that have shown up are butterflies and crickets.
The city lags far behind Europe in green-roof savvy, but Mr. Gaffin is as patient as his succulents. He evangelizes roof by roof, delighted to uproot a stray weed above 112th Street. “Field work,” he says.
Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
totally cool!
...and I mean that in the figurative sense.
Small choices make a difference.
its smart and interesting, but, does this mean we are abandoning the streets?
its dangerous when he says its “Twenty times Central Park!”,, its too tempting.
its smart and interesting, but, does this mean we are abandoning the streets?
its dangerous when he says its “Twenty times Central Park!”,, its too tempting.
Ah-ah -- don't fall for the either-or construct -- let it be both-and
I know im exaggerating, its just a concern
i have a succulent plant, best plant i've ever had.
nice article.
It was a surprise to me, I have to say. I suppose this is standard practice, somewhere in the world. . .
I thought there's a similar thing going on in Chicago...
I keep getting asked the same question whenever I've proposed a green roof on a project: "how do you get the lawn-mower up there?"
So, how many sod-roofed houses have had succulents on them ?
I know an architect (in Australia) who knows Malcolm Wells (now in Massachusetts), known for his "earth-sheltered" building. I'm going to inquire. . .
Toaster, that's actually a point made about solar panels on non-flat roofs... How is grandma going to clean them with Windex?
I think the idea of succulents is an amazing concept. I've been iffy about green roofs because of the increased load. It's not that I don't think it's impossible or disagree with it...
But what is mildly discomforting is thinking about the development of thatch after a few years times. As grass and some plants grow, they're die back cycle increases the thickness of the soil substrate. So, why a roof may handle the a peak rainfall now-- what happens when there's a dirt sponge 4 inches thick?
At least with succulents, there's less of a maintenance problem and since succulents tend to not produce thatch and generally are always swelled with water. That would mean less of a worry in general of weight differences.
Here in Cal, ice plant is a common succulent ground cover in use by the highway department. . .
A docu on Discovery ("Mega Engineering") about doming Houston features a plastic film (1% the weight of glass !), made of a Teflon-related polymer (?) that is "self-cleaning."
What would doming Houston do other than isolate it from the rest of the US?
Apparently there's a serious proposal for a 1-mi dia, 1800-ft high geodesic dome. At least, the visual documentation, and the suppliers involved, made it appear serious.
The premise seemed flimsy to me: defense against major storms and their collateral damage -- utility disruption, mostly, from what was said -- and, to a lesser degree, temperature extremes (?). If they described how that would work, I missed it.
oh yeah i found it, http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/mega-engineering/explore/houston-dome.html
I mean, Houston kind of created its own problems, is defending its own problems and is promoting its own problems as "successes" since they lack a formal comprehensive zoning ordinance.
Putting a down around Downtown wouldn't do much at all since there's practically nothing in downtown, the buildings are built for hurricanes and that area probably per unit consumes the least amount of energy.
What I find hilarious are douchebags like this guy Randal O'Toole who promote Houston's management and city planning principals as the bee's knees.
Sorry Houston, you can't have a city of single-unit houses. It just doesn't work. What's kind of ironic to this whole situation is most of the tremendously wealthy folks in Houston live in master planned communities in tiny incorporate cities within Houston who have extremely rigorous planning ordinances and zoning codes.
I just came across this company here in Brooklyn, Alive Structures, that does green roofs and walls. They designed this cool planter out of recycled materials for planting succulents. They are some of my favorite plants, not only because they are beautiful but because they don't need a lot of attention! (I tend to kill plants)
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-12622-NY-Architecture-Examiner~y2009m6d5-Its-Alive-A-Long-Island-City-company-greens-New-York-one-roof-at-a-time
damm that's beautiful...
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