fall foliage

what is the relative importance of greenroof plants? published work suggests that plants may be negligible for water storage on greenroofs and serve primarily to prevent erosion and maybe shade the media surface.
The roof shown here was probably 90% covered with plants, but there were still some gaps. Should roof owners be concerned about gaps? How important is planting density? The fll guidleines recommend a minimum of 60% plant coverage for extensive roofs.

unidentified greenroof object

It's the grey stuff in the middle...maybe fungus or perhaps of avian origin

moss

i am not sure why moss on greenroofs is frowned upon.... this picture is of a highway divider taken from my car (not on a roof)

bp greenroof

that's right british petroleum.
right off of key highway ... just missed getting the domino sugar factory in this post.
this roof is on top of a car wash.

strange habits of greenroof plants

Two examples from a roof in PA:
1) check out Sedum kamtschaticum (kam-SHAY-ti-kum dropping its leaves in the fall... nice strategy for overwintering and adding organic matter to the media...










2)look how well the Sedum do in the cracks around the roof edge... just as good if not better than some on the roof proper.. is this tolerance or what?

back in charm city!

While I was away, the Baltimore Sun ran an article on the area's greenroofs.
Check out this link for photos:
My favorite is #16 showing pictures of duck eggs on the Hilton's new roof (I think it went in last year...)

this photo is from an essay by hans loidl in heft #76 "landschaftsentwicklung u. umweltforschung" by the tu berlin

find the sunflower

more "green" roofs

this is not the first tree I have seen growing from a roof...

spontaneous greenroofs

at least this seemed spontaneous as far as i can tell...

green wall berlin

this is a brief diversion, but i couldn't resist:

greenroof shopping center neubrandenburg

wgrin

a picture of this famous PLU roof can also be found on the homepage of the world greenroof infrastructure network

much better shot of greenroof pollinator

PLU After:

This Berlin building complex was renovated in the early 80s and is the site of a long-term monitoring project where Dr. Koehler and others have been collecting data on things like changes in the greenroof plant community. Perhaps you can see from this picture how different plants are thriving on roofs facing different directions. While we were there, a couple reported that they have sighted a local marten (the mammal) catching songbirds on the roof- they wanted to know if we saw any evidence of him. None was seen...

Paul-Lincke-Ufer before

The slope of these roofs is 45 degrees....and they said it couldn't be done...

ufa-fabrik

After a few subway rides, we ended up at the Ufa-fabrik, formally described as one of Berlin's "cultural centers" but much much more. People have been living sustainably in this former location of the united film association since the 70s. Among the many projects we learned about were the Ufa tests with solar panels, focusing specifically on how to get them to orient to the sun without wasting energy. Another test shows whether greenroofs improve solar panel function (results suggest they can). The greenroof in the picture below is over 20 years old (nope that was not a typo- it's really that old)

panorama punkt

From Block 6, you can walk to some much more upscale buildings which also recycle their rainwater. The water is cleaned through a wetland that you can also walk through (see picture far below).

The panorama punkt is located in this area. From this vantage point you can really see how green Berlin's roofs are. On the left you can see the site of the berlin film festival (there is a red sign there), and

the yellow building is a library. On the bottom right is a daimler/benz building. In the upper right corner, you can tell we're in Berlin from the famous tv-tower...

Block 6

So the first stop on our tour of Berlin (which included me, Prof Koehler, a group from Texas A&M, and a special media-capable guest from NYC) was the block 6 on the old outskirts of w. berlin. For over 20 years (off and on due to some challenges and renovations) this block of high rises has been recycling its greywater for toilet flushing.
In the 1980s, as part of an initiative sponsored by the city of berlin, the water was is treated in the remedial wetland. Today, this wetland treats roof runoff (I think these roofs are also "green"), and a small decentralized treatment plant is used for the greywater. The plant has a greenroof shown here (behind the wetland)to the right and in this brochure

botany class

up on the roof with Dr. Koehler's botany-ish class. We are identifying the plants (both planted and established) along roof transects.
Tomorrow i am headed with Dr. Koehler to Berlin to meet up with some other students and tour around some of the older roofs...

book on german greenroofs from 1860

ok, so this is a reprint, but still pretty cool

attempts at greenroof wildlife photography

So... you have to trust me that these guys are actually on greenroofs, but here you see one of many snail specimens the day of our tour (it was very rainy) and a very happy pigeon (somewhat camouflaged by the purple Allium plants).

A fully equipped roof!

For around ten years, all sorts of data are being collected on these roofs. Show here are some weather sensors and a lysimter (the silver frame). Evaporation is measured as water weight loss from this box (there is a scale underneath), and runoff is measured by a small tipping spoon (that you can't see inside the small box attached to the frame)

Me-lichen

The lichens indicate good air quality.The are the tiny grey finger-like projections in the picture...

Greenroofs in Neubrandenburg

Here's an example of a greenroof at the Neubrandenburg Hochschule where I am interning.

Baltimore number 6????

click here for article from greenbuildings.com

Auf wiedersehen youth hostel Stuttgart

Here's a parting photo of the charming little hostel greenroof.
If you squint, you can see dozens of bees hovering over the yellow flowers :)
I am off to travel around for a week or so..

Brownroofs?

Here's a cool concept from the conference presented by Graham Wiseman of Skidmore Owings and Merrill. Brownroofs are basically trying to achieve a vacant lot effect on rooftops (are you reading this yvette?) As far as I can tell, roofs are installed, and instead of planting them, designers let "nature" take over.

International Greenroof Congress Nuertingen 2009

This conference is useful. I learned, for example, that the english version of the fll guidelines should be downloadable by june. My favorite talk of the day was by Emilio Ambasz. Here's a picture; you may recognize the design in the background.

Youth Hostel Stuttgart

This 'youth' hostel is where I begin my blog with a visit to germany for the greenroof conference and an internship.

This place is dreamy:
Jugendherberge Stuttgart International
Haußmannstr. 27
70188 Stuttgart
Deutschland

Tel. +49-711-6647470
Fax. +49-711-66474710
info@jugendherberge-stuttgart.de