Green Roof a Global Trend to Save the Environment

A green roof design depends on many factors, including the choice of plants, climate and building structure. Designers are challenged to develop their own solution.

Green Roofs in the North America

Green roof is now a global trend. Particular in big cities, the transformation of heating-absorbing into green island is advancing, fueled by incentives, including tax relief, but also the availability of effective green roof technology. In New York, Chicago and Seattle, city planners have embraced green roof technology as a viable, effective means to create green space in urban environments. Even the U.S. Green building Council considers green roofs to be part of its criteria for excellence in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) evaluations.

Green Roof in the Asia and Europe

In Asia, government in Japan, South Korea and China encourage roof greening in an effort to improve urban environment. In Singapore, the futuristic green roof on the Nanyang Technical University as well as the Fusionopolis, a skyscraper with to reduce solar heat gain, have won numerous awards for design. From the Meydan shopping center in Istanbul Turkey, to the Fifty Two Degrees office building in Nijmegen, Netherlands, and Novallisstrass penthouses in Berlin, Germany, creativity in green roof design knows no bounds. For decades, Europe has led green roof research and development. Germany is widely considered to have started trend in 1960, and  today has  the broadest penetration worldwide. About 10% of all German roofs are “green”.

Steven Peck, founder and president of the Toronto-based industry association Green Roof for Healthy Cities (GRHC) believes European research into lightweight, low-maintenance green roof systems has been the key factor that has “opened up thousands of miles of roof-scapes that had been unavailable to any sort of greenery”.