Green Roofs - A Small First Step Towards a Cleaner World

In a world where pollution, intensive deforestation, and the lack of a global vision of the environment are becoming more and more evident, green roofs can be that small first step towards a cleaner, more beautiful, and less monotonous world.

Although they seem, rather, integrated into art-nouveau, these types of special and natural roofs have existed since ancient times, the first historical reference being the one related to the pyramidal stone constructions in Mesopotamia, which were covered by real gardens. in height, followed by 13th-century buildings in France and the roofs of houses in Norway that were covered with greenery to ensure thermal insulation.

Between 1933 and 1936, in the United States, above the famous Rockefeller Center in New York, five green gardens were temporarily installed, which still exist today.

Green roofs are, in fact, the classic roofs of buildings that are partially or completely covered with vegetation, a growing environment superimposed over a waterproof membrane and irrigation and drainage systems. The term "green" is used to emphasize the ecological nature of the concept and not because green tiles are used.

Also known as "living roofs", they can be especially useful for a building, simply by protecting by absorbing rainwater, lowering the overall temperature of cities, and providing thermal insulation. A 2005 study shows that by using these special types of roofs, each building can significantly reduce energy consumption in the cold.

How many types of green roofs are there?

There are two types of "live roofs", the intensive ones, which are generally thicker and can support a wide variety of plant types, but which are heavier and require more detailed care, semi-intensive roofs, and the extensive ones, which are made up of a thinner layer of vegetation and, therefore, much lighter in weight than the intensive ones.

Traditional roof gardens, which require a reasonable amount of soil to grow larger plants or even lawns, are considered intensive because they require a lot of work in terms of maintenance and irrigation.

The intensive green roofs are very similar to an easily accessible garden, where you can find, from parsley and dill to small trees and even bushes. Extensive roofs, unlike intensive ones, are specially designed to support themselves, requiring minimal care, once a year, by applying fertilizer. In this case, a much thinner layer of soil can be used, and among the most suitable plants are, depending on the climate, from cacti and grass to moss.

The benefits of using green roofs:

In addition to the obvious benefits, such as highly efficient thermal insulation and reduced energy consumption, recent studies show that it can reduce the levels of pollutants and heavy metals in rainwater, can filter carbon dioxide from the air, thus helping to reduce the risk of asthma. to soundproof, using the soil that reduces the low frequencies and using the plants, on the high ones.

In addition to all this, "living roofs" are extremely advantageous, in the long run, from a financial point of view, by increasing the life of the roof and by increasing the real estate value of the building itself.

It should be noted that, in addition to decorative plants, on these special types of roofs you can even plant vegetables for your consumption if you have enough time and patience. In this way, you can turn your roof into a real garden worthy of envy, without too much effort. The green roofs also provide a habitat for various species of insects (butterflies, bees, bumblebees) and birds that, normally, in the city, would have had a natural environment, conducive to development, limited.

Disadvantages of "living roofs":

The biggest disadvantage in the case of these special types of roof is represented by the rather high initial costs that can vary depending on the geographical area of ​​the buildings. Their location in a seismic area requires a larger investment, as in the case of old, unconsolidated roofs that cannot support the weight of the "aerial garden".

Depending on the type of green roofs chosen, maintenance costs must also be considered, which can vary greatly, depending on the complexity of the plants, the degree of performance of the irrigation systems, and the quality of the waterproof membrane used under the soil layer. It is important to consider the use of an insulating layer that does not allow the roots to penetrate through the ceiling, an event that can be avoided quite easily by establishing appropriate distances between the bushes, if necessary.

If you want to breathe less polluted air or have your own suspended garden, a kind of private park, or simply feel the need to color the concrete giants around us to improve your quality of life, the best choice is these true spots of the color of urban agglomerations - green roofs.