Cost a lot but should save money and cool down the building.
New Natomas school roof is green - and growing
By Laurel Rosenhall - lrosenhall@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PDT Tuesday, May 6, 2008
A new school being built in Natomas has something in common with the Chia Pet.
With a few sprinkles of water, plants will spring from its top, forming a cover of vegetation across the roof of the H. Allen Hight Learning Center.
The school's "green roof" is one of many construction features designed to save energy when the campus opens in August with 500 students. It's also likely the first local example of a building trend sweeping across rooftops worldwide.
Green roofs – roofs covered with soil and plants – have become a favorite feature among environmentally minded builders. They naturally keep buildings cool and absorb rainwater. Plus, they're neat to look at.
"Green roofs are one of the visible, sexy, fun green building elements that are attractive to people," said Leslie Hoffman, whose New York nonprofit, Earth Pledge, published a book about green roofs. "It's not very fun or sexy to talk about insulation."
Green roofs were first developed in Germany about 40 years ago, Hoffman said. The technique then spread to Japan before picking up in the United States in the last 10 years. New York City now has more than 100 green roofs; Chicago has about 300. A green roof sits atop the Gap offices in San Bruno and one is being built on the new Academy of Sciences in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.
