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ECONOMICS
Sustainability Green roofs
Living roofs are often specified for their symbolic value, as a statement of the owner
or developer’s environmental credentials. But, as Simon Rawlinson of Davis Langdon
explains, there are also tangible cost and performance benefits to going green up top

London Zoo’s Komodo Dragon House boasts a

300 m2 green roof, erected in 2004 by Miller
Roofing using Sarnafil products, and based on
biodiversity principles developed in Switzerland

01 Introduction

Green roofs are flat or gently pitched roofs visible, natural and distinctive. On many contribute to the management of surface
overlaid with a growing medium and plants, projects, green roofs can be used as a symbol water run-off, the mitigation of local air
creating a habitat on what would otherwise of “greenness” and, as a result, their pollutants and the extension of the useful life
be a plain surface. They are sometimes called contribution to sustainability and of the roof membrane. These benefits are
living roofs or vegetated roof structures. biodiversity can be overlooked. secured in part by the building owner and,
Green roofs are one of the most tangible In addition to providing an attractive, if there is enough green roof to make a
elements of a sustainability strategy, being roof-level habitat, living roofs can also difference, by the wider community.

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02 Planning background and demands

Although green roofs are often a on urban brownfield development increasingly colonised derelict can be treated as another item
feature of low-impact green include: urban land on the “nice to have” list. With
development, the planning ■ Control of storm water run-off ■ The need for green space in energy efficiency and on-site
context for green roofs is in response to constraints on dense developments. renewables dominating the
increasingly the redevelopment of peak flow capacity in the drains Green roofs are therefore part of agenda, they could end up being
urban brownfield sites. This is and loss of porous land surface designers’ armoury of solutions way down the list of options.
because these sites represent the through redevelopment to combat some of the By contrast, in Germany and
greatest opportunities to use the ■ Negative effects of increased implications of PPG3-driven Switzerland, green roofs have
potential benefits of green roofs. development density, including in–town development. been promoted as a key element
Key issues that can be poor quality urban microclimates However, living roofs have no of flood mitigation strategies
addressed in part by the ■ Loss of valuable habitats specific place in the urban design and there is a flourishing market
specification of green roofs for flora and fauna that have policy framework and therefore for them.

03 Green roof technologies

Current green roof technology has been no more than 30 mm thick, are the most Roof gardens are typically planned as an
around for 30 years and is well established. common specified in the UK. amenity and the species used are often less
Irrespective of the green roof type being ■ Semi-extensive roofs These have a deeper hardy. Some form of irrigation may be
specified, it will have the following key growing medium of up to 150 mm that necessary as a result. Roof gardens also
components: enables a wider range of planting and require high levels of maintenance. Clearly
■ Root barrier Sits above the waterproof potentially the creation of a more diverse the design of an economical structure to deal
membrane to prevent root penetration. habitat. Semi-extensive roofs also have with substantial dead loads will be a key
■ Insulation On inverted roofs, tapered significant capacity for water retention and determinant of scope and costs of an
insulation is required to create a drainage can be an important element of a sustainable intensive roof garden.
fall. The extra weight of growing medium is urban drainage system. Planting on semi- Indicative overall thickness, associated
set off against the weight of pavours or extensive roofs tends to rely on individual live loads of fully saturated roofs and
ballast required for conventional roofs. plant plugs. This means the range of species rainfall retention capacity are as per the
■ Drainage layer Formed in gravel, can be more diverse, but that they take two table below.
granulated clay or preformed plastics years or more to mature. Deeper soils also When selecting a system and completing
■ Filter mat A geotextile designed to mean a wider range of invasive species can the design, the following additional design
retain fine soil particles within the take root and more weeding and maintenance criteria should be taken into account:
growing medium. is required. ■ Climate – local temperature and rainfall
■ Growing medium Selection and overall An evolution of the semi-extensive roof is ■ Location, height and orientation of the roof,
depth is determined by the planting strategy the “brown roof”, designed to replicate the related to prevailing winds, sun and so on
and wider sustainability objectives. original ecology of a site through the use ■ Physical constraints such as structural
■ Planting Planting can range from “ready of recycled site material and self seeding – capacity, overall section depth and so on
to use” cultivated sedum blankets, through these roofs have an important role in ■ Roof membrane specification, presence of
the setting of individual plant plugs or preserving valuable derelict land habitats, roof falls, including risk of ponding
shrubs, to self-seeding strategies. but could be quite sensitive in terms of visual ■ Drainage specification
There are three broad families of living planning. ■ Access provision – for use of the roof as an
roofs, all using related technologies: ■ Intensive roofs These are the traditional amenity and for maintenance
■ Extensive roofs These have a shallow solution for roof gardens. The growing ■ Visibility of the roof – affecting choice
growing medium and support a narrow range medium may be up to 1 m deep in places to of planting and the speed of maturation
of hardy plants with a short flowering allow for the planting of shrubs or trees. ■ Maintenance strategy.
season, such as sedum or some grasses. Fully
established sedum blankets can be planted, a Indicative thicknesses for roof layers
giving an instant green roof effect. However,
because of limited water retention, some
extensive roofs can suffer from loss of plants Type Thickness* Dead load** Rainfall retention
during prolonged dry periods. Extensive roofs Extensive 50 mm 0.7 kN/m2 50%+
have the advantages of light weight and Semi-extensive 200 mm 5 kN/m2 70%+
require only limited maintenance. However, Intensive 600 mm 10 kN/m2 n/a
the biodiversity contribution of this kind of * Overall thickness for growing medium and drainage layer
roof is restricted. Roof systems based on ** Dead load based on fully saturated soil and drainage layer
sedum blankets,

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72 economics.sustainability

The green roof is taken to the next level and

turned into a roof garden at Foster and Partners’
Bishops Square office block in east London

04 Benefits of green roofs

Living roofs have a wide range of potential ■ Direct absorption of nitrous oxide ■ Reduced energy costs. Soil acts as an
benefits. Many of these are tangible but are ■ Direct local cooling in the immediate insulant when dry, so may not be effective
not necessarily secured by the owner. For proximity of the roof, through the effects in providing insulation during wet heating
example, unless financial incentives are in of evapo-transpiration seasons. Plant cover also contributes to
place, a reduction in storm water run-off ■ Indirect cooling through the reduction reducing heat loss caused by wind. During
will only benefit third parties who are of heat radiated into the air by building summer months, diversion of solar heat
“downstream”, rather than the owner. For this surfaces or held and released by a gain into the thermal mass of the growing
reason, it is difficult to establish an economic building’s thermal mass medium can reduce the heat energy stored
case for a green roof investment in the UK. ■ Indirect reductions in the formation of in the building fabric that would otherwise
By contrast, subsidies and tax incentives in photochemical smog due to reduced air later be released into occupied space,
Switzerland and Germany underpin a market temperatures and the absorption of potentially increasing cooling loads. Results
of 15 million m2 a year. airborne chemical compounds by the roof from Germany suggest that the energy
The key benefits from green roofs are: vegetation. saving is equivalent to 2 litres of fuel oil/m2
■ Sustainable drainage A typical extensive ■ Biodiversity Green roofs provide of green roof/year.
green roof will fully intercept between 50% opportunities to create biodiversity or, in ■ Aesthetics The appearance of a green roof
and 75% of rainwater and will delay all some cases, to recreate environments that is likely to be an improvement on an
surface run-off, reducing peak storm water could be lost through redevelopment. The uncovered, flat roof. Overall visual impact
flows and the scale of the rainwater extent depends on the variety of planting will be determined by the following:
installation required. The filtering action of and the depth of the growing medium. The ■ Time available to mature. Pre-grown
plants in green roofs is also claimed to roof can be designed to provide habitat for blankets or scattered cuttings achieve
prevent pollutants such as nitrates, nesting birds and invertebrates as well as coverage quickly but offer a less diverse
phosphates and particulates from entering plant species. range of plants
water courses. ■ Building performance Aspects of building ■ Shallow sedum blankets can only support
■ Microclimate A wide number of claims performance that provide direct payback to a limited number of plants
with respect to the positive effect of green building owners include: ■ Extensive roofs can die back during
roof vegetation on microclimate are made. ■ Durability of the roofing membrane, extended dry periods
These are cumulative and depend on the where the green roof protects the roof ■ All roofs need maintenance, but the
action of a large aggregate area of roof to membrane from exposure to UV and from requirement increases as the depth of the
make a noticeable difference. The beneficial heat ageing caused by thermal expansion growing medium increases, and as planting
outcomes include: and contraction becomes more complex.

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 economics.sustainability 73

Kalzip’s Nature Roof covers a public

convenience, next to an amphitheatre on the
seafront in Aberafan, Port Talbot in Wales

05 Cost drivers

■ Overall area of green roof shrub pits ■ Requirements for local ■ Maintenance regime and
■ New build vs retrofit ■ Depth of growing medium strengthening to frame and accommodation for maintenance
■ Planting strategy including and drainage layers roof deck/slab plant
requirements for tree and ■ Requirements for forming falls ■ Access requirements ■ Irrigation systems

06 Indicative costs
Previously …
The following costs are for green roofs with preliminaries and overheads and profit. Costs 9 June Cost update; The tracker
areas ranging from 100 to 1000 m2. The rates are current in June 2006 based on an average 16 June Business parks cost model
include the specialist contractor’s costs, but UK location. Rates are based on the surface 23 June Whole-life costs: Concrete vs
exclude allowances for main contractors’ area of the green roof. steel frames

b Indicative costs of green roof Coming up …

7 July Lead times – spotlight on copper
Sedum blanket only £35–40/m2 14 July Specialist cost update: Services
Sedum blanket with drainage layer and filter fleece £45–65/m2 21 July Building intelligence; The tracker
Sedum blanket on filter fleece and
drainage layers, capping layer and vapour barrier £80-115/m2
Extra for insulation £50/m2 Data toolkit
Extra for waterproof membrane and
vapour barrier £30-45/m2 Building’s extensive database of cost data
250 mm thick growing medium on drainage board, is an essential resource for anyone in the
root membranes and insulation; turf £85–100/m2 business of procuring buildings. Gain
225 mm thick growing medium on filter fleece and instant access to this valuable information
LDPE drainage core; plug and hydroseed planting £50–60/m2 at www.building.co.uk/datatoolkit

BUILDING MAGAZINE 30.06.2006