Vegetated Stormwater Technologies
Vegetated Roof Systems and Roof Gardens
The "green" roof concept originally developed in Germany, where the use of green rooftops for stormwater management is often required. Here in the United States, the vegetated roof phenomenon has caught on and have been installed in a variety of land use settings.

Roof gardens are a more elaborate green roof system in which larger plating areas are installed and incorporated with walking paths to create a rooftop plaza and garden. Both technologies are highly suited to urban environments where there is limited space for stormwater management.

At the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, the new Rams Head Center (under construction as of 2003) incorporates a rooftop plaza on top of a parking garage. Stormwater is stored in cisterns on the plaza, and used for irrigation of plantings thereby reducing potable water supply needs.

In November of 2001, we toured Germany to see for ourselves how the Germans design, research, and build green roofs. Contact us for more information.

For more information on Vegetated Roof Systems, please visit one of our design collaborators, Roofscapes.
Examples

From this vantage in Stuttgart, Germany, many vegetated rooftops are visible.

Model of the Roof Garden and Plaza on the new Rams Head Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (Photograph courtesy Ayers/Saint/Gross Architects)
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