Could green roofs help curb city winter air pollution crisis?

Paris is constantly entering into its emergency measures as the city struggles with exceptionally high air pollution levels. Controls on vehicles, free public transport and advice to limit intense sports and avoid large traffic sites at time of high circulation are just some of ...

Wind up-lift and wind resistance of Green Roofs

Many studies have been made and published related to wind resistance of Green Roofs, but in reality there is still a lack of consensus in the international green roofing / building industry on what kind of testing and certification would be most appropriate and representative of ...

Management of rainwater with Green Roofs

In the majority of developed cities, Green Roofs make up about 40–50% of regulated urban surfaces. The quantity of rainwater from these roofs makes a significant contribution to the total volume of water that is channelled into the sewage network. This is the very reason ...

Grow bacteria for a clean environment, or how the right landscaping solutions can help

Bioremediation – are you familiar with the process? Bioremediation is a waste management technique that involves using organisms to remove or neutralize pollutants from a contaminated site. Bioremediation is a treatment that uses naturally occurring organisms to break down ...

Green wall: another dimension of a green roof?

Plants have been growing on building façades since the first stone was laid – but living walls represent the next generation. The father of the patent for the idea of a green wall was Stanley Hart White back in 1938. However, it was Patrick Blanc who created the most famous ...

Green Roof: From Hanging Gardens of Babylon to the modern-day systems

Green roofs and roof gardens date back to thousands of years. But despite the recorded existence of roof gardens, such as one of the seven wonders of the world, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, perhaps the first example of draping our buildings in flora to make them more ...

Green roof – a potential new habitat for plants and animals in urban areas

In the summer of 2015, biodiversity was evaluated on sedum roofs in the Netherlands. In the process, the following species were observed: 3 types of diurnal butterflies, 29 types of nocturnal butterflies (moths), at least 4 types of wild bees, at least 7 types of hoverflies, 4 ...

EPD – transparent declaration of the life-cycle environmental impact of a green roof*

Great, we have it – the first in the green roof industry – for the whole Urbanscape Extensive Green Roof system. But what does it actually mean; and what are the benefits of having it? Read our blog and find out… What is an EPD – Environmental Product Declaration? In life-cycle ...

Managing Landscaping – the Californian way

In California, the largest part of all urban water usage goes to landscaping. There, water consumption for outdoor applications can reach as much as 60% of total urban consumption (according to AWWA Research Foundation). Many ongoing initiatives for California's urban landscape ...

Do you really know all the benefits of green roofs?

Green roofs have recently gained great attention of urban planners and architects - mainly because of numerous social, economic and design-based benefits they bring to public, private, economic and social sectors, and even more important, to local and global environments. You've ...