During a recent trip to Seattle I saw a roof garden on the Seattle WAMU center roof. This roof garden was designed by Phillips Farevaag Smallenberg. The public was not allowed entry to it, however I managed to get this picture of it from a different skyscraper. A law firm allowed me to enter into their suite to take this picture.So why roof gardens? Well the answer is simple. Increased greenspace, increased energy efficiency and bragging rights.
This roof garden on the WAMU center won the ASLA 2007 Professional Jury Award . (American Society of Landscape Architects) There are many difficulties when planning for and constructing roof gardens, such as structural engineering. Many roofs can be retrofitted with plant material, however this roof garden features boulders and heavy elements that required foresight and planning. It is hard to appreciate this work from this blog alone for more information visit Flickr where there is a photo pool of WaMu Center Green Roof.
Did you know ASLA did a study on a green roof installed on their building in Washington DC and it lowered the roof's summer temperature 32 degrees compared to a neighboring tarred roof! It was also estimated that ASLA's green roof reduced energy costs by 10%!
