Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1274063
J U LY 2 0 2 0 | 25 Green Roofs & Walls P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E SY GS K Y P L A N T SYS T EM S and Service Facility. This project has 152,000 square feet of green roof and is the largest green roof in Canada, east of the Rockies. Hanging Gardens, a company that is well known for spearheading research and development of the most comprehensive, value-based product and service line for green infrastructure and stormwater management, has turned its atten- tions of late to stormwater management, too. One system that Hanging Gardens offers that is gaining increasing attention is the Smart Blue Roof Stormwater System that uses sensors, software, and smart drains and valves to store water on roofs and communicate with other systems to become part of a site-specific or municipal stormwater system. Unlike standard passive blue roof systems that can't consistently regulate the flow or amount of stormwater, Hanging Gardens' systems release or retain the water based on local conditions and stormwater capacity. The system is making such an impact that it was recently recognized by BuildingGreen as one of the Top 10 Products for 2020. "In communities with combined sewer and stormwater runoff, Smart Blue Roof Stormwater Systems help keep water treatment facilities from being overwhelmed and dumping raw sewage into the watershed," explains Anthony Mayer, CEO at Hanging Gardens. Mayer adds that while green roofs are still a new concept in North America compared to Europe, an increasing number of owners and developers are real- ising that there are substantial cost benefits of green-blue roof systems, when it comes to stormwater management. "The cost of managing stormwater below grade can range between $3.75 a gallon up to $6- $7, whereas a smart roof system is anywhere between $1.75 and $3.50. Because of the rising cost of real estate, especially in the cities, managing stormwater on the roof allows developers to make the most of the land and reduce costs." An example of this is a project that Hanging Gardens worked on called JA X Apartment in Minneapolis, which features the City's first rain-retaining blue- roof. Initially the project was designed to be an eight-storey building, however, with Mayer's guidance, the developer was able to bring this down to five storeys, therefore keeping the City happy while utilizing the entire footprint of the land and introducing more parking, and reducing the cost of the building, just by taking the stormwater management up on the roof. "We removed the system from below grade, which was 50,000 gallons, and designed a blue roof that funnels into a blue-green roof that then flows into underwater catchments, which is 5,000 gallons, and is used for irrigation," explains Mayer. With stormwater management becoming such a focus on the sector, ZinCo's new run-off limiter sets are gaining traction as they allow for precise run-off limiting, easy handling, and are suitable for all roof drains. A Stormwater Management Roof stores large volumes of rainwater and releases it with a time delay into the sewer system. It is a tried and tested way of reducing the risk of flooding in times when heavy rain events are on the increase. The ZinCo system build-up Stormwater Management Roof with the retention spacers RS 60 and RSX 65 provides the perfect technology to do this. Both Run-off Limiters work according to the same principle, which is to limit a pre-determined volume of accumulated rainwater that is to go through the roof drain and into the downpipes. This is done by way of two rings on the underside of the Run-off Limiter that slide against each other and can be adjusted and locked to a specific volume flow rate by means of a scale. Usually, the setting is such that the roof will be empty again after about 24 hours. However, other settings are possible and even changes at a later point in time as the locked rings become loose and have to be readjusted. When it comes to new systems, Soprema is excited about its Sopranature vegetated systems that offer a wide variety of social, economic, and environ- mental benefits to communities. In addition to replacing mineral surfaces with permeable and living surfaces within the building, they compensate for the loss of ecosystem services caused by urban development. As well as all the usual benefits such as mitigating the urban heat island effect, improving stormwater management, and supporting a local diet, the Sopranature systems create conditions that promote the development of micro- habitats to support life. They can offset the loss of natural heritage and increase connectivity between ecosystems in the area. Sopranature vegetated systems also represent a wide variety of socioeconomic opportunities for the building owner. In addition to being synonymous with added value, they offer several benefits that can help improve the building's performance (improving thermal efficiency) and meet the needs of occupants. Its systems have been designed to meet the normative requirements and environmental challenges of the Canadian climate. Sopranature modular systems create a versatile vegetated roof solution. The trays form an all-in-one pre-vegetated system. They save time and manpower by being easy to install. Whether modular or built on site, Sopranature systems offer great green roof design flexibility tailored to customers' needs. Green walls are also seeing steady traction this year, and Nedlaw Living Walls, who bring us the the world's premier living wall biofilter, continues to see strong growth as more owners and developers recognize its benefits. The Nedlaw Living Wall Biofilter uses science originally developed for space habitation. It is a building sub-system that draws dirty indoor air in, removes pollutants, and returns clean air to the room or building. It also saves energy and lowers operating costs by reducing the amount of outside air that needs to be exchanged and subsequently heated or cooled to room temperature. Nedlaw's current business is a mix with around 60 percent new builds and 40 percent retrofits. One new project the team has been working on is York Region's Administrative Centre Annex. The eight-storey, 422,000-square-foot facility will feature a 83-foot Nedlaw Living Wall biofilter, the tallest wall Nedlaw has created so far. "It is the biggest biofilter we have done, and is currently being planted and will be complete within the next month," explains Adam B. Holder, sales and marketing manager at Nedlaw Living Walls. The system will clean approximately 16,000 cubic feet of air per minute (CFM). "It absolutely brings us more attention. It gets the conversation started," explains Holder. Bio-filtration is certainly adding value to new development, however some of the most impactful projects we've done have been in insti- tutional buildings that are 40/50 years old. You can imagine how poor the air quality is in some of these buildings. We look at how we can help improve that, without tearing the building down." One reason for the increasing awareness around the benefits of green roofs and walls is due to recent extreme weather events and the growing climate change challenges, explains Hal Thorne, chairman and CEO of GSky Plant Systems. He says, "Also, pollution levels in many cities [especially in Europe] are driving the demand for systems that can clean the air in and around buildings, which is leading to the development of new green wall systems." Thorne also raises a very valid point in that the Millennial workforce, who are much more in touch with sustainability and often "consider a company's social and environmental commitments before deciding where to work," is resulting in businesses having to step up their game to attract the best calibre. One example of this is the apparel company ASICS, which has a Versa Wall designed by GSky Plant Systems, Inc. in the break room of its downtown Boston location. The System even features the ASICS logo through the clever placement of GSky's unique tray system, which has plants of different shades to create the logo. The versatility of the wall means that, depending on the time of year or occasion, the plants can be swapped out to create various designs. Most recently, GSky completed the installation of a Versa Wall for the new Biomedical Sciences and Engineering (BSE) education facility at The Universities at Shady Grove in Maryland. "The wall is part of a biophilic plan to bring inte- rior and exterior campus environments into the building atrium, reinforcing the visual connection between the indoor and outdoor environment. There is a featured sculptural element composed of aluminum panels contributed by the school's arts program which is attached to the wall. The Versa Wall system is our flagship product which uses proprietary trays with four-inch potted plants placed in them. Each plant gets its own water, is easy to change out, and is very water efficient," says Thorne. A Versa Wall designed for ASICS apparel company, Boston, MA.