building
Creating a living roof - a roof that is made up of grass and/or shrubs planted in a layer of soil - represents one of the biggest construction challenges. The supporting structure has to be incrementally stronger to carry the extra load of soil and plants. And the roof also has to be extremely carefully waterproofed because, once the 'garden' is in place, there is little chance to fix any leaks.
However, a living roof is also one of the most environmentally friendly elements of a building. Properly designed, it can reduce to almost zero the physical footprint of the building, since the area of soil and vegetation on which the house stands is now on the roof.
The 'normal' way of creating a living roof involves the use of a heavy rubber membrane such as a pond liner. I am struggling to find an alternative that fits in with the principle of using environmentally friendly, low-embodied energy materials that can be easily recycled or degraded at the end of the building's life. Part of the challenge lies in trying to find an impervious material that will not rot or decay or be damaged by the roots of the vegetation growing above it!
However, a living roof is also one of the most environmentally friendly elements of a building. Properly designed, it can reduce to almost zero the physical footprint of the building, since the area of soil and vegetation on which the house stands is now on the roof.
The 'normal' way of creating a living roof involves the use of a heavy rubber membrane such as a pond liner. I am struggling to find an alternative that fits in with the principle of using environmentally friendly, low-embodied energy materials that can be easily recycled or degraded at the end of the building's life. Part of the challenge lies in trying to find an impervious material that will not rot or decay or be damaged by the roots of the vegetation growing above it!
Living roofs not only provide great insulation but can replace the area of ground that was disturbed to build the house, helping to reduce its environmental footprint!
Another challenge lies in finding an effective form of insulation. Using a natural material like straw would require it to be placed below the waterproof membrane. This is not the conventional way of doing it, but this project is far from conventional so perhaps it could work?
I welcome any suggestions on how to create a successful living roof with 'natural' materials!
Links... (hover over links for info)
The Living Building Challenge
Fotoprint
John Gower - Gower design group
Chelsey Braham - C D B Design
Earth Futures
BCSEA
SIPDistribution.ca
Chemicallime.com
Perlite.com
Strawbale.com
HomesteadHouse.ca
Eco-Sense.ca
Building Limes Forum
Straw bale fire test movie
Straw bale earthquake test movie
Susanne Dannenberg - visual artist
Goodshepherdwool.com
Elke Cole