Whilst I am on blogging “sick leave”, I have invited anyone who fancies it to write a guest blog post. If you’re interested in contributing a self-build, green or cat-related post, please email me! Meantime, many thanks to Mimi Hui for this contribution.
On a cold winter evening in Westchester, NY, I huddled in front of our massive fieldstone fireplace to stay warm. As I gazed upwards towards our cathedral ceiling to admire the sheer beauty of the structure, it hit me that our gorgeous 19 foot uninsulated slate and wooden beam ceiling was primarily responsible for our super high gas bills.
As a young couple that had just poured every bit of our last pennies into an old (but gorgeous) house, we felt ill every time we received the utility bills.
This was how my obsession with roofs started. We were simply trying to cut cost.
Fast forward 10+ years and I’m sitting in Ben’s kitchen in Mountain View, CA. It’s a particularly warm day and he half jokes about his “passive solar energy house”. My ears perk up. He explains that the roof pitch optimises energy from the sun to allow for seasonal changes. In the winter, the house naturally stays warmer as it absorbs more sun. In the summer, the pitch deflects the sun to keep the house cooler. I was impressed. He laughed and claimed it to be “just dumb luck”.
However, this provoked me to visit the new California Academy of Sciences building to get a good peek at its green roof, designed by architect Renzo Piano. This was absolutely breathtaking. It is one of the most gorgeous green projects happening in the Bay Area.
However, this made me wonder, how accessible is green roofing to the average consumer?
Well, the installation of green roofs seem to depend highly on where that consumer is located. And no, it’s not just those wacky Californians that are rushing out to install green roofs (in the USA, it’s actually Chicago, IL that leads the US in green roof installation - ~520,000 sq ft of the stuff).
Germany has seen a proliferation in green roofs, largely thanks to some very progressive environmental policies in the way of financial subsidies. The city of Stuttgart, well known for being a highly industrial area, has used green roofs to improve the overall air quality of the city.
In the United Kingdom, adoptation varies quite extensively. Also, the 2007 Chelsea Flower Show’s inclusion of a roof-garden category redefined people’s perception of a green roof from simply being a passive roof to an oasis of escape.
Turkey’s “Mesa Hospital” has won design awards for its green roof but when I glanced across the rooftops of my hotel there, the everyday citizen seemed to take advantage of plants on roof top gardens and balconies more than anything else.
Overall, it seems that despite governmental subsidies, green roofs are still largely installed by corporate and governmental bodies than the average consumer. Should you be interested in installing one for your home, here’s are a few starting points for research.
- Mimi Hui
