Archives For green roof

0

Green Buildings: 300 Lafayette Street

CF Lafeyette Rendering SidewalkOur culture’s current efforts in sustainability can usually be divided into one of two groups. The first group is trying to add efficiency and/or decrease the negative impact of the way that we do things now. Given its inherent benefit of requiring minimal change to the way people are already operating, this method is unsurprisingly popular. Examples include hybrid cars, LED light bulbs or printer paper with recycled content. These products help mitigate the negative repercussions of our current lifestyle.

The second group is changing a paradigm, archetype or cultural norm in order to operate in a more sustainable way—challenging the baseline to redefine the standard rather than tweaking an existing solution. Examples of this direction would be more in the vein of transit-oriented-development, designing spaces around more natural light or entirely paperless offices. One could argue that the first train of thought is looking for a better answer, where the second one is challenging the underlying question. Do we need to universally rely on automobiles? Do we need so much artificial illumination? Do we need to print things? Continue Reading…

Architectural 
8

Battling Heat Islands: Why and How

If you walk into the city on a sunny, summer day and feel like it is warmer than the suburban home you left earlier, it isn’t your imagination. The “Heat Island Effect” is a term that refers to a localized rise in ambient, outdoor temperature due to dark materials absorbing light from the sun. While asphalt roads contribute meaningfully, roofscapes are the most abundant culprit with a large number of existing flat roofs in this county being black—either tar, asphalt or a rubberized membrane. In full summer sun, a black roof can reach temperatures of 170 degrees. When the number of these roofs located in close proximity rises so does the amount of heat captured and radiated back into the air.

Though it is occurring at some scale on any dark-colored, man-made surface, the effects are most strongly felt in urban conditions where streets and the tops of buildings make up most of the net surface area facing the sky. In a city like New York, the result can be a local air temperature 5 to 10 degrees higher than surrounding townships in the depths of summer. Keep in mind, Manhattan is also on the coast which means that this temperature rise is happening despite the cooler normally found from coastal winds. Continue Reading…

Architectural 
1

Green Buildings: Via Verde

Green Bronx HousingCertain aspects of integrating sustainability into large scale building projects can be challenging, but building an affordable housing project can be a constant fight against the budget even without exploring ways to make it a healthier, more efficient space. Recently completed in the Bronx, Via Verde has risen to stand as a model for affordable housing construction, effectively breaking the barrier of plausibility for including green building components in a low-cost project. Continue Reading…

Architectural 
0

Sustainable Systems Survive Convention-Sized Value Engineering

New York Convention CenterThe behemoth of black metal and tinted glass known as the Javits Center is awaiting its long-needed renovation in an attempt to boost the functionality, size and appearance of New York’s largest convention center. Much like Penn Station and Madison Square Garden, the project needed help from the moment it was completed in 1986. In the current economic climate, the budget for the work shrank drastically from its intended funding levels, but amazingly enough the sustainable systems of green roofs and high performance walls—treated as novelties by some—were deemed priorities by the project team and survived cost cutting. Continue Reading…

Architectural 
46

One Roof, Two Roofs, Green Roofs, Blue Roofs

city of green rooftopsContemporary designers continue to explore new ways that the forgotten wilderness of the roofscape can be utilized as usable space with a greater purpose. Roof designs can become an integral part of a network of sustainable systems for a green building to purify its connection with its surrounding environs (be them urban or rural.) New York City has recently pushed past its green roof initiative to include “Blue Roofs” in its new campaign for a cleaner city, but despite the endorsement, convincing residents to invest in roof systems may still face resistance.

Continue Reading…

Architectural