Plant-covered roof wins award

The plant-covered rooftop of Sanitation District No. 1's headquarters won a Green Roof Award of Excellence at a trade show last week in Minneapolis.

"This is really an exceptional project because of the way it incorporates research, public education, the way it's part of an integrated stormwater-management system on site," said Steven Peck, president of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, a nonprofit industry association based in Toronto.

"It's a fantastic project," Peck said about the district's rooftop, which is covered with ornamental grasses, chives and broadleaf plants - all drought-tolerant because nobody wants to have to water a roof. The plants grow in about 2 inches of soil above grains of drainage materials, which sit atop roof membranes.

The 3,600-square-foot "green" roof, one of six projects to win, was installed for about $13.50 per square foot when the district's headquarters at 1045 Eaton Drive was expanded in 2004.

That's a significantly higher cost per square foot than a conventional roof, but officials say such roofs are environmentally friendly and can cut building energy costs. Officials also believe the heavily supported roof will last longer than a conventional roof.

"We do the stormwater education with 3,000 or so students who come through here every year," said Jim Gibson, program manager of the sanitation district's water resource management group. "They go up to the green roof, and they have a model of it, and they talk about the benefits of green roofs for stormwater management."

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