Educational Green Roofs

The Kindai University Hospital, newly relocated to the Osak Medical Campus in Sakai City in 11/25, is a state of the art facility. Besides the advanced medical treatments, the campus features notable sustainability efforts- including an impressive parking garage green wall, rainwater catchment areas, permeable pavements, and extensive greenery. www.med.kinda.ac.jp.

www.med.kinda.ac.jp

Check out the Spring Business Case Issue of Living Architecture Monitor, a publication of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. Learn about the various ways green roofs can add financial value while benefiting the surrounding community. www.livingarchitecturemonitor.com

Tokyo is one of the most densely built cities in the world, so any bit of green is appreciated. Both living walls and green roofs can be spotted in the most random places!

This weekend is Super Bowl LX and it will be hosted at Levi's® Stadium in Santa Clara, CA. Fans attending the game will experience football in the most eco-friendly facility in the league!

In 2016, the facility converted 4,000 sq.ft., of the 27,000 sq.ft. Garden Roof®, into an herb and vegetable garden that rotates about 40 different crops. The Faithful Farm, as it is called, yields nearly 150 pounds of produce each week, which are cooked into seasonal dishes that are served at Levi's Stadium.

Overall, this project is protected by an impressive total of 426,000 sq.ft. of MM6125®, which encompasses the Garden Roof® Assembly, Ultimate Assembly®, concourse waterproofing, and below-grade vertical applications. This impressive stadium also features various Sika EMSEAL expansion joints, which are essential for ensuring a sealed, safe, and energy-efficient building envelope.

A massive shout-out to for recognizing the value of green roofs on school buildings. The impressive Murray Massenburg Elementary School was designed by , and installed the beautiful green roofs.
The school community is so fortunate to have accessible nature from various vantage points, offering educational and emotional opportunities for years to come. Bravo!
Photos from Evoke Studios.

“Living walls” are another way to add green space to a building, while improving the environmental impact on the surrounding area- especially in Japan’s ever-increasing hot and humid summer months. We spotted these two buildings in downtown Osaka, which incorporated plants into their facades in unique designs.

7 reasons to spend more time in nature:

1. Time spent in natural environments has been shown to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression.

2. Nature exposure helps children improve focus and self-discipline - crucial in an age of digital distraction. It's also linked to better academic outcomes and memory retention

3. Being in nature fosters empathy and compassion, especially in children. This connection with the living world helps develop moral and ethical grounding

4. Regular time in green spaces encourages physical activity and strengthens immune system development, especially in childhood.

5. Kids who know the names of trees, birds, and insects are more likely to care about the environment and act to protect it.

6. As we shift toward post-growth and regenerative economies, our survival depends on reversing this nature disconnection.

7. Restoring forests, wetlands, and biodiversity will be central to economic life - requiring ecological literacy and local knowledge. Children grounded in nature will be tomorrow's ecological engineers, rangers, and community leaders

The next economy will value well-being over GDP growth. It's going to be degrowth by choice or by force (hello climate change 👋 ).

This shift requires a culture that prioritises community, slow living, and harmony with ecosystems. Raising kids to be aware of living systems nurtures this transformation.

Sources:
- Bratman, G. N., Hamilton, J. P., Hahn, K. S., Daily, G. C., & Gross, J. J. (2015). Nature experience reduces rumination and subgenual prefrontal cortex activation.
- Berman, M. G., Jonides, J., & Kaplan, S. (2008). The cognitive benefits of interacting with nature.
- Zelenski, J. M., & Nisbet, E. K. (2014). Happiness and feeling connected: The distinct role of nature relatedness.

All green roofs need maintenance, and over this past summer, there was very limited access to PS41’s green roof due to construction. We had a drop hose on some sections, which is evident by the amount of plant growth and die-out. Fortunately, the roof will bounce back with some TLC! It's also an excellent opportunity to spread wildflower seeds this fall. To be continued!

When green roofs fail, it’s often because of underlying roof issues- not the green roof itself. This is the case at PS 41- The Greenwich Village School, which is undergoing a significant schoolwide building renovation that includes a new green roof.

Between 2010 and 2012, when the school’s original green roof was installed, shoddy roof infrastructure caused leaks, which were never resolved and created ongoing issues in the classrooms below.

Fortunately, Armstrong Roofing has installed a superior watertight roof, and NYC School Construction Authority (SCA) certified Amy Falder oversees the new LiveRoof Global, LLC installation, which is slated to be installed soon.

We are confident that PS41’s new and advanced roof membrane and green roof will continue providing exceptional environmental and educational benefits for decades!

An informative article about the challenges and benefits of installing green roofs on NYC public schools.

Op-Ed: Patterns and Policies of New York City’s School Green Roof Trend — AIA New York During June’s heatwave, we were suffering in a sweltering New York City. We walked the hard streets, drenched in our own sweat, trying to visit the green roofs on the city’s public schools. Up there, gentle breezes passed by, while trees, pavilions, and canopies absorbed heat from the radiating ...

It was uplifting after a tough week to spend time in Toronto for the 20th Anniversary Green Roof for Healthy Cities conference and be around like-minded people during extraordinary work. I presented the challenges, myriad benefits, and solutions for installing more school green roofs.
We will need much more green infrastructure to counter upcoming climate deregulation.