Green Roofs Grow in D.C.
WTOP reports that the Chesapeake Bay Foundation has awarded $200,000 in grants to three local development corporations for the construction of environmentally sensitive landscaped roofs ("green roofs") on office buildings to reduce runoff into the Potomac and Anacostia rivers, and ultimately into the Chesapeake Bay. Among the projects on tap is a 68,000-square-foot vegetated roof for the new headquarters of the U.S. Department of Transportation (shown here in a rendering from the building's developer, the JBG Companies), located in the Southeast Federal Center development, a few blocks from the proposed site of the D.C.'s new baseball stadium.
Green roofs are becoming an increasingly popular tool in sustainable building efforts. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends the use of green roofs to combat the urban heat island effect, in which the temperatures in urban areas are consistently 2 to 10 degrees hotter than in nearby rural areas. Benefits of green roofs include reduced surface temperatures, decreased stormwater runoff, noise insulation and extended roof life.
The District's first commercial green roof, according to the American Institute of Architects, is located at 1425 K St. NW. Green roofs have also been utilized for the retrofit of the former Montgomery Ward Catalog Building in Baltimore, the D.C. headquarters of the Earth Conservation Corps, and as a part of the Shaw Ecovillage Project.
All indications are that the green roof phenomenon is set to take off in D.C. In addition to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation grantees, a number of other companies and organizations are planning to install green roofs on their buildings. The American Society of Landscape Architects has put out a request for qualifications for a green roof demonstration project at their headquarters, while the HOK Planning Group is undertaking a feasibility study for retrofitting the U.S. Department of Interior's 100,000-square-foot roof with green roof technology. In addition, D.C. will be the host for the Third Annual Greening Rooftops for Sustainable Communities Conference, Awards and Trade Show, this coming May.