Page 28 - CooperatorNews New York Expo 2021

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Follow us on social media. 520 8th Avenue, Suite 2004, New York, NY 10018 (646) 736-0699 www.oandsassociates.com 28 COOPERATORNEWS — OCTOBER 2021 COOPERATORNEWS.COM New York offi ce of engineering, architec- ture, and materials science consulting fi rm like New York, all new buildings, as well as CTLGroup, headquartered in Skokie, Il- linois. “Green roof elements can be com- bined with decking to create areas where green component or solar array or both, per building residents can relax and enjoy their Local Laws 92 and 94. roof.” Th e city of Chicago was a pioneer in tolerance is the fi rst step to deciding what is green roofs, and one of the fi rst cities in possible on a particular surface. If a roof is the U.S. to study their impact on the “heat 15 years old or more, say the pros, it might island eff ect” that occurs in dense urban be time to replace the roof anyway, which environments where acres of concrete and allows for more options when it comes time buildings absorb and trap heat and then to ‘green’—whether that’s in conjunction release it back into the environment. Th e with the roof replacement or down the line. Windy City was also one of the fi rst to pro- vide fi nancial incentives to commercial and of evaluating the feasibility and design of residential property owners to build or con- vert their roof to one that includes a layer architect who will bring in structural, me- of live vegetation. With nearly 7 million chanical, electrical, plumbing, or other en- square feet of such roofs, according to city gineers, as well as a code consultant to de- estimates, the city still leads in this area. American Hydrotech, Inc., headquar- tered in Chicago, is a leading supplier of materials for all types of green and other tural elements are determined, green roof effi cient roofi ng systems—not just in Chi- cagoland buildings, but in other metros as ergy production. “Solar panels are designed well, including New York and Boston. Gar- den Roof & Blue Roof Department Manager into electricity,” says Alimonti. “Th is elec- Richard Hayden tells CooperatorNews that tricity can then be used by the building, the benefi ts of these types of installations stored in batteries for later use, and/or it are many and varied. “First of all,” he says, can be sent to the electrical grid for con- “the insulating materials keep the building sumption by others. Solar panels are a great dry. Th at’s the most important thing. From way for a building to create its own electric- there, you have everything from stormwa- ter runoff management to habitat forma- tion to urban farming to increased building bine green and solar technologies. Green value. Th ese are amenities that people like Rain Solar, based in Nevada and partnering to have.” Installations can be scaled for all dif- ferent property types and locations, says and developed by architect Anthony Morali Hayden—it all depends on what a building for use on urban rooft ops. Using custom- or community wants from its green roof. ized red greenhouse glass and seamless so- “Th e technologies and applications con- tinue to evolve,” he says. “You can have just additions provide aesthetic appeal, health a layer of low-soil plantings, or an entire benefi ts through greenery and a sustainable rooft op park, with pavement and decking food source, solar power, community space, and furniture.” With costs for such projects and perhaps even a commodity. Energy col- also ranging widely, a board must also con- sider how much return on investment the in the building or sold to a utility provider; project will produce. In the United States, green roof costs— including everything from waterproofi ng ing or to the broader community. to plants—tend to range from $18 to $25 per square foot, depending on how inten- sive the system is. Th e initial capital and on- going maintenance costs of a green roof are and the impact that buildings specifi cally typically off set by long-term cost savings have on the disaster, elevating a conven- that come from reduced roof maintenance tional roof to one that is green—by any of and replacement needs and lower utility the foregoing defi nitions—can be a cost-ef- bills. Other benefi ts like property value and fective and practical solution for any com- resident quality of life are harder to quan- tify but equally signifi cant. What About Solar? Adding photovoltaic panels to any green roof project is a way to enhance both the ROI and a building’s overall energy effi - ciency. With lighter, more effi cient, and less expensive solar modules hitting the market (see last month’s story, ‘New Green Tech for the Multifamily Sector’ for more on this), bringing solar to an urban high-rise is no longer cost-prohibitive. And in some cities, any undergoing extensive roof renovation or replacement, must include some kind of In any roof project, determining load Alimonti recommends starting the process any roof project by hiring a professional termine applicability of the design to obtain tax credits or incentives. Once the load capacity and other struc- plans can be expanded to include solar en- to absorb the sun’s rays and transform them ity and help reduce the electrical loads.” Th ere are even applications that com- with cities nationwide, has created next- generation solar greenhouses, designed lar panels, says the company, these rooft op lected through the solar panels can be used vegetation grown in the greenhouse can also be distributed or sold within the build- Raise the Roof Given the scale and immediacy with which the climate crisis must be addressed munity—one that also provides benefi ts to residents and the surrounding neighbor- hood. Any other roof is just … a roof. n Darcey Gerstein is Associate Editor and Staff Writer for CooperatorNews. GREEN OPTIONS... continued from page 12 See us at Booth 328 See us at Booth 433