Non-porous surfaces block water infiltration and prevent the evaporation needed to cool the urban climate. Our cities are getting drier and drier and water tables are no longer replenished regularly.
Natural areas that infiltrate and evaporate water are disappearing due to increasing urbanisation. After heavy rainfall, surface water in cities runs off at high speed into the collection networks, which quickly become clogged. Non-infiltrated runoff flows into rivers and streams, which eventually overflow and cause flooding. We often see images of flooding and extensive damage on the news. The sudden rise in water levels is due to intense rainfall, which causes particularly violent floods. Runoff water management is an important part of preventing flooding.
ECOVEGETAL green roofs are a pertinent solution to these issues.
Green roofs help resolve rainwater management and the heat island effect in high-density urban areas. They provide a new dimension to contemporary architecture and highlight the 5th façade, bringing nature back into urban areas and activities. There are many types of green roofs, such as single extensive green roofs, mixed extensive green roofs and urban vegetable gardens.
Green roof terraces, sloped roofs (even steep slopes), extensive and semi-intensive green roofs, sedum roofs or otherwise, all provide major benefits to your project, beside the obvious aesthetic effect:
They answer the government’s call to fight the artificialisation of soils, which prevents flooding and attenuates the urban heat island effect. The goal is to compensate for every square metre that has been made artificial.
But, if your green roof is sloped (or you also vegetate balconies and car parks), for each square metre used, you are actually giving back far more than one green square metre to the neighbourhood!
A green roof also provides extra insulation.
A green roof may require regular maintenance. This investment quickly pays off in the lifespan of the structure.
A green roof that uses adapted hollow core structures provides an outlet for recycled plastic. This means that green roofs contribute to the circular economy.
