A green roof is a part of a building’s roof area that has been redesigned to support living vegetation, to increase the amount of greenery in the built area that acts as a heat sink and improve the building’s performance.
The green roof on top of the Sales and Information Centre at our Innovation Precinct has been fully waterproofed, filled with quality soil and landscaped with a range of beautiful water-wise plants.
Succulents including Crassula, Sedum and the native ‘Pig Face’ are planted among hardy native shrubs: Ruby Saltbush and Knobby Club Rush. This mix of plants will create a beautiful, layered texture as they grow and were chosen for their low maintenance, climate-wise qualities. Drought and frost tolerant, these plants will thrive in all of Canberra’s four seasons – even up on the rooftop!
Not only will these plants grow to create a beautiful green view from the top floor of our Mingle Community building, but the green roof will also bring a range of benefits to the sustainable Innovation Precinct area.
A Cooler Microclimate
A green roof can cool both the building and the area surrounding the building.
Green roofs can cool the local climate by 3.6 to 11.3°C – the hotter the climate, the greater the cooling effect of the green roof – excellent for those hot Canberra summers! Since the soil and plants absorb the direct heat of the sun, they provide a sort of bonus ‘ceiling insulation’ for the building. This could reduce air-conditioning needed to cool a home during warmer months, saving money on electricity bills.
Air Quality
Plants in urban areas improve air quality by removing carbon dioxide from the air, producing oxygen and filtering out fine airborne particles. Green roofs can also trap up to 95% of heavy metals in the local atmosphere (so it’s probably a good idea to get food grown in dense areas tested for quality!).
Homes for Local Fauna
Green roofs can provide urban refuge for birds, butterflies and bees moving through our suburbs. By creating habitat or places these animals can visit, green roofs can play an important role in creating connections between our urban or suburban areas and areas of natural beauty, supporting our local biodiversity!
