Blue roof
Encyclopedia
A blue roof is a roof design that is explicitly intended to store water, typically rainfall. Blue roofs can provide a number of benefits depending on design. These benefits include temporary storage of rainfall to mitigate runoff impacts, storage for reuse such as irrigation or cooling water makeup, or recreational opportunities. Blue roofs can include open water surfaces, storage within or beneath a porous media or modular surface, or below a raised decking surface or cover. Blue roofs that are used for temporary rooftop storage can be classified as "active" or "passive" depending on the types of control devices used to regulate drainage of water from the roof.
Some recreational blue roofs integrate rooftop waterplay areas that can also be used to irrigate a green roof
, or to cool the roof of a building on hot days, in order to eliminate or at least reduce the HVAC
load placed on mechanical refrigeration equipment.
Some recreational blue roof designs include such features as an ecoshower, outdoor shower, waterplay sculpture, misting spray, or splash pad
, and may include other ecologically friendly features such as renewable energy (wind, solar, etc.).
Blue roofs are often privately owned, and make efficient use of the otherwise very limited space available in the urban core of a highly populated city.
Additionally, solar awnings give passive solar shading of the windows while producing further electrical energy as well.
Presently, other blue roofs are being proposed for the Bahen building, and the Best building, at the University of Toronto. A series of blueroof designs were presented at the "urbeach/urbine" conference held on the Dundas Street urbeach. The conference was attended by numerous company representatives, as well as officials from the City of Toronto, including Olivia Chow
and Tony Iano.
Some recreational blue roofs integrate rooftop waterplay areas that can also be used to irrigate a green roof
Green roof
A green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems...
, or to cool the roof of a building on hot days, in order to eliminate or at least reduce the HVAC
HVAC
HVAC refers to technology of indoor or automotive environmental comfort. HVAC system design is a major subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer...
load placed on mechanical refrigeration equipment.
Some recreational blue roof designs include such features as an ecoshower, outdoor shower, waterplay sculpture, misting spray, or splash pad
Splash pad
A splash pad is an area for water play that has no standing water. This is said to eliminate the need for lifeguards or other supervision, as there is practically no risk of drowning. Splash pads have been around in the commercial industry for decades....
, and may include other ecologically friendly features such as renewable energy (wind, solar, etc.).
Blue roofs are often privately owned, and make efficient use of the otherwise very limited space available in the urban core of a highly populated city.
Examples of blue roofs
One example of a blue roof is the "urbeach/urbine" (located on Dundas Street West, in downtown Toronto). A rooftop mounted wind turbine in which the main mast is a shower pole forms the centerpiece of this blue roof. The beach surface is a textured nonslip surface that provides good traction when wet. The roof is decorated with blue chips that are solar cells that provide energy to the building, as well as run all of the urbeach amenities. Some of the highly integrated building photovoltaics on this roof also function as sunbathing areas, in which solar louvres break up the sunlight into a dappled sunlight akin to sunbathing under a sparse tree. This provides sunbathers with the optimum mixture of sun and shade, as urbeachers may desire varying strengths of sunlight, and these users can move around to find the best mix of sun and shade, under the louvres. The louvres themselves are solar panels that provide energy to the building.Additionally, solar awnings give passive solar shading of the windows while producing further electrical energy as well.
Presently, other blue roofs are being proposed for the Bahen building, and the Best building, at the University of Toronto. A series of blueroof designs were presented at the "urbeach/urbine" conference held on the Dundas Street urbeach. The conference was attended by numerous company representatives, as well as officials from the City of Toronto, including Olivia Chow
Olivia Chow
Olivia Chow is a Canadian New Democratic Party Member of Parliament and former city councillor in Toronto. She won the Trinity—Spadina riding for the New Democratic Party on January 23, 2006, becoming a member of the Canadian House of Commons. Most recently, she was re-elected in her riding for...
and Tony Iano.
See also
- Eco-village
- Energy-efficient landscapingEnergy-efficient landscapingEnergy-efficient landscaping is a type of landscaping designed for the purpose of conserving energy. There is a distinction between the embedded energy of materials and constructing the landscape, and the energy consumed by the maintenance and operations of a landscape.Design techniques include:*...
- Green roofGreen roofA green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems...
- Sustainable citySustainable cityA sustainable city, or eco-city is a city designed with consideration of environmental impact, inhabited by people dedicated to minimization of required inputs of energy, water and food, and waste output of heat, air pollution - CO2, methane, and water pollution...