Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Fall 2012 - (Page 22)

team CATEGORy: Intensive Industrial/ Commercial pROJECT: The Ledge Kitchen & Drinks, Dorchester, MA, 4,500 square foot green roof DESIGN & INSTALL: Recover Green Roofs, LLC (Award Winner) fARMING OpERATIONS & EDUCATION: Green City Growers MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL ENGINEER: M&R Engineering GROWING MEDIUM: Rooflite DRAINAGE SySTEM: Green Roof Solutions WATERpROOfING: Carlisle IRRIGATION CONTROL: Hunter DRIp LINES: Netafim Bringing Food From the rooF to the taBLe R the Ledge food roof came together successfully because of all the stakeholders’ contributions. it took the vision of the ownership, the support of our vendors, the design/build collaboration between recover and highview creations, the farming of green city growers and, importantly, the patronage of the customers to bring food from roof to table. Mark Winterer, Director of Operations, Recover Green Roofs, LLC ecover Green Roofs was contacted by The Ledge’s executive chef, Marco Suarez, who was interested in using his 4,500 square foot roof in Boston to produce food. Recover worked with Highview Creations to design a roof that maximized the use of local materials, utilized the most up to date water efficiency technologies and minimized the labor efforts of the restaurant staff. Recover partnered with a local farming company, Green City Growers, which handles planting, weekly farming responsibilities and coordination with restaurant staff. The restaurant staff work with Green City Growers to learn more about the food they serve, how it’s harvested and what makes for the best produce possible. They help harvest food off the roof, planning menu items around each day’s harvest. Time on the roof is the favourite part of the day for many employees. Green City Growers and restaurant staff spend upwards of 45 hours per month working on the roof. The single-story structure maximizes the benefits of the green roof from what was previously a black membrane. More than 90% of the roof is covered in either vegetated areas or a light brown recycled rubber mulch, which slows runoff from the roof. All pest control and soil amendments are addressed with an “ecosystem approach” which utilizes all organic practices. Plants are sourced from Red Fire Farm in Granby, MA, which utilizes organic farming practices for all vegetable starts. Crops include tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, carrots, kale, peppers and much more. All food is served in the restaurant below, making for zero carbon footprint produce. The 6 to 14-inch deep Rooflite growing media is amended with compost and biochar. Compost is sourced from Brick Ends Farm (Hamilton, MA), and is produced from food waste of Boston-area resturants through a partnership with Save That Stuff (Charles- town, MA). The Biochar was supplied by Encendia Biochar out of New Haven, CT. Biochar decreases stormwater runoff and the release of nitrogen, phosporus and other nutrients. Planter box edging was built from black locust wood sourced from Black Locust Connection (Colrain, MA) a sustainable logging/mill operator. Black locust grows naturally in Massachusetts and is naturally rot resisant, requiring no chemical treatment. The Ledge is a great example of a restaurant using a rooftop garden to provide fresher produce to its patrons and minimize the supply chain. Hopefully more restaurants around North America will take advantage of available rooftop space and start growing the most local food that exists. LIVING ARCHITECTURE MONITOR / fALL 2012 / 22 Image provided by: Recover Green Roofs, LLC GRHC AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Fall 2012

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Fall 2012
Contents
From the Founder
Letter From the Editor
The World’s First Bio-Façade Ready to Grow
Save the Dates for the Greenroofs & Walls of the World™ Virtual Summit 2013
On the Roof With…
Policy and Standards
Current Research
Leadership
Product
Plant
Project
2012 Awards of Excellence
New Corporate Members
Professional Calendar
GRHC Buyer’s Guide
On Spec

Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Fall 2012