Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Spring 2014 - (Page 20)
PROJECT PROFILE
SPACE IN TRANSITION
RYERSON UNIVERSITY'S FIRST GREEN ROOF GETS AN URBAN AGRICULTURE FACELIFT
BY: VINCENT JAVET
S
itting on top of Ryerson
University's George
Vari Engineering and
Computing Centre in Toronto
is a 10,000 square foot (sf)
extensive green roof. There are
numerous stories about why the
building ultimately decided to
go green, but one thing is for
sure, the green roof installation
has undergone dramatic
changes since the building was
completed in 2004.
The original green roof
(made possible in 2004 by a
$150,000 donation by Canadian broadcaster and Ryerson
alumni Valarie Pringle) began
as a project to both beautify a
rooftop for concerned condo
owners as well as to support
cutting edge research. Ryerson
selected Gardens in the Sky
(now Flynn Canada) to design
and construct the green roof.
The green roof consisted of day
lilies, generously planted apart,
setting the stage for Mother
Nature to work her magic on
the open spaces between the
plantings. After almost half
a decade of limited maintenance and poorly timed weed
whacking, the green roof was
flourishing, but not as planned.
Over 30 different pioneering
species had managed to become
established. These ranged from
weeds like Ragweed to trees
such as the Norway Maple.
LIVING ARCHITECTURE MONITOR / SPRING 2014 / 20
The green roof had become full
of biodiversity, but it was difficult to manage.
The newest vision for this
Ryerson University green roof
was that of an urban rooftop
garden. Enter Rye's HomeGrown (a Ryerson University
sustainability group) and a
well-rounded team of capable
and seasoned urban farmers
and volunteers. After numerous
discussions and meetings, the
conversion of the George Vari
Engineering and Computing
Centre green roof to an urban
rooftop farm was given the
green light.
The green roof contains
two sections of plant material
and one was granted as a trial
site for Rye's HomeGrown to
conduct the conversion. The
site granted for conversion is
considerably smaller than the
secondary patch-978 sf-but
it does offer wind protection
providing a microclimate benefit to rooftop gardening.
The roof serves as an example of what can be done when
an existing green roof requires
revitalization. "The conversion of Ryerson's rooftop not
only has enormous potential
to increase food production
on campus, but also brings
an incredible opportunity for
hands-on education in urban
agriculture within the univer-
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Spring 2014
Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Spring 2014
Contents
From the Founder
On the Roof With...
Policy and Standards
Research
Gap Leadership
Confessions of a Green 'Starchitect'
Sprucing Up
Green Roofs and Walls in Music City
Space in Transition
Big Box Retailers Embracing Green Roofs?
Exploring England's Green Roof and Wall Industry
New GRHC Corporate Members
GRHC Buyers Guide
Professional Calendar
Dirty Thoughts
Green Roofs - Living Architecture Monitor - Spring 2014
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