Case Study
Vancouver Public Library Green Roof Monitoring Project
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•Case Study: Vancouver Public Library Green Roof Monitoring Project
By Chris Johnston P.Eng., Kathryn McCreary B.A.Sc., Cheryl Nelms, B.Eng.
The Vancouver Public Library's (VPL) Central Branch building and green roof were constructed in 1995. The 2,600 m2 (28,000 sq.ft.) roof includes an extensive green roof with a gross area of 1850 m2 (20,000 sq.ft.) and a net area of 1,500 m2 (16,150 sq.ft). The green roof was designed and completed by architect Moshe Safdie and Landscape Architect Cornelia Hahn Oberlander.
The green roof is inaccessible to the general public but can be viewed by occupants in the surrounding residential and commercial towers.
Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGS) initiated this study to add to the pool of information on Best Management Practices (BMPs) and Low Impact Development (LID) methods. In June 2003, PWGSC partnered with Kerr Wood Leidal Associates Ltd. (KWL) to conduct a year long monitoring project on the VPL green roof. The purpose of the project is to assess the performance of the green roof during the rainy and dry seasons (saturated and nonsaturated conditions). Data on air and runoff water temperature, soil moisture, relative humidity, rainfall, wind speed and direction, gust speed and solar radiation are being collected. With this information a computer model can be developed to assist in predicting stormwater impacts for various soil depths and climatic regions of the Pacific Northwest.
Click Here To Download:•Case Study: Vancouver Public Library Green Roof Monitoring Project
