How Roof Gardens Make Buildings More Sustainable

How Roof Gardens Make Buildings More Sustainable roof garden

How Roof Gardens Make Buildings More Sustainable

 

How Roof Gardens Make Buildings More Sustainable roof garden

Ever saw a beautiful garden atop the roof of a commercial building like a hotel and dismissed it as one of the ploys used for beautification? A roof garden no doubt looks unique and attractive but this is not the sole reason that inspires building owners to incorporate it in their scheme of things.  

For those of you who do not know, roof gardens today are contributing significantly to the sustainability of large constructions. As you become attuned to their usefulness, you also could feel a strong urge to have one installed in your property and someone like Vista Concepts, a leading supplier of green roof systems in Australia, can easily fulfil your wish. 

Meanwhile, here is how a roof garden makes a building more sustainable:     

  • Protection from the sun 

We will start with something that is totally evident. First, picture a building that is completely exposed to the sun on a hot summer day. Now visualise a beautiful garden on the roof of this edifice and you can imagine the difference that this thing is going to make. How it will absorb the heat and light of the sun that on falling directly on anything in excess measure is bound to have an adverse effect.  

Compared to plants and trees, concrete heats up faster that results in the UHI (Urban Heat Island) effect. Cities are often referred to as concrete jungles and where you have more concrete, that place is bound to be hotter. But when a city has plenty of roof gardens, together they reduce the UHI effect through their evaporation cycle. And a roof garden in fact covers the very source of UHI i.e. a concrete rooftop. 

  • Energy efficient     

Any structure that is less reliant on electricity is likely to become more sustainable. And this is precisely what a roof garden does by acting as natural insulation. During winters, roof gardens do not allow heat to escape and when it is summers, they allow the indoor temperature to remain cool. Any building that has a quality roof garden crowning it ends up spending less on air conditioning.   

  • Mitigate shrinking and expansion 

You must have heard that roofs and buildings expand during summers and shrink when the temperature begins to drop. A roof garden has what it takes to mitigate if not altogether stop this natural propensity.   

Shrinking and swelling is not good for any building as it tends to shorten its lifespan. The natural life of many buildings increased by several years post the inclusion of a roof garden that can delay if not eliminate the need for replacement and maintenance.  

  • Rainwater harvesting 

A rooftop garden is given to collecting and filtering rainwater, thereby allowing for a more natural way to manage such water. In the absence of plants, water often stagnates on rooftops that is detrimental to any building. 

The term ‘rainwater harvesting’ has been in use for long and if you have been wondering how you too can give it a try, you will be able to do so when you get a garden built on top of your roof. 

Plants use rainwater immediately and if there is excess of it, it is stored for later use. In summer, your rooftop garden can hold back 80% of rainfall and half of it when it gets cold. The same water eventually returns to the atmosphere via evaporation and transpiration.  

  • Reduced waste   

The use of a rooftop garden results in waste reduction by prolonging the life of the technologies and materials utilised in the building, including the waterproofing membranes fitted in the roof. Also, a rooftop garden can be equated with a clean roof. Often, you will find unused stuff lying on the roof of a building. But this won’t happen when instead of a neglected spot, you have flowers and greenery.  

As mentioned before, if you live in Australia, Vista Concepts, one of the top Roof Garden Suppliers in the country, can easily cater to your requirement for a roof garden. Moreover, we also deal in other similar things like vertical garden, moss wall, trellis wall, etc. Irrespective of whether you are on the lookout for roof gardens all over the Australia, Vista Concepts has professional installers to complete your project or can ship direct to you. So why wait? Give us the opportunity to make your building more sustainable and you will see how we will be raring to oblige you.   

 

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