Water independence: A path taken

Abstract

The most prevalent questions we encounter regarding green roofs are: What drove this decision? Why an intensive green roof? What are the benefits such a constructed and constrained feature can provide? What did we discover? What changed? Is there a premium? Is the green roof a true contributor to a process? These questions give rise to the underlying issue of resilience. Resilience is the result of individuals interacting with their environments and the processes that either promote well-being or protect them against the overwhelming influence of risk factors. Resilience and water are intertwined. First, a short bit of history. Our experience with green roofs began in 2005 and has resulted in five buildings-ranging in size from roughly 48,500 square feet (4,506 m2) down to 5,000 square feet (465 m2)-creating an aggregate of 1.6 acres (.648 ha) of intensive green roofs. Another acre plus of green roofs is currently in various stages of permitting, initial planning, schematic design, and construction documentation. Construction on our next roof is scheduled to be complete in June of 2013. All of our green roofs are in the Houston region.