1. Rooftop and vertical gardens
as an adaptation strategy for
urban areas

2. Contents
01
• What is a rooftop garden, a vertical garden?
02
• Benefits, construction of rooftop gardens
03
• Maintenance considerations, long term issues of rooftop gardens
04
• Benefits, disadvantages and issues of vertical gardens
05
• How these gardens become an adaptation strategy for urban areas?
06
• Applications for urban SriLankan homes
07
• References
2

3. What is a rooftop garden?
• Rooftop garden
Any outdoor, elevated garden.
- They are generally found in urban areas.
- They can be public, semi public or private.
• Vertical garden
A vertical garden is a wall covered with
vegetation.
3

4. 4
Rooftop gardens

5. 5
Top view of some rooftop gardens

6. 6
Close view of a rooftop garden

7. Benefits of roof top gardens (1)
• Reduce urban heat island effect
• Add beauty and usable space
• Reduce energy requirement of buildings
• Storm water management
• Air quality improvement
7

8. Benefits of roof top gardens (2)
• Dust reduction
• Increased life expectancy of roof
membranes
• Noise reduction
• Biodiversity preservation
8

9. Basic Construction
9
Cross section of a typical rooftop garden

10. 10
layer
layer

11. Practical considerations when
building a rooftop garden
• Condition of the roof
• Structural capacity of the roof
• Access to the roof
• Cost
• Irrigation
• Drainage
11

12. Maintenance considerations
• Plant stress
• Invasive weeds, stray tree seedlings
• Shoot pruning
• Nutrient deficiency
• Pest and diseases
• Drainage
12

13. Long term issues
• Plant replacement
• Soil replacement
• Deterioration of containers, tiles
• Damage to building infrastructure (drainage
problems)
13

14. What is a Vertical Garden?
• A vertical garden or a living wall is a wall
covered with vegetation.
– The plant supporting system is very light and thus can be
implemented on any wall.
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15. 15

16. 16
Indoor vertical gardens

17. 17
A vertical garden designed to allow some natural light in

18. 18
Hydroponic vertical garden

19. Benefits of vertical gardens
• Act as a thermal isolation system
• Reduce the overall temperature of the
building in summer and protect the building
from the cold in winter.
19

20. Disadvantages of vertical gardens
• Roots grow deep inside the wall and damage it
• Only light weight plants can be used.
20

21. Issues in vertical gardening
• Flammability issues
• Maintenance difficulties
21

22. How these gardens become an
adaptation strategy for urban areas?
• Reduce air pollution
22
Noise
Combustion gases
Dust

23. • Increased energy conservation
23
Thermal insulations no heat up/cool down is required energy preservation

24. Applications for a urban SriLankan home
27

25. 25
A growth pillar A growth column

26. 26

27. Plants that can be used for rooftop
and vertical gardens
• Ornamental plants
• Edible plants
• Medicinal plants
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28. Ornamental Edible Medicinal
28
Piper Nigrum L.
Piper betle L.
Solanum lycopersicum
Solanum melongena
Wattakaka volubilis
Climbing roses
Clematis spp.
Asparagus falcatus

29. References (1)
• Janick, J. (1972)
Horticultural science, 2nd edition. W.H. Freeman and company, San
Francisco : 564-570
• Prakash, J. and Pierik, R.L.M. (1991) Horticulture - New technologies
and applications. Kluwer academic publishers, The Netherlands :
401-404
• Richard, D.M (2008) Chicago’s green rooftops, A guide to rooftop
gardening, Chicago Department of Environment.Chicago.
• Lars, B. Lennart, G. Jonas, L. (2005) Hydrological function of a thin
extensive green roof in southern Sweden. Nordic hydrology , 36(3),
pp. 259-268
[Online] Available from
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=16976182 [Accessed
20.03.2012]
29

30. References (2)
• Niachou, A. Santamouris, M. Tsangrassoulis, A. (2001) Analysis
of the green roof thermal properties and investigation of its
energy performance. Energy and Buildings, 33(7) : 719-729
[Online] available from
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S03787788
01000627 [Accessed 20.03.2012]
• Wong, N.H. Alex, Y.k.T. Yu, C. Kannagi, S. Puay, Y.T. Derek, C.
Kelly, C. Ngian, C.W. (2010) Thermal evaluation of vertical
greenery systems for building walls. Building and Environment
45(3) : 663-672 [Online] available from
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S03601323
0900198X [Accessed 20.03.2012]
• http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopExt/4DMG/Flowers/Vi
nes/annual.htm (20.03.2012)
30

31. References (3)
• http://www.miller-mccune.com/science-
environment/farming-in-high-rises-raises-hopes-3705/
(20.03.2012)
• http://nparc.cisti.nrc.ca/npsi/ctrl?action=shwart&index=an
&req=20386110&lang=en (20.03.2012)
• http://www.trentu.ca/eab/documents/Rooftop_Gardens-
Zipple.pdf (20.03.2012)
• https://dl.sciencesocieties.org/publications/jeq/abstracts/3
4/3/1036?access=0&view=article (20.03.2012)
• http://www.cropsreview.com/vertical-farming-issues.html
(20.03.2012)
• http://www.technologyforthepoor.com/UrbanAgriculture/Gar
den.htm (20.03.2012)
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32. 32
Thank you