Study Break!

Today I met with David Palmer, the manager of the Performing Arts Center at Soka University, for a tour of the university's new green roof. To begin, let me just tell you all how beautiful their campus is...it's beautiful! 

The fountain is divided into three separate sections in front of the Founder's Hall. Although the fountains are stunning, after taking my Water Resource Policy course this past quarter, I couldn't help but think about how much water was being wasted for just this aesthetic purpose. Soon I met with David to begin my tour, which, may I mention, was very thorough and more than I could have asked for. David was wonderful and kind, he added fun facts here and there to help me understand the full scope of the sustainable efforts on their campus. 

**NOTE: My thoughts of misusing the water for the fountains subsided when David explained to me that the fountains actually serve a dual purpose. The OC Fire Department requires to have water available for fire suppression purposes since the university is in the middle of a high fire risk zone. Instead of building an unappealing tank to contain the necessary water, the university created the 15 ft-deep fountains in the open space. If needed, a helicopter could fly down, pump their hoses, and extinguish any fires. Safety and architectural beauty all in one. Wow!

We continued the tour to the green roof on the Academic Building (the Performing Arts green roof is only accessible to campus facility). There I was, just a few steps away from seeing my first green roof... 

Entrance door to gain green roof access 

Left Side

Front View

Right View

The view was beautiful as it spanned over the seemingly endless hills and canyons. 

The sign indicates that you must be tied to the rail if you go past it

This green roof is sedum specific so requires very little maintenance and watering. Maintenance workers do come up once a month to take care of weeds and such for no extra cost.

Notice the snail-like critter

The sedum is wind resistant of up to 120 mph blowing winds and creates a habitat for wildlife. It is about 4 inches deep and is watered by a sprinkler system that uses the same reclaimed waste water used throughout the school. 

4-inch think plant sedum

There were three different ground compositions on this particular roof: black stones surrounding the drainage holes, the plant sedum, and the concrete walkways. 

The concrete was hottest surface and the sedum, the coolest. Relate it to the top of your car. When the top is hot to your touch, so is the inside of your car. So, a cool green roof helps keep the respective space below at lower temperatures. Green roof car tops, anyone?

The plant sedum is greener along the edges of the building because they get more shade and water from copper downspouts seen in the picture below. The downspouts channel rainwater from the roof above, which is not a green roof.

                                              

                                              

Many people questioned how architects and engineers planned on getting water for the irrigation system way up here. David explained that they actually implemented false downspouts on the side of this building (the one in the picture you see is a real downspout). Hidden within the false downspout is the irrigation pipe connected to a water source down below for the sprinkler system. Look closely and see the false pipes that line the outer right and left edges of the building. 

Next, we went into the Performing Arts Center and the Academic Building, both of which benefit from the green roofs. The HVAC (Cooling and Heating System) automatically regulates the temperature of the building with sensors that detect the heat surrounding the building. Since the green roof keeps the overall surrounding temperature of the building cooler, the system's motor does not need to start up or shut down as often to keep the temperature within the building in the specified range. You see, starting up the motor several times a day becomes more expensive than just letting it run. The electric cost is cut down dramatically it's more efficient, overall.

A very special thank you to David for his time and kindness. His tour was definitely the highlight of my finals week and he enlightened me with so much information that I plan on applying to youCgreen.