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Green roofs in temperate climates and in the hot-humid tropics –

far beyond the aesthetics

Article  in  Environmental Management and Health · October 2002

DOI: 10.1108/09566160210439297

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 The research register for this journal is available at
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EMH
13,4
382
Environmental Management and
Health, Vol. 13 No. 4, 2002,
pp. 382-391. # MCB UP Limited,
0956-6163
DOI 10.1108/09566160210439297
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0956-6163.htm
Green roofs in temperate
climates and in the hot-humid
tropics ± far beyond
the aesthetics
Manfred KoÈhler
Fachbereich Agrarwirtschaft und Landespflege,
University of Applied Sciences, Neubrandenburg, Germany
Marco Schmidt
Department of Applied Hydrology, Resource Protection and Irrigation,
Technical University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Friedrich Wilhelm Grimme and Michael Laar
Institut fuÈr Tropentechnologie ITT, University of Applied Sciences,
Cologne, Germany
Vera LuÂcia de AssuncËaÄo Paiva
Escola de Bellas Artes, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro,
Rio de Janiro, Brazil
Sergio Tavares
CEFET-RJ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Keywords Roofs, Recycling, Facilities management, Ecology, Green issues
Abstract Green roofs are still often seen as a pure aesthetical element in architecture, as a spleen of
some ``greenies''. In fact green roofs already contribute, to some extent, to a better microclimate
through evaporation, filtering of dust from the air and a decrease in temperatures at the rooftop. In
cities like Berlin and Munich many green roofs have already been realised. Coupled with this
microclimate improvement, is the thermal comfort improvement under such roofs by more mass, dry
or wet substrate, and shading through the plants. Besides improving the microclimate and the indoor
climate, the retention of rainwater is another important advantage. That means an important
reduction of the rainwater input in the sewage system during rainfalls, cutting the peak load, avoiding
an overload of the system, which might cause flooding and serious health problems. The risk of flooding
in cities, which is increasing in many cities due to a ground sealed by buildings, asphalt and concrete,
can be diminished. One recent example of the use of green roofs with this purpose is the Potsdamer
Platz in the centre of Berlin, where 100 percent of the rainwater has to be evaporated or used for toilet
flushing on the building site. Scientific knowledge on green roofs is still limited to temperate climates,
due to a development which took place in central Europe. Since 2000 a scientific project in Rio de
Janeiro is checking local parameters, like possible vegetation, which can be used and substrate
composition. Parallel to this, four prototype roofs, three greened and one blank, are used to measure
the retention rate of the rain water and the temperature on the underside of the roofs in order to
analyse the possible improvement of the thermal comfort in buildings. This paper will describe the
scientific results of Germany and discuss the practicability on a larger scale under tropical conditions.
The authors would like to thank their partners in the research group, which is also composed of
Fernando GusmaÄo, Nisete Augusta de Amigo and Cristina Souza (all CEFET/RJ) as well as the
sponsors of the projects, the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) and CAPES
(Brazilian Academic Exchange Service).
1. Introduction Green roofs in
Green roofs do have a long tradition worldwide. The famous suspended temperate
(hanging) gardens of Semiramis, one the seven wonders of the antique world, climates
may serve as an example. This type was a forerunner of what we call today an
``intensive'' green roof. This kind of green roof is marked by a substrate height
of more than 50cm, artificial irrigation and a wide variety of plants. The static
of the roof has to be checked carefully, due to the substrate weight. To 383
guarantee a good performance, regular care is fundamental. Roof gardens are a
common element in representative buildings as well as luxury hotels. A well
known example in Brazil is the roof garden designed by Burle Marx on the
building of the former Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) in Rio de
Janeiro (Plate 1).
In contrast to intensive green roofs or green gardens are the extensive green
roofs: they function in the first place as a ``climatic skin'' and have their origin
in, for example, Iceland (residential buildings) and Hungary (wine warehouses).
Simple grass roofs were used to isolate the interior against heat in the summer
and cold in the winter. Extensive green roofs are, like the name indicates, free of
tending and do not need irrigation.
In 1900 the extensive green roof was further developed by a German roofer
for use on contemporary residential buildings. In many German cities these
roofs were built as a form of fire protection. This type of roof proved to be very
durable and until recently almost totally free of maintenance.
Special attention is being paid to the role of green roofs in the ecology of
urban centres. The city of Berlin was the vanguard in this discussion. The
green roof was discussed under several aspects:
. longer durability of the roof skin, due to lower surface temperatures and
a better protection against UV-radiation;
. relieving the strain on the ecology of the city, principally concerning
micro-climate, rainwater retention and filtering of airborne pollutants;
. a biotope for animals and plants were a high impermeabilisation rate
created ``concrete deserts'';

Plate 1.
Green roof in Rio de
Janeiro, designed by
Burle Marx
EMH . aesthetical improvements in denaturalised urban centres;
13,4 . creation of recreation areas in parts of the city, were real estate prices
would not allow the luxury of, for example, a restaurant with a garden.
Since 1980 the aspects of urban ecology are being investigated in Berlin.
Parallel to this, at universities in other German cities technical aspects were
384 being tested and improved, like substrate, sealing and drainage, leading to
guidelines for the implementation.
The positive effects of green roofs are proved: reduction of the roof surface
temperature, the retention of precipitation, the active evaporation in loci, a
reduction of the entry of air borne pollutants into lakes and rivers during
rainfalls. The cooling effect of evaporation, which is helpful in the German
summer, works during the whole year in the tropics.
In Germany already 7 percent of all new constructed flat roofs are green
roofs. A growing amount of sloped roofs are also greened. What helps
significantly in convincing clients to implement this technology is a warranty
of 30 years, which is basically the same warranty for sloped roofs with
conventional materials.
The aim of this international and interdisciplinary project is an adaptation of
a technology well proved in Germany to an other climatic zone and, wherever
necessary, the development of new solutions to the very specific situation.

2. Thermal advantages of green roofs

2.1 Roof surface temperatures
The most obvious argument for green roofs is the reduction of the surface
temperature. Own measurements in Berlin were started in 1984. The analysis
of data obtained in three years proved, that, beside a reduction of the maximum
temperature, the years amplitude could reduced by half (KoÈhler, 1993); (KoÈhler
and Schmidt, 1997). That means a significant strain reduction for the sealing
material.
Beside measurements with PT-100, protected against sun, measurements
are being carried out with infrared sensors for some time, due to its higher
accuracy. This technology works ``touchless'' and ascertains the real
temperature of a small measurement spot. The following results for the
locations Berlin and Neubrandenburg are being published for the first time.
Two types of conventional roofs, one sealed with bitumen (Berlin), the other
covered with gravel (Neubrandenburg), were being compared with green roofs
in the corresponding locations.
The green roof of the cultural centre ``UFA-Fabrik" was realised in 1984 due
to a municipal program which focused a improvement of the urban
environment The average thickness of the substrate is around 8cm, the
vegetation covers about 90-95 percent of the substrate (Figure 1).
The green roof in Neubrandenburg was being constructed in October 1998.
Different types of Sedum and different types of moss grow on a 7cm layer of
substrate. The higher plants cover approximately 30 percent of the surface (Figure 2).
 Green roofs in
temperate
climates

385

Figure 1.
Water retention and
drain delay of a greened
roof compared with a
flat bitumen roof (8cm of
soil layer)

Figure 2.
Temperature of a
greened and
non-greened roof,
FH Neubrandenburg,
Germany

Figure 2 shows temperature measurements from May 2000 exemplarily for the
location of Neubrandenburg. The month was relatively warm for Central
Europe. The precipitation rate was very low.
Sensors used in this measurements are:
. Surface sensor, not shadowed ± bt2.
. Surface, shadowed, gravel ± tbod1.
. Surface, shadowed, green ± tbod2.
. Temperature of substrate ± bt1.
. Air temperature1m, shadowed ± t1m.
EMH The daily course of the temperatures vary at noon between 20-288C. The surface
13,4 temperature of the gravel roof, which was measured while protected against
radiation, according to the German standard, takes a similar course like the green
roof, while the amplitude of the gravel roof is more pronounced. The gravel roof
already improves the surface temperature due to its shadowing effect. Its
disadvantage is a relatively high weight without the benefits of vegetation.
386 The surface temperature (unprotected measurement) bt2 is around 10K
higher than the other readings. Temperatures of over 508C are being reached.
The temperature of the substrate increases slowly, suppressing the high
amplitudes which the other readings show.
Two positive effects can be observed here: first, the cooling effect of the
evaporating water and second, as soon as the cavity water is evaporated (what
effects the plants negatively), the effect of the higher insulation.
Table I demonstrates the comparison of mean values for the month May,
July, September and December (for the sensor description see above).
The attenuated temperature swing of the green roof represents the decisive
additional buffer zone. Ideally it is composed of three layers:
(1) Top layer: plants, even dead leafs, shade the surface of the substrate
without blocking the air stream.
(2) Mid layer: 5-50cm of substrate. The effect depends on the kind of
substrate: material with high porosity and light colours are to be
preferred.
(3) Bottom layer: the drainage layer, can be composed of substrate or of
material with big pores to drain the water, which can not be retained by
the cavity of the substrate.
Compared to this roof composition, a conventional (flat) roof is only composed
of a thin layer of bitumen, sometimes protected by a layer of gravel, and is
therefore very susceptible to damages.
The rather complex composition of the green roof improves the comfort of the
top floor apartments significantly: while top floor/under the roof apartments are
notorious for comfort problems in winter (too cold) and summer (too hot), the
tenants of apartments, which were equipped with green roofs in the 1980s, are
quite satisfied with their ``under earth'' apartments, as periodical interviews proved.

Sensor May July September December

Table I. Tbod1 15.9 16.0 13.7 3.2

Comparison of some Tbod2 16.3 16.2 13.6 3.2
mean values of May, Bt1 20.5 18.7 15.5 5.5
July, September and Bt2 21.1 18.7 14.6 2.9
December 2000 T1m 14.3 15.3 13.3 3.3
3. Water retention Green roofs in
Figure 3 shows exemplarily the reduction of rain runoff on extensively greened temperate
roofs. climates
The retention of water, caused by the evapotranspiration of the plants and
the soil layer, is the main aspect for the reduction of the temperature of the
buildings. The main idea to prevent the surface of a building from energy-
impacts is to reduce the direct and diffuse radiation or to increase the reflection 387
of the surface. But these solutions may have an effect on the direct
neighbourhood due to thermal processes, because the radiation does not really
``disappear''. A much better solution is to consume the incorporated radiation
by greening facËades and roofs.
Own measurements to the water retention of greened roofs yielded an
evaporation between 60-79 percent (see Table II) of the annual precipitation.
This value is applied to Berlin with a relationship of precipitation to potential
evaporation with 550-600mm. It found entrance into the building standards. In
comparison with green roofs, the run offs of the precipitation from a bitumen-
roof are approximately 90 percent.
In green roofs the stored precipitations evaporate either directly from the
roof-surface (interception, evaporation), or are transpirated by the plants
(transpiration). For the evapotranspiration of these precipitations, energy is
necessary. This physical process generates the so-called evaporation cooling
with 2450J/g H2O. Table II shows the resultant cooling-rates with meanly

Figure 3.
Reduction of rain runoff
on extensively greened
roofs ± comparison of
different substrate
thickness

Precipitation Runoff Runoff Pot. ETP Measured ETP Cooling Table II.
Year (mm) (mm) (%) (mm) (mm) (kWh/(m2*a)) Precipitation, runoff,
potential and measured
1987 702 179 25.5 641 523 356 evapotranspiration and
1988 595 157 26.4 696 437 298 evaporation cooling of
1989 468 98 20.9 750 370 252 greened roofs
EMH 300kWh/(m2a) for Germany. For tropical countries, much higher cooling values
13,4 are expected due to higher precipitation and evapotranspiration rates.
Under tropical conditions the evaporation rate on heated up buildings is
impressionably visualized after a rain shower: the roofs are steaming. During and
after a rain shower the temperature drops significantly. This positive effect does not
last long, due to a lack of rain water retention in most urban areas. The rain water is
388 drained rapidly, many times causing inundations in the lower areas of the city. As
more and more urban soil is sealed, rain water overloads sewerage systems, leading
to untreated sewage finding its way directly into the surface water. Especially in the
case of tropical rain falls, which are very often characterized by extremely big
amounts of water in a short period, therefore causing an enormous peak load (Table
III), the retention capacity of green roofs might help to avoid inundations, which are
very frequent in, for example, Rio de Janeiro and SaÄo Paulo, Brazil.
In Germany a rate of 40-55mm/h is the probability for maximums in ten
years. 60-80mm/h are registered as a probability within 100 years.
A common problem in temperate climates is the leak of evaporation during
the winter period due to temperatures well below zero degree centigrade. This
decrease of rain water retention will not show up in tropical and sub-tropical
climates due to generally higher temperatures. For this reason green roofs
appear to be even more indicated for tropical and sub-tropical climates than for
temperate climates.
What still has to be checked carefully is the retention rate on a hourly base: the
retention rate depends on various factors, like thickness of the substrate layer,
pore volume of the substrate, degree of saturation due to previous precipitation,
etc. This part will be topic of future publications of this project group.
Figure 1 shows the water retention and drain delay of a greened roof (8cm of
soil layer) compared with a flat bitumen roof in Berlin.

4. Retention of pollutants and nutrient removal

Roof greening on a third aspect means more than just reducing the size of
sewerage systems. It also ensures better quality of surface waters as it reduces

Station mm/hour Date Hour

Campo Grande 116.2 19/03/2000 00:08

Grajau 90.3 16/02/2000 23:01
Sumare 81.3 02/04/1998 23:49
Tanque 78.3 09/01/1997 18:42
Tijuca 78.2 17/02/1998 15:15
Vidigal 72.5 15/12/1998 17:43
Table III. Cachambi 72.4 28/03/2001 22:17
The ten heaviest Tijuca 71.5 07/01/1998 19:00
rainfalls in different Anchieta 71.0 28/03/2001 21:23
parts of Rio de Janeiro, Madureira 71.0 31/01/1997 19:17
Brazil from 1997 until
March 2001 Source: Alerta Rio (2001)
pollution caused by rain water runoff or combined sewer overflows. The Green roofs in
positive effects like retention of pollutants and nutrient removal are essential temperate
for improving the water quality in our rivers and streams. climates
Figure 4 shows the balance of the nutrient- and heavy-metal retention in
percent of entry, measured on research plots of the TU Berlin in Berlin-
Charlottenburg. The results are based on 36-monthly measurements each in a
three years average. 389
Figure 5 demonstrates the increase of phosphate retention due to the
establishment of plants in the course of time. The magnitude of this effect
depends on the thickness of the substrate, the depot and the kind of vegetation.
This effect is extremely important for urban water bodies, which generally
suffer from an algae problem (and therefore a lack of oxygen, etc.), due to an
overload of nutrients.

5. Example ± Potsdamer Platz (Berlin)

40,000m3 of extensive green roofs were implemented as a measure for an
integrated rainwater management at the DaimlerChrysler area at the
Potsdamer Platz in the centre of Berlin.
A wide range of city-ecology measures is available today depending on the
various local conditions. Combining different types of measures is seldom
practised in large scale projects. The example of the construction-site of the
Potsdamer Platz Project shows the importance of integrating all aspects
regarding ecology already in the planning process. As a part of an integrated

Figure 4.
Retention of pollutants
in percentage of input

Figure 5.
Phosphate retention due
to the establishment of
plants over the years
EMH ecological concept from energy-purposes to the use of environmental-friendly
13,4 building materials a large water-management concept was realized.
A condition dictated by the city council was the compliance of a maximum
draining of 3l/sec/ha for this specific area. The idea behind was a reduction of
peak run offs during heavy precipitations and so an avoidance of rain water in
the mixed sewerage system. To comply with these regulations, different
390 measures were applied:
The management of 23,000m3 per year rainwater from 19 buildings are
handled by the following measures:
. extensively and intensively greened roofs;
. collecting of roof-runoff to be used for toilette flushing and irrigation of
green areas including intensively greened roofs;
. refilling an artificial lake.
Plate 2 shows an artificial lake with a size of 1.2ha, and a constructed wetland
for rainwater treatment of 1,900m2.

6. Conclusions
The following conclusions may be drawn from this case study:
. Green roofs are an important element of bio-climatic architecture. The
lowering of the temperature of the roof and the insulation effect due to
plants and substrate are undeniably positive for the indoor climate.
. The durability of flat roofs is increased significantly.
. Green roofs are urban sponges, retaining rain water and generating
cooling effects, lowering the risks of inundations and improving the
urban micro climate.
. Pollutants are retained, improving the rain water quality, which means
less pollution of rivers and (urban) lakes.
. Downsizing of sewerage systems.

Plate 2.
Urban artificial lake,
Potsdamer Platz, Berlin
 Green roofs have a long history: beginning with the ``hanging gardens'' of Green roofs in
Semiramis, to roofs gardens planed by Le Corbusier and Burle Marx to an temperate
intensive use at the Expo 2000 in Hannover, the concepts are similar but the climates
details changed. Today green roofs are based on a stable fundament of research
and development. Materials were adapted, improved or newly developed. The
industry in Germany gives a warranty of 30 years for green roofs . This already
increases the implementation of green roofs in Germany, actually 7 percent of 391
all newly constructed flat roofs. Positive effects for indoor climate, micro
climate and material durability are proven. The retention of rain water for the
avoidance of inundations is not questioned any more and already found its way
into municipal regulations in Central Europe.
There is still some research and development to be done for the application
of this technology in the hot and humid tropics. Special attention will be paid to
the fauna and flora, due to possible hygienic problems (for example Dengue
Fever transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito, which uses small water bodies
as a ``cradle'').
First results and theoretical calculations permit the conclusion that green
roofs might be as interesting for the tropics and sub-tropics as for temperate
climates.

References
Alerta Rio (2001, available at: www.rio.rj.gov.br/georio/
KoÈhler, M. (Ed.) (1993), Dach- und FassadenbegruÈnung, Ulmer, Stuttgart, p. 329 S.
KoÈhler, M. and Schmidt, M. (1997), Hof-, Fassaden- und DachbegruÈnung, Zentraler Baustein der
StadtoÈkologie'', Landschaftsentwicklung und Umweltforschung, Vol. 105, pp. 1-177.

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