El Paseo Verde
Client: D.E.P. (Departement of Environmental Protection)
Social partnership: Cypress Hills local development corporation
Landscape architect: Future Green Studio
Design proposal for the D.E.P. Stormwater Grant competition
El Paseo Verde proposes a "green cloak" retrofit, an emergent technology which combines the stormwater retention benefits of traditional green roofs with an economic and light-weight design strategy. Planter boxes, which house the soil substrate for the vines and the rainwater reservoir, are strategically located where the building has the greatest load-bearing capacity - the roof parapet. The other components of the design - the leafy vines and supporting cables - are light-weight and suspended above the roof. In minimizing weight load and maximizing rainwater capacity, green cloaking presents a readily replicable and viable strategy for the majority of New York City rooftops.
As a strategy for stormwater management, the efficacy of green cloaking lies in the natural principles employed in a forest canopy. During a rainfall, the tree canopy not only dissipates the kinetic energy of the falling water, but also facilitates its direct evaporation through shallowly distributing pools of water across the leafy surfaces. As reported in Living Architecture Monitor, Vol. 10, No. 2, studies being conducted by David Tilley and Laura Schumann at the University of Maryland suggest that a high leaf-density cloak can reduce peak runoff for a half-inch storm by 62 per cent.
Key design features:
> Dual-function planter boxes which sit atop a rainwater reservoir
> Light-weight cable network suspended from roof parapet
> Vine canopy supported by cable network
> Pump to divert rainwater away from roof drain and into rainwater reservoir
Green cloaks along El Paseo Verde will take on one of two forms depending on the particular site conditions:
> Flat canopy
> Tented canopy (to accommodate bulkhead)
Internship work at Future Green Studio (New York City)
Social partnership: Cypress Hills local development corporation
Landscape architect: Future Green Studio
Design proposal for the D.E.P. Stormwater Grant competition
El Paseo Verde proposes a "green cloak" retrofit, an emergent technology which combines the stormwater retention benefits of traditional green roofs with an economic and light-weight design strategy. Planter boxes, which house the soil substrate for the vines and the rainwater reservoir, are strategically located where the building has the greatest load-bearing capacity - the roof parapet. The other components of the design - the leafy vines and supporting cables - are light-weight and suspended above the roof. In minimizing weight load and maximizing rainwater capacity, green cloaking presents a readily replicable and viable strategy for the majority of New York City rooftops.
As a strategy for stormwater management, the efficacy of green cloaking lies in the natural principles employed in a forest canopy. During a rainfall, the tree canopy not only dissipates the kinetic energy of the falling water, but also facilitates its direct evaporation through shallowly distributing pools of water across the leafy surfaces. As reported in Living Architecture Monitor, Vol. 10, No. 2, studies being conducted by David Tilley and Laura Schumann at the University of Maryland suggest that a high leaf-density cloak can reduce peak runoff for a half-inch storm by 62 per cent.
Key design features:
> Dual-function planter boxes which sit atop a rainwater reservoir
> Light-weight cable network suspended from roof parapet
> Vine canopy supported by cable network
> Pump to divert rainwater away from roof drain and into rainwater reservoir
Green cloaks along El Paseo Verde will take on one of two forms depending on the particular site conditions:
> Flat canopy
> Tented canopy (to accommodate bulkhead)
Internship work at Future Green Studio (New York City)
June 2011
