Chicago School Opens With Green Roof
Posted on February 1, 2008
A new school in Chicago - The Latin School of Chicago - is opening with an impressive green roof from American Hydrotech. The green roof atop the Latin School is among a growing number of schools nationally that have incorporated green roofs into their building designs. The 5,500-square-foot green roof combines a high-performance waterproof membrane with lightweight green roof technology. The green roof is also accessible to students and faculty as a learning environment.
"The plantings will be fully established in about a year and I'm excited to see what the classes can fully do with it," Deb Sampey, middle school director, says. "Its first connection with the curriculum will probably be with our 8th grade and high school astronomy classes. But classes might also come up here for creative writing projects and just sit in this space and be inspired on a beautiful day."
More details about the green roof were described in a press release:
The Latin School's new green roof, in addition to its aesthetic qualities, offers multiple environmental benefits. Plants on the roof work to keep the structure's temperature down, save on heating and cooling costs, reduce stormwater runoff, extend the useful life of the roof and reduce the urban heat island effect.Green buildings are a growing trend. Eventually there will be many buildings that have green roofs. There will even be green skyscrapers that behave more like an ecosystem than an environmentally-unfriendly steel fortress.****
The school worked with the award-winning architectural firm of Nagle Hartray Danker Kagan McKay Penney to design a building that is in keeping with the feel of the neighborhood while providing first-class educational amenities and sound green design. In addition to the green roof, the building provides significant green space, including private gardens on the ground level. Recycled materials were used throughout the building when feasible and specially-treated windows and sunshades have been installed to reduce the building's use of natural resources to heat and cool the facility.