North Star
A sustainable renovation project shines near Temple
Growth Industry
The green roof on top of the Friends Center in Philadelphia
Roof Top
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With the help of pioneers like Charlie Miller, green roofs go mainstream by lee stabert
ack in the ’90s, Charlie Miller believed he was onto something big: green roofs. Thanks to a friend in Germany, he had seen potential in the technology, especially in urban areas with stormwater issues. “At the time, I thought I could just kind of whisper the idea, and everyone would pile on,” he recalls with a laugh. “I really protected the information carefully for a year, doing background research and traveling to Germany. Then I was ready to start my business—but it took a decade just to convince Americans to build green roofs.” Now his Mt. Airybased business, Roofscapes, is thriving; over the last decade-and-a-half they’ve completed countless projects across the country. And, through Water Department incentives and city policy, Philadelphia has now become one of their best markets. Miller, who has a background in water management and hydrology, believes in the transformative effects of strong, progressive policy. “In Germany, the only thing that makes this industry viable is being regulated or required by municipalities,” he explains. “There will always be people that will do this because it’s the right thing to do—and beautiful and enhances the postgreen photo by N ic Da r ling
structure—but to make it an industry, cities and states have to recognize green roofs as a solution to a particular problem; usually stormwater.” Another set of obstacles were cultural. “In Germany, they had been emphasizing gardening as a national ethos,” says Miller. “Gardening on your terrace or roof was a natural thing to do. While here, it was not. People here simply didn’t have green roofs to go see. It took a certain critical mass of projects in North America for the average person to be able to travel a short distance to see one.” Recent local projects include green roofs on PECO’s headquarters, the North American training center for SAP (an international business managment software company) in Newtown and the Friends Center, the city’s locus for Quaker activities. Roofscapes can do everything from feasibility and engineering analysis to seeing the job through construction and maintenance. Looking back, Miller is still confounded by Americans’ initial resistance to green roofs. “The idea just seemed so simple, intelligent and beautiful—and such an elegant solution to urban stormwater issues,” he says. “It seemed like it would just sell itself.”
Following years of neglect, 22 historic townhouses on North 16th Street near Temple University have been given a sustainable facelift. The project, dubbed Temple I, was completed by 1260 Housing Development Corporation in November. Built to qualify for LEED Gold Certification, the townhouses will provide 58 units of affordable housing for local families. Features include Forest Stewardship Council-certified lumber, non-toxic finishes, high-efficiency plumbing and white roofs. The rehabilitation of a second set of buildings—Temple II—is currently under construction, and will provide 40 more units of sustainable housing for low-income families. With the help of their affiliates at CPM Housing, 1260 has used over $125 million to develop affordable housing units throughout Philadelphia. 1260hdc.org, columbuspm.com
Green Wins Gold
Philadelphia’s Postgreen attended the Greenbuild 2010 International Conference and Expo, and returned home with the United States Green Building Council’s “LEED for Homes Project of the Year” award. The recognition went to the company’s 100K House, a LEED Platinumcertified residence built for less than $100 per square foot. “What we are particularly proud of is that these types of awards usually go to projects that are a bit flashier,” says Postgreen’s Nic Darling. Elements like solar hot water heaters, innovative insulation and impressive energyefficiency certainly make up for the lack of “flash.” The home’s head-turning blue façade also doesn’t hurt. For more on Postgreen’s 100K House see Grid’s May 2010 cover story, or visit 100khouse.com.
7135 Germantown Ave., 2nd Fl., 215-247-8784, roofmeadow.com F eb ruary 20 11
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