Designing The Kinder Garden: Green Roof
When designing the kinder garden, we thought mostly about the children going there. That's why we really liked the idea of a green roof, as it seems as a perfect kind of thing to tickle child's imagination. Obviously, it is also a great eco-friendly option. Scientific research has shown that ecologically designed green roofs can provide good habitat for wildlife. However, there are limitations and factors that demand consideration. In the first place, green roofs are very compressed environments, as due to the shallow soils used, the drying effect of wind and sun is even more of a nuisance. These are properties of a dry grassland and many post-industrial sites. Therefore a range of good, dry meadow plants can survive on a well-designed green roof. That's why we want to design for biodiversity, which is a quality that will provide for a richer and more interesting roof.
In order to care for it, we need to ensure a varied substrate depth, as well as a wide range of wildflowers seeded. This is done in order to attract insects and pollinators (such as bees), that will serve as "gardeners" of the green roof. Furthermore, we need to include particular elements attracting a broader wildlife (birds, contestant bugs types, etc. to prevent "biological monopoly"); hollow logs or twig bundles, rocks, different substrate types, such as areas of sand or rubble, and spaces for shelter, such as roof tiles and nesting boxes. A green roof designed in this way doesn't really need to be taken care of as much, as its biodiversity serves as its keeper. Rain is of course crucial here, so in case of a surprising summer draught it needs to be watered. In case of a rainy season, on the other hand, green roof absorbs up to 60% of rain water working as a catch basin, although it still needs to be water-proofed in case of too much water.
Furthermore, the plants on green roofs can capture airborne pollutants, atmospheric deposition, and also filter noxious gases. With something as common as dust allergy, it is a very nice building quality for children. In the broader perspective, the temperature moderating effects of green roofs can reduce demand on power plants, and potentially decrease the amount of CO2 and other polluting by-products being released into the air. A particular system we've been looking into is ICOPAL's biodiverse system, which utilizes a free-draining substrate and drainage board. The vegetation is created using wildflowers, grass seed and plug plant mix which is allowed to grow and develop over time. This is one of the most biodiverse systems out there, and that is the quality we very much put our focus on in this project. However, this serves only as inspiration, as we would like to incorporate some of our own ideas and solutions later in the process.
