JPL Green Roof

Proving once again that the concept of rooftop greening is really smart - the rocket scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have included a vegetated roof at their new Flight Projects Center building on their campus in Pasadena, California.


:: image via JPL

"A green, living roof will keep the building cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The green roof will also help minimize storm water runoff into the Arroyo Seco, a dry riverbed near JPL... The plants do more than enhance the view; they are part of the building's many "green" features. In fact, the building is so green that JPL is going for the gold -- a gold certification, that is, under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system, set up by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council."

I just had a conversation with a landscape architecture student from Cal Poly Pomona about more arid climates and the viability of green roofing - so this is good to see in SoCal, and it will be interesting to see the level of effort, particularly irrigation needed to maintain this roof, as well as how plants do in this particular environment.