The university’s first green roof — a 1,000-square-foot experimental project — was installed April 11. Two test beds were constructed beside the Biology Department greenhouse on the 6th-floor roof of the Life Sciences Building. Under the supervision of Landscape Architecture Assistant Professor David Hopman, the green roof will be used to test plants (29 varieties of grasses and forbs), soils, planting systems, and irrigation systems to determine which combinations perform well in the extreme conditions of a rooftop in North Texas. The results of the investigation will aid in the design of an extensive green roof on the Engineering Research Building, which will be the campus’ first green building when it is constructed around 2010 on the north side of campus. The green roof project is believed to be one of the first in North Texas and one of only a few in the state.
The President’s Sustainability Committee extends thanks to:
- David Hopman, who designed the installation and has overseen the technical planning and materials donations;
- City and Regional Planning graduate student Amanda Popken, who has led and motivated the project team since 2007;
- volunteer faculty members, students, staff members, and alumni who turned out April 11 for hard work beneath a warm spring sun;
- Hydrotech USA, which donated thousands of dollars of materials for 50 percent of the roof, and Hydrotech’s local representative Robert Nickel, of Architectural Systems Inc., who offered technical assistance;
- Weston Solutions, which donated the other 50 percent of the soil and modular roofing system, and its representative Roger Smith;
- Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Urban Solutions Center and Dr. Milt Engelke for donating two drought-tolerant varieties of turf for rooftop trials;
- Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center for help in researching the details of the installation;
- Sue Stevens and the Office of Public Affairs for making sure the event was well publicized;
- Facilities Management staff members who transported materials to the Life Sciences Building loading dock, helped install the irrigation, and shepherded the project through approvals by the Fire Marshall and the Office of Environmental Health and Safety; and
- the Student Planning Association, led by Urban Planning and Public Policy doctoral student Kent Hurst, which initiated the project in 2007.
Photos by UT Arlington photographer Robert Crosby; other photos
UT Arlington Press Release, 4/4/08
Star-Telegram editorial, 4/10/08
Star-Telegram article, 4/12/08 (see also video content, “The greening of UTA”)
Star-Telegram photos, 4/12/08
CW 33 video, 4/18/08
Shorthorn article, 4/14/08
Shorthorn article, 1/15/08
Shorthorn article, 3/25/08
Shorthorn editorial, 9/27/07
AASHE news item, 4/1/08 (see item 11)
TCU Daily Skiff article, 5/2/08
Weston Solutions Green Grid planting system
On behalf of the Student Planning Association, I offer my sincerest and most enthusiastic congratulations to Amanda Popken, David Hopman, and the entire UTA green roof project team. What began as a something of a radical vision for sustainability at UTA has been realized through their hard work, passion, persistence, and creativity. Theirs is an object example for the rest of us as we strive in our research, project work, and studies to transform our built environment to more fully mirror the processes and values of our ecological milieux.
It is a small, but significant, signal to the environmental status quo that will reverberate throughout our region as it matures. These small patches of sod will bear lessons as time passes and witness of that of which we are capable when we persist. And it makes it just that much easier for the next “wild hair” notion to come to fruition.
At Tuesday’s meeting of the President’s Sustainability Committee, V.P. John Hall expects to provide details on the green aspects of the design for the new Engineering Research Building. My understanding is that the current design calls for about 40 percent of the roof to be green. I hope to have an architectural video of the design available on the Forum this week.
[4/21/08 — The video is available here. Details of the design were discussed at the April 15 meeting, but so far they have not been released in writing. JH]