Little House "Under" the Prairie

Something green this way comes just around the corner from the university campus.

At the EPA annex project now underway in Clifton, more than 50 percent of the new roof will be green, planted with sedums and low-growing groundcovers, says James Geers of SFA Architects, downtown. The project should be done by summer.

So, what are these green roofs of the future? Vegetative roofs - called green roofs in the industry - have two jobs: provide an extra layer of insulation from heat and cold and absorb water that would rush into gutters, carrying pollutants picked up along the way to streams and waterways, writes Joy Kraft of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Not only will green roofs make our houses more attractive - if in a slightly odd Hobbit-like way- by carpeting roofs with ground cover, flowers, grasses, native plants and even trees; they promise to be much better insulators, trimming energy bills and protecting air and water quality.

Green roofs are more common in Europe, especially Germany, where they have been in use for years, but are relatively new in Cincinnati, says landscape architect Vivian Llambi, who sees green roof planting as a rising sub-specialty.

Other green roof projects afoot in Cincinnati:

Ridgeway Pavilion, part of the Health Alliance complex in Avondale, is getting a green roof replacement for the original concrete roof built on the 1984 structure. "It turned out to be cheaper than replacing the concrete," said site manager Jerry Emmerett, site manager.

The Civic Garden Center of Greater Cincinnati, part of the Flower Show exhibit, is converting a former gasoline station next to its Avondale headquarters into a learning center for environmental sustainability with a green roof.