Center for Green Roof Research

The Center is a partnership between faculty from Horticulture, Agricultural and Biological Engineering the Department of Architectural Engineering at Penn State, University Park and The Environmental Pollution Control Program at Penn State , Harrisburg. The center was founded by former director, Dr. David Beattie, who retired in 2006 and passed away in 2008. The mission of the Center is to characterize and quantify the performance of green roofs and to promote their use through education and outreach. The center is unique, in that it is the only location in North America with small test green roofs on replicated buildings. Some of the cutting edge research done at the center has included studies in storm water runoff quality and quantity, building energy consumption and insulation value, media chemical and physical characteristics, plant selection, plant water use, waterproofing resistance to root penetration, and drainage materials. Five graduate students have completed their MS thesis and 1 Ph.D. working on green roof projects and there are currently 2 Ph.D. students working on green roof projects. We have taught a green roof technologies class, the first in the nation, for 3 years with students from many disciplines participating.

In 2006-2007 we were successful in getting 2 large-commercial scale green roofs installed on campus, the first on the new Forest Resources building. This roof is an outstanding example of the state of the art in commercial roofs. The second green roof is on the Root Cellar (Vegi-Cellar) behind Tyson. A $50,000 cooperative project between the Center and Penn State OPP (Office of the Physical Plant) this roof is an example of a low cost, minimal input green roof designed to not only demonstrate the potential for lower cost construction but also to be used as an open-air classroom and laboratory for students and faculty working on green roofs. The root cellar is a large concrete structure that was built in the 1920’s. When it was built it was one of the only buildings on this end of campus. It is currently used for storage and to house the Cellar Market, where produce from the Horticulture farm is sold every Wednesday afternoon during the summer. The new green roof is approximately 4500 ft. and is divided into 6 equal sections. Runoff from each section drains through a series of drainage pipes into the back of the building where a flow monitoring system is being installed. Four of the roof sections were covered with 4 inches of a simple roof media, formulated from a local gravel and compost from the University compost project. The other 2 sections have 8 inches of the same media. Students from the green roof technologies class produced all the plants and planted most of the roof in the spring of 2007. Many of the plants are typical green roof plants but some are new untested species and cultivars. The plant community on the roof will be followed over time and new plants will be added to continue the process of selecting and evaluating plants for use on green roofs.

Since then the University now has constructed 3 additional green roofs. The new student health services building and the new Dickinson Law School building both have green roofs. The new wing to the Carlisle campus of the Dickinson Law School also has a green roof. The latest project is the Millennium Science Center which is currently under construction and has multiple green roofs. When all these are finished Penn State will not only be a leader in green roof research, but will also be a leader in institutional application and use of green roofs with nearly 2 acres of green roofs.