16A — June 22 - July 12, 2012 — Green Buildings — Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal
www.marejournal.com
G REEN B UILDINGS
Creating the perfect environment
y this point in time, it’s safe to say most people are somewhat familiar By Amy Farrell, Esq., Kaplin Stewart Is Blue the new “Green?” Blue Roofs gaining ground B flood of litigation as untested technologies failed and reality fell short of promises, by and reation opportunities. For most designers, con- tractors, and owners, holding
• MEP Design • Sprinkler Design • Commissioning • Energy Conservation and incentives
with many of the “green” construction technologies t h a t h a v e be c ome de r i gueur i n today’s devel- opment cli- mate. A few
Blue roofs are steadily gaining ground as a creative way to address the ever-expanding plethora of storm- water mitigation requirements being imposed upon development projects.
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large, these new technologies have been incorporated into traditional construction proj- ects without too much angst. So, just as everyone was fi- nally getting comfortable with “green,” along comes BLUE. Blue roofs are steadily gain- ing ground as a creative way to address the ever-expanding plethora of stormwater miti- gation requirements being imposed upon development projects. So, what exactly is a blue roof? A “blue roof” is any rooftop system which collects and stores rainwater on the roof, for controlled release at some later point in time. Blue roof systems vary widely (cisterns, open storage on the roof surface, storage within a cellular system built into the roof decking…if you can imagine it, someone can design and construct it). In addition to mitigating runoff, blue roofs can also serve dual purposes by irrigating green roofs and other vegetation, cooling the building/reducing hvac loads, and providing rec-
standing water on a roof is usu- ally something to be avoided rather than encouraged. So, the concept of intentionally encouraging roof-top water re- tention is bound to give a lot of those same folks pause. In a “new construction” setting, the design, installation – and all important assignment of liability should these systems fail – should be relatively easy to manage. However, where these systems are proposed for retrofit of existing buildings to help meet new stormwater reg- ulations (think, for example, redevelopment of the myriad of largely vacant shopping centers and office buildings smattering the landscape), designers, con- tractors, and owners would be advised to tread carefully and purposefully, lest they find themselves on the wrong end of this tidal wave. Amy Farrell, Esq. is a member of the Land Use, Zoning & Develop- ment group of Kapl in Stewart in Blue Bel l , PA. ■
Amy Farrell
years back, a developer looking to incorporate green technolo- gies into a construction project could anticipate a certain level of push back from a municipal- ity. (“You want to plant what on your roof?”). Today, munici- palities are actively seeking to incorporate green technolo- gies into their ordinances and – with each new iteration – the International Building Codes step ever closer to mandating a certain level of “green” in new construction projects. Add to that the newest stormwater regulations being discussed at state and federal levels – with their focus on eliminat- ing stormwater discharge via mandatory low impact devel- opment, passive infiltration, and bio-filtration – and the message is clear: “green” is not going anywhere. And, despite a lot of initial worry that the “green revolu- tion” was going to generate a
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