Energy conservation hits the roof
The roof can be a special place, a refuge from the hustle and bustle of the crowded city below. Increasingly, building owners are transforming these once little-noticed locations into gardens where their greenery can save some green, as well as help the environment.
Chicago Mayor Daley started the trend by planting a garden containing 20,000 plants of more than 150 species on the rooftop of City Hall.
Because green roofs are cooler than dark roofs, the city lowered its heating bills, said Mayor Richard M. Daley in a keynote address to the Urban Parks Institute's "Great Parks/Great Cities" Conference in 2001.
The number of rooftop gardens and green roofs planted with grass, trees and flowers has grown, also fueled by the popular 2006 documentary -- "An Inconvenient Truth" -- featuring environmentalist Al Gore. The film profiled the need for energy conservation by all people in order to slow down global warming.
Energy conservation features top the list of homeowner priorities when selecting housing design features, reports the American Institute of Architects in their AIA Home Design Trends Survey for the second quarter of 2007.
"General interest in sustainable 'green' features is in vogue," said Kermit Baker, chief economist for the AIA.
Developers of new condominium buildings have taken notice.
At Lakeside Lofts, a 96-unit environmentally friendly new-construction loft development at 2025-2035 S. Indiana in the South Loop, two large botanic gardens on top of the parking garage contain four-season plantings along with seasonal flowers.
Architect Patrick FitzGerald of FitzGerald & Associates Architects designed Lakeside Lofts as a low-rise development featuring two five-story boutique buildings with adjoining garden spaces.
"Lakeside Lofts was designed to be an architecturally interesting project that would be good for the environment and also a nice place to live," developer Robert Frankel, partner in Bluestone Development.
The development features a 35-by-125-foot four-season garden with trees, bushes and other greenery all year and flowers in the spring and summer.
The 93-unit eco18, a condominium development at 1818 S. Wabash Ave., boasts a green roof. X/O Condominiums, a 496-unit high-rise and townhouse enclave at 18th and Prairie Avenues, is planning three green roofs. Plans for The Catalyst, a 217-unit building at 123 N. Des Plaines, call for a green roof on the fifth floor.
Suburban builders also are incorporating gardens into their projects.
Bartlett Town Center, a mixed-use development of condominiums and lofts in downtown Bartlett, is bringing the green roof concept to the West suburbs.
The Chicago-style lofts will have green roofs covered by plantings, ground cover, native grasses and flowers, making the buildings more aesthetically appealing, cooler and quieter, said Chris Rintz, president of New England Builders, the project's Skokie-based developer.
In the Northwest suburbs, Parkview condominiums in Arlington Heights on the corner of Dunton Avenue and Eastman Street has a terrace/green roof.
The Crossings at Morton Grove by Toll Brothers offers roof top decks which allows homeowners views of downtown Morton Grove from atop their Chicago-style row house. Roof top decks are prevalent in Chicago but The Crossings is a suburban community offering this popular option that holds widespread appeal to a mixture of buyers.
"It's a place to relax on a summer morning or a gathering spot for an informal barbecue with friends," said Andy Stern, Toll Brothers' senior vice president.
For more information about Lakeside Lofts, call (312) 663-1500, or visit www.lakesidelofts.com; eco 18, call Jameson Realty Group at (312) 751-0300 or visit www.eco18.com; X/O, call (312) 986-0008 or visit www.XOcondominiums.com; Catalyst, visit www.chicagocatalyst.com or call (312) 775-0000; Bartlett Town Center, call (630) 830-5800 or visit www.nebinc.com; Parkview condominiums, call (847) 818-6071; and for The Crossings at Morton Grove, call (847) 581-0888 or visit www.tollbrothers.com.