Well everybody, the Radha Green Roof Raising was a big success. Almost one hundred volunteers participated in the install on friday and saturday. (more…)

We have a new project. Radha Yoga and Eatery is an amazing non-profit located just above the Brickyard Pub on Main Street in East Vancouver. Like its name suggests Radha is a small community of dedicated to the practice of Yoga. Radha also offers wonderful organic vegan food in their popular restaurant. They bake great cookies too! Radha has recently been awarded a Green Building Grant by VanCity and the BC Real Estate Board, and Projects In Place are part of the consultant team that will assist Radha to renovate their premises in an effort to reduce greenhouse gase, electrical and water usage.

We are assisting Radha by designing and installing a living wall within the restaurant which will purify the air and also provide a place to grow herbs and vegetables year round which will be used in their cooking creations.

While Radha had originally expressed a desire to add a green roof, unfortunately we could not be certain the structural capacity of the old roof could not withstand the added load, so instead we are designing a series of small green roof “pods” which we will spread throughout the roof top.

The “pods” are like little islands of green built on top of the existing roof structure. First a membrane is cut into 2m square pieces, on top of which we apply a typical green roof build-up of root barrier, water retention fleece, filter fabric and growing medium. We mound the growing medium up towards the center to provide a bit more depth and then we plant with sedums and grasses. We also add a few strategically-placed rocks and branches. The hope is that this little green islands will become an ideal habitat for insects, and ultimately birds as well.

The “pods” are a simple, low-maintenance, low cost way to gain some of the benefits of a green roof. This is the kind of solution really gets us excited, because it really reflects our mandate of bringing design professionals together with community groups to introduce sustainable technologies in an effective, low cost manner.