Roofing material manufacturers extend research project on sustainable roofing

A coalition of trade groups is sponsoring continued analysis of a reroofing project at the Onondaga County Correctional Facility in Jamesville, New York. This research project on advanced roofing systems will evaluate the benefits of thermal insulation and cool roofing in Northern climates.

The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association (ARMA), the EPDM Roofing Association (ERA) and the Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association (PIMA) have joined forces to assist the Onondaga County Department of Facilities Management study building energy use and storm water runoff from roof systems. Temperature and rain data from the project, which includes vegetative roofing, increased insulation levels and cool roofs, will provide information on building performance and roof covering selection.

The county worked with Ashley-McGraw Architects (and CDH Energy to design and install a field-monitoring system to collect data on thermal performance, weather conditions and roof runoff from four buildings at the Jamesville facility. CDH Energy released a report in October, 2011, that made recommendations on roof covering selection.

With the instrumentation still in place, the study can continue evaluating the roof coverings over a longer time to better see how they interact with weather conditions. Of particular interest is the effect of accumulated snow on roofs that may affect the buildings’ thermal performance. The project is expected to run through 2015.

(http://www.asphaltroofing.org/press-room/press-releases/coalition-formed-extend-research-project-sustainable-roofing)

New York City has two very large buildings dedicated to answering the 911 calls of its five boroughs. With more than 11 million emergency calls annually, it makes perfect sense. The second of these buildings, the Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) is located on a nine-acre parcel of land in the Bronx. It’s an imposing 450,000 square-foot structure—a 240-foot-wide by 240-foot-tall cube. The gleaming aluminum cube risesthe equivalent of 24 stories from behind a grassy berm, projecting the unlikely impression that it might actually be floating. Like most visually striking structures, the building has drawn as much scorn as it has admiration.