 |
| Toronto now requires up to 50% green roof coverage on multi-unit residential dwellings over six stories, schools, nonprofit housing, and commercial and industrial buildings. |
The city of Toronto late last month passed a new green roof by-law that consists of a green roof construction standard and a mandatory requirement for green roofs on all classes of new buildings. The by-law requires up to 50% green roof coverage on multi-unit residential dwellings over six stories, schools, nonprofit housing, and commercial and industrial buildings. Larger residential projects require greater green roof coverage, ranging anywhere from 20–50% of the roof area.
"The City of Toronto's leadership on all things green took another major step by making it obligatory to have green roofs for all types of new buildings," said Deputy Mayor Joe Pantalone, the primary champion of the new by-law. "This by-law is a major part of the solution to climate change, the creation of green jobs, and it represents a whole new mindset on how our cities approach the 20% or so of surface area that are roofs."
Chicago has the greatest number of installed green roofs, according to the Green Roofs for Healthy Cities' Annual Green Roof Industry Survey released last month. The mandatory by-law in Toronto may change that, resulting in approximately 50 to 75 new projects annually, according to GRHC president Steven W. Peck.
Toronto already requires green roofs on city-owned properties, has established a financial incentive of up to $5 per square foot for existing buildings, and is currently building a publicly accessible green roof on its city hall.
For more on the green roof by-law, visit: www.toronto.ca/building.
| Source: Green Roofs for Healthy Cities' Fourth Annual Industry Survey | |
| Chicago | 534,507 |
| Washington, D.C. | 501,042 |
| New York | 358,986 |
| Vancouver | 320,000 |
| Philadelphia | 196,820 |
| Baltimore | 150,032 |
| Montreal | 75,700 |
| Grand Rapids, Mich. | 74,784 |
| Princeton, N.J. | 56,250 |
| Newtown Square, Pa. | 48,130 |
Related Stories
| Dec 10, 2011
Energy performance starts at the building envelope
Rainscreen system installed at the west building expansion of the University of Arizona’s Meinel Optical Sciences Center in Tucson, with its folded glass wall and copper-paneled, breathable cladding over precast concrete.
| Dec 10, 2011
Turning Balconies Outside In
Operable glass balcony glazing systems provide solution to increase usable space in residential and commercial structures.
| Dec 10, 2011
BIM tools to make your project easier to manage
Two innovations—program manager Gafcon’s SharePoint360 project management platform and a new BIM “wall creator” add-on developed by ClarkDietrich Building Systems for use with the Revit BIM platform and construction consultant—show how fabricators and owner’s reps are stepping in to fill the gaps between construction and design that can typically be exposed by working with a 3D model.
| Dec 9, 2011
BEST AEC FIRMS 2011: EYP Architecture & Engineering
Expertise-Driven Design: At EYP Architecture & Engineering, growing the business goes hand in hand with growing the firm’s people.
| Dec 8, 2011
HOK elevates the green office standard
Firm achieves LEED Platinum certification in New York office that overlooks Bryant Park.
| Dec 7, 2011
Autodesk agrees to acquire Horizontal Systems
Acquisition extends and accelerates cloud-based BIM solutions for collaboration, data, and lifecycle management.
| Dec 7, 2011
ICS Builders and BKSK Architects complete St. Hilda’s House in Manhattan
The facility's design highlights the inherent link between environmental consciousness and religious reverence.
| Dec 6, 2011
Mortenson Construction completes Elk Wind Project in Iowa
By the end of 2011, Mortenson will have built 17 wind projects in the state generating a total of 1894 megawatts of renewable power.
| Dec 6, 2011
New office building features largest solar panel system in New Orleans
Woodward Design+Build celebrates grand opening of new green headquarters in Central City.
| Dec 5, 2011
New York and San Francisco receive World Green Building Council's Government Leadership Awards
USGBC commends two U.S. cities for their innovation in green building leadership.
