 |
| 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
| Aug 11, 2010
Section Eight Design wins 2009 Open Architecture Challenge for classroom design
Victor, Idaho-based Section Eight Design beat out seven other finalists to win the 2009 Open Architecture Challenge: Classroom, spearheaded by the Open Architecture Network. Section Eight partnered with Teton Valley Community School (TVCS) in Victor to design the classroom of the future. Currently based out of a remodeled house, students at Teton Valley Community School are now one step closer to getting a real classroom.
| Aug 11, 2010
University of Florida aiming for nation’s first LEED Platinum parking garage
If all goes as planned, the University of Florida’s new $20 million Southwest Parking Garage Complex in Gainesville will soon become the first parking facility in the country to earn LEED Platinum status. Designed by the Boca Raton office of PGAL to meet criteria for the highest LEED certification category, the garage complex includes a six-level, 313,000-sf parking garage (927 spaces) and an attached, 10,000-sf, two-story transportation and parking services office building.
| Aug 11, 2010
Draft NIST report on Cowboys practice facility collapse released for public comment
A fabric-covered, steel frame practice facility owned by the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys collapsed under wind loads significantly less than those required under applicable design standards, according to a report released today for public comment by the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
