LiveRoof Provides Green Space for Students

NEW YORK — After six years of planning, fundraising and construction, students at Public School 41 (P.S. 41) in Greenwich Village returned for the 2012 term to find a brand new 15,000-square-foot Green Roof Environmental Literacy Laboratory on top of their school.

The centerpiece of the project is the school’s 9,000-square-foot green roof, which was installed in August, using LiveRoof’s Hybrid Green Roof System. The completed project represents the largest municipal green roof on a New York City public school. Jonathan Rose Companies served as project manager, while Murphy Burnham & Buttrick Architects led the design effort.

P.S. 41 is a K-5 grammar school that serves about 800 students in Greenwich Village, at the heart of a high-density areas with limited open space.

Jose Miranda, associate at Murphy Burnham & Buttrick Architects said he zeroed in on the LiveRoof product because of its elegant design, which supports the growth of plants, but is visually hidden by the foliage, providing a seamless visual effect.

“LiveRoof is the modular green roof system that creates a naturally functioning ecosystem on the rooftop and once set in place, its modules are hidden beneath the plants and soil so that no edges of the modules are visible to disrupt the natural appearance of the green roof. Its pre-vegetated modules are installed already dense with full-grown plants to create an instant green roof,” said Miranda.

In addition to saving the school energy costs, the project will be used as an aid in curriculum for a variety of subjects including science, mathematics, nutrition, literacy, art and aesthetics.

Vicki Sando, the school’s environmental science program developer, was beyond thrilled to have the green roof lab finally in place.

“The installation of our green roofs fulfills P.S. 41’s dream of establishing a living-learning laboratory to boost environmental literacy and enable our students to learn about their stewardship role in the health of the planet,” she explained. “With GELL, we enhance hands-on educational opportunities for our students on sustainability, environmental stewardship and urban gardening.”

Kelly Shannon, principal at P.S. 41 said the project would provide benefits to the community in addition to teachers and students.

“It reduces storm water runoff, moderates the heat that builds up in urban areas, decreases the school’s carbon footprint, and helps improve local air quality,” she said.

The principal also explained some of the additional benefits for the school, beyond energy savings and educational purposes. “It also shades and insulates the roof and lowers the interior sound level as well.”