Results tagged “greenroofs”

At a preview, on Monday afternoon, of City Hall's new green roof, Chris Pommer stood in council chambers and explained some of the thinking behind the multicoloured carpet of vegetation that will soon engulf the podium area underneath Nathan Phillips Square's iconic concave towers. Pommer is a partner at PLANT Architects, the firm that designed the new roof. The project was conceived as "an elaborate series of plantings," he said, gesturing at a large architectural illustration full of minute detail. Elaborate plans are one thing, but we had to wonder just who was doing all this planting.

Back in May, when the Metro Central YMCA announced they were planning a green roof to accompany other repairs, it was an idea that made sense: the rooftop running track was a flat, ugly expanse of hot concrete, and certainly not much to look at from the surrounding condo towers. Originally intended as a outdoor terrace for exercising and lounging, it barely served the purpose—it was much more comfortable to run on the air-conditioned interior track, and with nowhere to sit on the hard surface, the area didn't lend itself to yoga classes, stretching, or even a nice place to read a book.

The Metro Central YMCA at Yonge and Grosvenor found itself with a problem, but one that led to a new opportunity: the roof is leaking and needs extensive repairs. Featuring a running track and not much else, the large concrete rooftop slab is more akin to the upper deck of a parking garage than a place to exercise or enjoy, but its barren configuration made it a premium site for a forthcoming downtown green roof.