Assemblies

Type III - 6.00 inches of media

A jewel box green roof at the School of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania, this garden is surrounded by windows on four sides and visible from the office spaces on the courtyard. More than a visual amenity, the green roof has symbolic value for the school and was dedicated to graduates of the Nursing program.

The garden includes a variety of perennials supported by a thin extensive green roof profile. The plants are efficiently irrigated from the bottom, using the capillary irrigation approach. The installation includes a piece of sculpture, the Legacy Fountain, installed in honor of alumnae of the school for the contributions that they have made to the health care field. Each of the stones included in the garden is meant to represent and honor all of the program’s graduates.

The green roof replaced a concrete atrium on the fourth floor of the five story building and was part of the Fagin Hall renovations. The university is including green roofs on many of its buildings, new construction and retrofits alike, in an effort to help slow the rate of stormwater entering the West Philadelphia sewer system and mitigate the pernicious CSO issue facing the city. The university cites the ability of a green roof to extend the life of the waterproofing membrane (by protecting it from UV radiation) and their ability to create urban habitats and encourage healthier ecosystems as additional benefits that make green roofs desirable to the university.

Roofmeadow green roofs can be found on a number of buildings at the University of Pennsylvania including The Radian apartment complex, Steinberg Hall – Dietrich Hall Café, Erdman Center, and the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine.