LEED Certified Green Roof
Team Members Heading link
- Aya Aladhami
- Anna Dudek
- Yunfei Ma
- Anisha Patel
- Jianxin Zheng
Advisors: Sarah Koning; Nicholas Haas, EIT; Dr. Amid Khodadoust
Project Description Heading link
Green roof designs provide a multitude of benefits to a building and its surrounding areas, especially for buildings within the city of Chicago. Chicago is considered a non-attainment area for ozone; therefore, the city has taken action to change that. The city has taken serious steps to incorporate green roofs onto various buildings in order to reduce the urban heat-island effect, a phenomenon in which the city holds more heat than surrounding suburban areas. This is due to the fact that concrete buildings give off excess heat, as well as anthropogenic heat production increases, raising the temperature of the air.
Green roofs may be placed on any type of building in order to save energy costs. On an average, the city of Chicago receives about 36.89 inches of rain per year, based on annual average rainfall between the years 1871 and 2019. According to a study done on the Chicago City Hall green roof, the installation of the green roof saved about 9,000 kilowatt-hours of energy per year. The Chicago City Hall green roof was also shown to reduce the load on the stormwater sewer system.
Based on the research that was done, a green roof design for the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Science System Outpatient Surgery Center and Specialty Clinics building will be a great addition for the campus. The purpose of this green roof is to absorb and eventually capture excess rainwater for internal usage, by means of flushing toilets in the building. This design will save a large amount of water usage, in turn saving costs for water. Various other benefits will be provided due to the installation of this green roof, such as reduced building energy costs, improved air quality, reduced pollution, and a reduction of the urban heat island effect.
This project will be unique to University of Illinois at Chicago because it will be the first green roof designed for that area of campus. This project will also have added educational value for students and faculty in understanding all the benefits that come with a green roof design, as well as learning how to maintain it. This roof design will be a great way to make use of natural resources, thus improving the urban environment that is Chicago. This will help spread awareness of the importance of sustainable living.