Sidwell Green Roof

WASHINGTON — The Furbish Co., a provider of sustainable roofs based in Baltimore, recently completed the design and installation of a 7,850-square-foot living roof at the private Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C.

  

The project involved replanting of the original roof on the middle school building, where the plants had not adapted well to the more extreme conditions of a rooftop. When the decision was made to replant the roof, officials at Sidwell Friends commissioned Furbish, which then removed the soil from the middle school roof and replaced it with a special soil blend meant to enhance plant growth and drainage within a rooftop environment. Regional plants, like sedges and sedums, were replanted by hand at one-foot centers, allowing room for growth.

  

Crews also mounded up areas of deeper soil in several locations to better hold perennial accent plants, such as native grasses and spread cuttings randomly across the soil to fill in gaps between plugs. These half-inch long pieces of material will eventually root and create a green carpet.

  

Furbish will maintain the roof over a two-year contractual period.

  

Sidwell Friends Middle School, founded by Quakers in 1883, was the first K-12 school in the United States to earn LEED Platinum certification, as the school did in 2007.

  

The refurbished roof will provide an educational laboratory for its students to learn about the issues surrounding water reuse and conservation. Science teachers plan to use the roof for hands-on learning and research. The green roof will also reduce urban heat island effect and filter rainwater.

  

Learn more about Furbish Company’s living roofs and walls at www.furbishco.com.