Pictured is the green roof at Taylor Hall
on the Kent Campus, now in full bloom.

(Photo credit: Tom Euclide)

The vegetative roof installed last September at Taylor Hall on the Kent Campus is in full bloom. Funded through bond money that is now part of Kent State University’s Foundations of Excellence: Building the Future initiative, the plant-filled roof was part of a larger restoration project for Taylor Hall.

Beth Ruffing, assistant director in Kent State's Office of the University Architect and project manager for the roof garden, says that there had been talks about putting vegetative roofing, also known as green roofing, around Taylor Hall for years before its installation. It was designed as a plaza, and the original roofing and plaza systems had failed and had been replaced with materials that would not stand up to foot traffic, rendering the plaza unusable.

"When funds became available, plans were made to do exterior renovations including new windows, structure repair and incorporating a replacement roof for the plaza,” says Ruffing. “We decided on a vegetative roof because they have been more popular recently and for a variety of reasons. They help insulate, diffuse heat gain, help the flow of rain water to decrease pressure on drainage systems, and then there’s the aesthetic aspect.”

The roof requires very little maintenance, and the plants, which come in 12 varieties of sedum, are watered by an irrigation system and do not require mowing. There will be no chemical weed control.

It survived the winter well and was able to start blooming in the spring, but has since bloomed even more this summer, as occupants and visitors of the building are noticing.

“The roof provides a beautiful and practical surface, especially for a design college. The changing colors, texture and freshness add to the building’s vitality and sense of place,” says Douglas Steidl, dean of the College of Architecture and Environmental Design, one of the colleges currently occupying Taylor Hall. “But, perhaps the greatest statement the roof provides is its consistency in presenting the College of Architecture and Environmental Design’s commitment to sustainability of the natural environment through the design of the built environment. The roof endorses our philosophy and states it clearly to those who frequent the college.”

Heather White, manager of the grounds at Kent State, also loves the look of the green roof.

“It’s different than anything else on campus and has so far been very easy to maintain,” says White. “I hope the students appreciate it and take good care of it.”

No changes are currently planned for this roof, but Kent State plans to install green roofs at the new architecture building.

For more information about sustainability initiatives at Kent State, visit www.kent.edu/sustainability.