CRC Office Has Green Roof

A green roof, replete with plants, bushes and grasses native to Michigan, was installed late last week and now greets people who approach the front doors of the Christian Reformed Church in North America’s office in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Covering the triangle-shaped overhang above the entrance, the roof was constructed by Weather Shield Roofing Systems in cooperation with Advanced Green Architecture, both located in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Unlike many other green roof projects, this one focuses on bio-diversity and focuses on flowers and plants that naturally attract insects and birds native to West Michigan.

The project was built for free, as a demonstration of the green-roofing system that Weather Shield and Advanced Green Architecture plan to be doing in other locations.

"This is a dream project," said James Bush, CEO of Weather Shield. "We have a rock bed, a log and different plantings. We're mixing it up . . . I think we've taken an unattractive portion of the roof and made it more interesting and created an environment that is pleasant."

Bush's company installed the roof on the CRC office building several years ago – and since that time Bush has dreamed of using the small piece of roof for a green roof. He wasn’t sure when it would happen or what exactly would be planted, but it was a space just made for a green roof, he said.

When he met a few months ago with Jeremy Monsma and Jeremiah Johnson of Advanced Green Architecture and learned of the green-roofing system the Michigan State University graduates had developed, Bush decided it was time to contact the CRC and talk about putting in the green roof.

John Bolt, director of finance and administration for the denomination, was excited when he heard the proposal. The companies were given the go-ahead to install the environmentally friendly roof.

"The idea is to put plants (ground cover) on the roof as a way to deal with the rain water run-off. Usually this is done on a larger scale, but as you can imagine, there is a significant issue about the added weight a roof would need to deal with," said Bolt.

"The new roof is being installed for free and the company will provide free ongoing care of the plants once installed. In return, they will use this as a showcase for other potential customers."

A plaque describing the roof will be placed near the front entrance of the building.

Many green roofs are simply created out of ground cover, while the one at the CRC office has a mixture of plantings, placed into specially developed soil and an inter-locking system of trays.

"Instead of having a roof that simply covers the building, we’ve installed one that can help rebuild the environment," said Monsma, a green roof consultant. "You have true landscape architecture on the roof."

Johnson, also a green roof consultant, says this type of process can be used to install green roofs on many buildings, and especially on churches that are seeking ways in which they can show that caring for creation is important to them.

Next spring, when the weather is right, they will plant perennial flowers on the CRC roof.

In order to install the roof, workers needed to put down a protective layer over the existing roof, snap together the trays and then have a truck come and pump soil through a hose into the trays. Then they planted grasses and sedges and arranged other aspects of the roof.

"This is the first time the system is being installed in this way," said Bush. "This will be one of a kind it terms of biodiversity."