[Timothy Gazzo]

Hi Jordan,

I spoke with a professor at Rutgers – and ended up adjusting the layout – to provide an

even 6″ of soil depth. I havent finalized the species of Turf Grass though but I did narrow it down to a fescue mix (hard, fine, creeping and red).

I did happen to speak with the rep at Liveroof about the Bella Bluegrass – they offer it in their build-up. While it appears is everything they claim (low growing, self repairing, beautiful color, etc.) it is not necessarily meant to be utilized as an active lawn. That was essentially what I got out of the conversation. It looks like a great product though.

In case anyone is interested, LiveRoof’s green roof modules have been wind tested and rated with 2 of them being acceptable under the ANSI RP14 for ballast.

http://www.liveroof.com/?page=ArchitectureEngineering

[Timothy Gazzo]

You said it there. The conditions vary on this project between the north and south side so exposure to the elements has driven the majority of our design decisions. I have two calls into Cornell (no response), I am going to contact Rutgers today as they developed a mix named Predator that may be feasible.

I will let you know how that goes.

[Timothy Gazzo]

Bingo. We’ve been investigating grasses that are tolerant of desiccation, full/part sun and resilient.

Havent found the right mix yet, but we’re in the hunt.

[Timothy Gazzo]

The situation is definitely not boggy – the opposite in fact. We are using a proprietary soil blend created for green roof plantings so I’d have to do a bit of research to see if it breaks down over a given amount of time. 

We are already specifying  a significant amount of sedges on the project, this particular area calls for something that can withstand foot traffic and the occasional lounge chair.

Thanks for the links though.

[Timothy Gazzo]

Thanks again, I certainly will look into this. The initial thought was to hydroseed the area, however sprigs could be an interesting alternative. I’ll see if its rated for traffic. If anything good comes out of this I will let you know. 

Thanks again!

[Timothy Gazzo]

Thanks Jason, this is really helpful. I’ve since found ways to “increase” the soil depth to about 5″. So there’s a small silver lining there.

As for synthetic, yeah, thats what many others have recommended as well. Problem is we have to hit a certain percentage for vegetated roof coverage. I’ve been looking into slow growing and hard fescues. Haven’t found a blend yet, but still in the hunt.

Any suggestions are always welcome!

[Timothy Gazzo]

Thanks Rob. I can assure you that there has been a tremendous amount of time that has gone into species selection on this project. The building is approximately 1 acre with over 30 terraces – each having a very different microclimate from the next.

We are not thrilled with the idea of using turf to begin with, however the client has asked we substitute out extensive greenroof (sedums, etc.) for turf in select areas. These areas account for approx. 5% fo the overall footprint – a reasonable enough request considering over 50% of the footprint is greenroof.

The problem is exactly as you stated – we do not have the soil depth to grow a usable lawn! The project is in NYC, any recommendations would be welcome.

Thanks again!

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