This activity is a not for fun or an aerial view of my work in progress, Bouret Horticultural Society, Flora/Fauna Urban Sanctuary, but to sweep the leaf drops from the Tabebuia, planted two feet from our property, in that hated, notoriously expensive, noisy, polluting, institution Universidad Sagrado Corazon.
While observing the USC flat roofs, with over crowded air conditioners holding water run off and rain with leaves/dust clogged drain pipes, I noticed an endemic marsh/prairie like pond, weeds dominant, certainly picturesque weed prairie is turning their lacking maintenance roof, green.
Not long ago, I read an article about intelligent houses in Puerto Rico. You know, those designed/built by our mock-up architects, to limit pollution, electricity and water waste, with computers and electrical systems that cost a years salary of one interpreter in New York State. Not to get into the maintenance.
What do these environmentally conscious architects of models, decide to install in the garden of this bright house? Wild guess any juan? Palms, hedges and what else TURF. All this made the post possible.
Minutes later, thinking of fans and foes, I decide to search under green roofs for the hell of it, since I made up me mind a LONG while ago, about this new rip off with councils, codes and some LEEDS crap, that may be cool in countries with snow, but not in the tropics.
Now If interested, I would suggest that go an search on your own. Let it suffice now that green roofs are supposed to absorb rain water, insulate, create habitats for wildlife and combat heat island effect.
UHI is not for islands, sorry. It is the heat by concrete/asphalt construction materials retaining heat in urban contexts and releasing it at night.
I never touched the subject but it is worthy of investigating. It is a clear nice example of how any environmental related matter, directly or not,
becomes an opportunity, a scam, regulations and rip offs.
In Puerto Rico, American Lawn, an old acquaintance, tree butchers of Monte Hiedra Mall, are installing one with the characteristics mentioned: hedges and lawns in the new Music Conservatory.
If one construct anything with a purpose, without considering cautiously the selected vegetation, the polluting, noise and irritation created with the tools used in its maintenance, where is your intelligence?
EDITORIAL
I have never understood why would any one study to become an engineer, architect or landscape architect and design every stupid structure looking as a vertical or horizontal match box, with A FLAT roof to save a few bucks, creating an epidemic of roof leaks costing millions to consumers for the last seventy years. Not to get into the aesthetics of such feeble minded college graduates. Screw them ALL.
I agree, we have a tin roof, colorbond. It is more then 20 years old, has no rust at all and no maintenance. It suits the subtropics where I live.
ReplyDeleteMany people tend to build the house the same way like in northern Europe and the gardens too. Most people do not know anything about gardens,or plants. Now, municipal areas here are planted with native, suitable trees, shrubs and groundcovers.
One of my problems, result of being a product of a previous generation, is missing slanted, zinc roofs in a wooden house, when nine out of ten were built with those materials.
ReplyDeleteCool, with the breezes considered in design,
and the most soothing music there is, rain hitting the tin.
All those intelligent ways of building passed away with our mock-up dim wit architects. All is concrete and nothing else. Slanted roofs will eliminate roof cracks, requiring expensive, constant leak treatments.
All is the same here, except your last sentence. Here NOTHING is suitable or pragmatic..It is vegetation planted with the same effort as if throwing the house plastic bag with garbage in the dump truck.