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Dedicated to sustainability, NYC Convention Center embodies world-class technological innovation

NYC Convention Center green roof brings nature back to urban core.

The 6.75-acre green roof on the Javits Convention Center makes the 27-year-old building an example of sustainable retrofitting – attracting many species of birds, bats, bees and even tourists who go on rooftop tours.  This NYC landmark is also closely monitored by a team of engineers from Drexel University and The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art who have designed and installed sensor systems to track its environmental impact.

CEO very pleased with performance of vegetated roof

In a recent interview with NPR (see video below), Javits’ CEO Alan Steel explained the significant aesthetic, environmental and economic benefits of the green roof.

Honey harvested in Fall of 2017 from NYC’s rooftop.

“Besides the great reaction, there are practical benefits.  We have three hundred thousand bees, we’ve seen 25 different species of birds on the roof. We reduced the temperature out here by about six degrees Fahrenheit and we also save about seven million gallons of stormwater runoff that’s absorbed in the  soil and the plants.  We’ve been able to reduce our energy consumption by about twenty six percent and that translated for us last year (2016) into a saving of about three million dollars.”  Javits is now also selling honey harvested from the rooftop.

“The success of our sustainability program epitomizes our rebirth as an organization, and this first batch of honey illustrates how far we have come in our efforts to reduce energy, create a wildlife haven and improve the quality of life in our neighborhood,” said President and CEO Alan Steel.

Green roofs are a learning laboratory for Engineers

Professor Franco Montalto in the department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at Drexel College is the lead researcher on the Javits green roof project. He says in recent years the City of New York has made major commitments to sustainability and green infrastructure.

“The Javits Center green roof exemplifies the kind of environmentally sensible urban redevelopment projects that the City wants to encourage. The retrofit building will reduce urban runoff, mitigate the urban heat island effect, and, potentially have a cooling effect on the streets and buildings that surround it. Our research will seek to quantify these benefits,” said Montalto.

Watch NPR feature on Javits

Montalto’s research team is currently also monitoring more than 15 other green infrastructure sites in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Students from The Cooper Union will monitor the data and use it to learn about and model functional sustainable design projects.

“The Javits Center green roof project provides Cooper Union students with a significant learning opportunity to study sustainable design and use New York City as a learning laboratory,” said Dr. Joseph Cataldo, a professor in the Albert Nerken School of Engineering at The Cooper Union.  “Our students are presently developing a model to predict the thermal behavior of the green roof using climate and infrared data. This information will be helpful to better gauge hydrology and temperature variations of the green roof, which, subsequently, is an important part of determining and understanding temperature patterns in green roofs and New York City as a whole.”

“Water and energy are intimately linked through the process of evapotranspiration,” Montalto said. “Incident solar radiation changes liquid water, originally deposited on the roof by precipitation, into water vapor which then leaves the roof surface. The energy consumed by this process keeps the roof and building cooler than it otherwise would be, since without the green roof this energy would simply heat up the roof surface. At the same time, if the air in the vicinity of the air conditioner intake pipes is cooler, these units have to work less to cool the -already cooler- building.”

For more on the Drexel and Cooper Union green roof research, click here.

About Stormwater Capture Co – Supplier of High Performing Vegetated Roofs

Stormwater Capture Co supplies green roof systems with high water retention to weight ratio, ideal for retrofits and new builds.

Our team prides itself in being a hassle-free, one-stop-shop supplying vegetated systems that can be customized to local requirements, with warranty and maintenance support. We also offer ​access to a variety of analytical support service​s such as ​stormwater calculations specific to location ​and building/roof type.

Stormwater Capture Co supplies a range of systems from lightweight to biodiverse.  Premium base layers ​include​ the ​Needled ​M​ineral ​H​ydro ​B​lanket.  Sedum blanket and base layers can be easily cut to fit any shape and design.​

Contact us 855-786-7626 or send drawings to info@stormwatercaptureco.com get an estimate for your project.

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