The Importance of Drainage Products for Green Roofs with ACO

ACO's ProfiLine Drainage System.

Green roofs are found on buildings that are either partially or completely covered by vegetation like grass, plants or even small trees. They are planted over a waterproofing membrane, often consisting of layers including drainage systems, irrigation systems and root barriers.

The purpose of a green roof is to not only provide insulation and a habitat for wildlife, but also to absorb rain water and mitigate the heat island effect. In Australia, you may have noticed that green roofs have been growing in popularity throughout the last decade. Let's take a look at a few examples.

Green Roofs in Australia

In 2010, The Victorian Desalination Project was announced, aiming to have almost 100,000 native plants across a green roof of more than 26,000 square metres. The idea behind this green roof is to blend into the landscape as part of the desalination plant's sophisticated roofing system.

Earlier examples of green roofing in Australia include the Freshwater Place residential tower in Melbourne (2002); with its Level 10 rooftop called 'Half Acre Garden'.

There's also the CH2 building which houses the Melbourne City Council (2006), Australia's first 6-star Green Star Design commercial office building as certified by the Green Building Council of Australia, and the Condor Tower with a 75-square-metre lawn on the 4th floor.

As you can imagine, green roofs with such complexity like those mentioned above require specialised green roof drainage systems. Drainage can be tricky, especially during times of storming when there is an excess of water.