Eco-roof at Albina Library, image by Bob Kerns.
Albina Library’s eco-roof was specifically designed with core sustainability values in mind. The building is on track to be LEED Platinum certified, the highest level of energy efficiency awarded to buildings. The eco-roof complements the building with benefits like increased energy efficiency and by reducing the rate of stormwater runoff.
The total planted area of the roof is 2,041.33 square feet. This area includes the roof on top of the community room (1,780.8 sq. ft.) and the green roof over the canopy (260.53 sq. ft.).
Roof ecology:
- The plantings and design help preserve existing shade and canopy.
- The plant species selected are all either native to the Willamette Valley or naturalized to this climate.
- Most plants on the roof are pollinators, providing value to our local urban ecology. Mand many others are flowering perennials. Some examples are the Oregon Sunshine, Eriophyllum lanatum, which provides wildlife benefits for many native butterfly species and the Pacific Aster, Symphyotrichum chilense, which is noted for providing special value to native bees.
From inside Albina Library, the community room roof slopes upwards so that the green roof is more immediately visible to people in the reading room. The spaces are arranged around the landscape elements to create a sense of connection with the outdoors from inside the building.