Roof garden policy pays off with greening award
May 29, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
WITH colorful flowers and wooden railings surrounding the arbors and chairs, it can be mistaken for a smart coffee bar. But actually it's the rooftop facility of Meilingge Hotel on Wuzhong Road.
It's an example of the trend to expand rooftop garden areas, facilitated by technology improvements, and why Minhang District has been awarded the "Golden Prize for Best City" in the recent World Roof Greening Development Conference held in Shanghai.
"The Green Roof concept is very common in many European countries, but it was a surprise for the experts to see such great green roofs in a developing country," says Wang Xianmin, the secretary-general of the World Green Roof Association.
"It's the first time for this conference to be held in an Asian country in the past 30 years, and this time Minhang is the only one to win the prize."
Minhang won the award for making the best continuous efforts in ecological constructions.
In 2008, Minhang developed roof greening areas of 100,000 square meters, and in 2009 this grew to 150,000 square meters, ranking first around the country.
From 2008, Minhang put space greening, including roof greening, at the top of major projects getting government support.
The roof greening at Meilingge Hotel could have cost it over 500,000 yuan (US$73,195), but thanks to government subsidies, the hotel eventually saved a lot. As well as the green areas, Minhang's approach to technology used in roof greening also helped win the prize.
The experts all agreed that Minhang's roof greening technology has reached "advanced world standard."
"Minhang has taken full consideration of security and environment conditions when developing the roof greens," says Wang.
"For example, roofs whose weight capacity is lower than 40 kilograms per square meter are only suitable for planting lawns, like Minhang Central Hospital. Roofs whose weight capability is higher, like Meilingge, have the chance to build a hanging garden," added secretary-general Wang.
It's an example of the trend to expand rooftop garden areas, facilitated by technology improvements, and why Minhang District has been awarded the "Golden Prize for Best City" in the recent World Roof Greening Development Conference held in Shanghai.
"The Green Roof concept is very common in many European countries, but it was a surprise for the experts to see such great green roofs in a developing country," says Wang Xianmin, the secretary-general of the World Green Roof Association.
"It's the first time for this conference to be held in an Asian country in the past 30 years, and this time Minhang is the only one to win the prize."
Minhang won the award for making the best continuous efforts in ecological constructions.
In 2008, Minhang developed roof greening areas of 100,000 square meters, and in 2009 this grew to 150,000 square meters, ranking first around the country.
From 2008, Minhang put space greening, including roof greening, at the top of major projects getting government support.
The roof greening at Meilingge Hotel could have cost it over 500,000 yuan (US$73,195), but thanks to government subsidies, the hotel eventually saved a lot. As well as the green areas, Minhang's approach to technology used in roof greening also helped win the prize.
The experts all agreed that Minhang's roof greening technology has reached "advanced world standard."
"Minhang has taken full consideration of security and environment conditions when developing the roof greens," says Wang.
"For example, roofs whose weight capacity is lower than 40 kilograms per square meter are only suitable for planting lawns, like Minhang Central Hospital. Roofs whose weight capability is higher, like Meilingge, have the chance to build a hanging garden," added secretary-general Wang.
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