MacCARES - P3 Abstract

P3 Award: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity, and the Planet.
Funding opportunity Number: EPA-G2006-P3-Z6
Project Title: Regionally Appropriate Sustainable Design: Urban Green Roof Applications for Temperate Continental Climates.
Faculty Advisors:   
Prof. Jerald Dosch        dosch@macalester.edu,
Prof. Don Hornbach     hornbach@macalester.edu
Co-Advisor:            
Mark Dickinson            dickinsonm@macalester.edu
Institutions: Macalester College.  St. Paul, MN
Student Represented Departments and Institutions: Anthropology, Biology, English, Environmental Studies, Latin American Studies, and History.
Project Period: Sept. 30, 2006 – May 30, 2007.
Project Amount: $9,988
Total Project Amount: $18,620
Project Summary:
As a strategy of sustainable building design, green roofing is gaining acceptance in the United States.  However, there is little research done on the benefits of green roofing in highly variable continental climates, such as the Upper Midwest.  To conduct this research at Macalester College, we plan to install a 1350 sq. ft. section of extensive green roof of native plants on an existing campus building.  This research will investigate the economic benefits of green roofs, including energy savings for HVAC systems, augmented roof membrane durability, and improved storm water management.  Also, the research will examine the environmental benefits of reduced carbon emissions from reduced energy use, minimizing storm-water discharge, and reducing the urban heat island effect.

This research bears directly upon the value of green roofing for mitigating urban climate impacts in temperate continental climates where neither high albedo nor low albedo roofs are optimal in all seasons.  Macalester’s commitment to green building opens the opportunity to extend the project.  Analyzing extensive research on the Kagin roof should demonstrate to our partners its value in terms of P3 concepts.  With the success of this project, we will aim to extend the project to other areas at Macalester College, the local community, and the City of St. Paul. 

The green-roofing project will start in the spring of 2006 with construction of a 300 sq. ft. pilot green roof over a covered walkway.  Funds for this installation have already been secured.  In the fall of 2006, data from the pilot roof will be used to validate the design hypotheses of the P3 project and provide baseline measures for subsequent monitoring of energy savings, water retention, and ambient air temperature.  Run-off water will also be chemically analyzed for the P3 design competition.  The 1350 sq. ft green roof will be constructed in the spring of 2007.  The testing of both roofs will last over a year and be used to determine the viability of green roofing in a variable climate and its ability to minimize some negative impacts of climate change in an urban setting.

This project will also be integrated into the curriculum through student independent research projects, with Professors Dosch and Hornbach.  The green roof installations will be labeled with placards visible to campus and community pedestrians.  Additional signage explaining P3 concepts applied to the built environment will be visible from surrounding dormitories, raising the importance of sustainability on campus and emphasizing the practicality of P3 approaches.  Artic explorer Will Steger has launched an environmental education project and has pledged to integrate this project, in multimedia format, into the curriculum and website.