Green roof - Clavisa, Living architecture to improve environment

Ecological covers, a sustainable solution versus
the lack of green areas in the urban environment and global warming.

The hectic urban development involves the loss of green spaces and the increase in temperature and, consequently, the reduction of the environmental quality of cities. To deal with these problems, the incorporation of green roofs in buildings becomes a good sustainable measure applied to the new construction or rehabilitation of existing buildings. This greening initiative of the main growing urban areas must be carried out by the owners of the buildings and houses, with the support of local authorities and the impulse of the governments, to capture the effects of climate change.

In April 2012, Toronto regulated by law the implementation of green roofs in buildings of more than 2000 m2, requiring between 20% and 60% of plant-type surfaces. The cities of Chicago and New York have also taken similar measures, as Tokyo and Buenos Aires. In Europe, Switzerland requires to include green roofs in all new buildings, and recently, Copenhagen passed a law that requires owners of new buildings to have some type of vegetation on their roofs as a measure of environmental efficiency. Currently the City of Barcelona has launched a line of aids to renaturalization for roof landscaping projects.

Examples around the world:

Ecological cover of the Omnilife Stadium

*Source: The house at the roof of Barcelona

Success Story of Barcelona

In Barcelona, a dense city with a Mediterranean climate, it is appropriate to consider the roofs of buildings, rooftops and courtyards as an unexploited resource.

67% of the rooftops of buildings in Barcelona are flat surfaces, which means, flat and generally accessible roofs.
20% of the roofs have optimum properties for use on solar power
400,000 MWh / year of sanitary hot water and / or electricity (equivalent to 4 times the consumption of public lighting in Barcelona) can produce these covers

In this sense, the City Council promotes various actions to promote the environmental and social improvement of green covers: provide economic support for the rehabilitation of the roof, offer the citizen documentation and technical support, promote the revision of current regulations, promote direct or indirect funding measures, edit teaching material on roofs and rooftops, and enable an interactive online map with geolocation of existing roofs, among other measures.

* Source: Barcelona City Council

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

Reduction of urban heat island effect
Retention and purification of rainwater
Improvement of air quality with reduction of CO2 and dust levels
Guarantees the maintenance of the natural habitat and biodiversityd

ECONOMIC BENEFITS

Increase in the service life of the cover
Reduction of energy costs of the building.
Improvement of energy efficiency
Noise reduction

SOCIAL BENEFITS

Introduction of a natural green appearance against concrete and glass
Development of new interest for urban agriculture
Improves the quality of life of citizens
Creation of new meeting points and using green space

Operation, setting-up and maintenance

In Clavisa, we join the environmental initiatives that allow us to offer a better future for the next generations. We cultivate the vegetable layer, made with a careful selection of cactus and succulent plants, ideal to resist the climatic changes of cold / heat, resistant, varied and colorful, as well as economical.

Our succulent plants are the most suitable for extensive type coverings, because they require a low maintenance once the vegetation is consolidated, they need little irrigation, porous mineral substrate, thicknesses of just 10 – 25 cm and they are quite light ( loads of 60 – 180 daN / m²).

cultivation of green blankets for ecological covers

We at Clavisa

We are proud that more than a hundred companies and individuals have trusted us to make their properties more sustainable and green conscience.

In Clavisa we have more than 1,000 square meters dedicated to the cultivation of succulent plants that will have a roof, floor, or other type of surface.

Illustration of the World Trade Center of Barcelona, Spain.
The central space of the interior patio has been made.

Sustainable solutions

Soluciones sostenibles