Guelph – A building technique that is hundreds of years old is making a comeback. It’s “green roofing” and it has recently given a Kitchener apartment community the distinction of being the first rental apartment building in Waterloo Region to use the “new” technology.

Gresham Place, located at the corner of Kingsway Road and Greenfield Avenue in Kitchener, now boasts a green roof on its link between its two towers.

The project had its beginnings in August of last year when Balnar Management Ltd. of Guelph, the management company for Gresham Place, decided it was time to re-roof the buildings.

The company contacted Randy Walden, President of Nedlaw Roofing and Nedlaw Living Roofs of Breslau to get the work started.

“We’ve worked with Nedlaw for years,” said Michael Balnar, Vice-President, Operations, of Balnar Management. “My father worked with Randy’s dad and when Randy went out on his own 20 years ago, the business relationship continued.

“We got talking about energy conservation and environmental issues and the idea was hatched,” said Mr. Balnar. “We had already replaced the boilers, common area lighting, as well as most toilets and refrigerators. A green roof made a lot of sense.”

Green roofs were used hundreds of years ago in Europe. “When a farmer built a house, he would take the sod from its footprint and put it on the roof,” said Mr. Walden. “It provided great insulation.”

Modern roofing materials replaced sod over the years and green roofs virtually disappeared.

However, a new generation of green roofs emerged in Germany in the 1960s and 1970s. “The driver was storm water management,” said Mr. Walden. “Flooding from storm water runoff had become a major problem in urban areas because of high building density. There was basically little open space for water to soak into. The use of green roofs helped to solve that problem.”

The economic and environmental benefits of green roofs include storm water management, improved air quality, a reduction in the urban “heat island” effect, a significant saving in energy costs particularly in the summer, a longer lifespan of the roofing material and an increase in urban green space.

“In addition to energy savings and environmental benefits,” said Mr. Balnar, “our green roof provides a natural view from our residents’ windows, which ties in with the landscaped grounds of our community. It looks great.”

There are two types of green roofs – extensive and intensive. Extensive roofs generally contain grasses and require little maintenance. Intensive, or active, green roofs have a deep growing medium that supports a variety of landscape designs and growth, including in some cases, mature trees and vegetable gardens. They are accessible and often used as recreational space.

“In addition to Gresham Place, we have installed green roofs for the Grand River Conservation Authority, City of Cambridge, Centre for International Governance and Innovation in Waterloo, and Sir Sandford Fleming College of Applied Arts and Technology, among others,” said Mr. Walden. “We have also been contracted to build a green roof on the new Guelph Civic Administration Building.”

Nedlaw also installs green walls “which are basically vertical hydroponics,” said Mr. Walden. “Living walls can vastly improve indoor air quality and provide striking accent features.”

Balnar Management Limited offers quality rental apartments and office space in the Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph and Fergus areas.