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Crews completed the two-level green roof on Grand Rapids Community College’s Applied Technology Center at 151 Fountain Ave. in August, making this year’s students have been the first to learn about green roof science up-close and personal.

Level one of the roof creates a unique al fresco dining area for The Heritage Restaurant, part of the school’s culinary institute. The second level features an outdoor observation deck.

“We made a conscious choice to educate our students, staff and the public about what the roof is and how it works,” says Jim VanDokkumburg, director of facilities. “All areas of both roofs are accessible, with associated signage telling how a green roof works, the plant names, bloom times, and the benefits of green roofs.”

Those benefits include insulation, preserving the roof from sun damage, and better acoustics inside the building.

Besides the 20 different sedums that bloom throughout the year, the roof offers space for an herb garden where the culinary students can grow fresh spices for the restaurant.

“The restaurant has had a plaza for 20 years, but it was always cold feeling and sterile,” says David Wilkins of Holland-based GMB Architects-Engineers, designers of the project. “We created low walls that double as benches. The vegetative roof modules sit in those.”

The atrium runs through the building’s core and used to overlook an ugly flat roof. The new design includes three six-by-six-foot observation windows cut into the exterior wall and a new door that leads to the observation deck.

Originally, the second-level green roof was to cover all but 3,300-square-feet, but because the project came in under budget the rest of the roof will be “greened” next summer.

The roof came from LiveRoof of Spring Lake. Grandville-based Summit Landscape Management handled the installation. TerHorst & Rinzema of Ada was the general contractor.

Source: Jim VanDokkumburg, Grand Rapids Community College; David Wilkins, GMB Architects-Engineers, Courtesy Photos