Located at lobby-level, the Duke University Hospital greenroof was completed in July, 2008 and has applied for LEED Silver Certification. With several test plots/sites for greenroof plants and mosses, the courtyard also includes other green features such as “adaptive design” and stormwater harvesting.

Duke University Medical Center received the Greater Triangle Stewardship Development Award in 2012 for “renovation of an institutional concrete patio into a greener space for recreation and contemplation received an Honorable Mention for Integration with the Community,” (Greater Triangle Stewardship Development Awards).

“In 2008, a 21st century garden was installed on the roof of the lecture halls at the entrance to Duke University Hospital. The carpet of green isn’t grass, but sedum — tiny succulent plants that store water.

The new vegetative roof is an experiment aiming to show how innovating thinking with plants can prevent pollution, regulate runoff, and conserve energy. But it will also provide to patients and staff a view of nature from windows on higher floors. In the summer, the sedum will flower. And in fall, amid the stone, steel, and glass of the hospital, Pennigar promises, it will turn an autumnal, fiery red.” ~ DukeHealth.org, 2008

The sedum vegetation on the hospital roof was pre-cultivated on a carrier mat at a production farm in upstate New York provided by Xero Flor America. The growing media consists of mostly expanded slate and sand with about 10 percent organic material. Eight or nine different sedum species are visible on the hospital roof. Some of the greenroof plants include Sedum ellacombianum, S. floriferum “Weihenstephaner Gold,” and S. pulchellum.

See these other Duke University living roof profiles in The Greenroofs.com Projects Database: Duke University Cancer Center; Duke University Marguerite Kent Repass Ocean Conservation Center (OCC), and Duke Smart Home (The Home Depot Smart Home).