City of Minneapolis Target Center Arena
Minneapolis, MN, USA
113,000 sf. Greenroof

Project Description & Details

The 20,500-seat Target Center is home of the NBA’s Timberwolves, concerts and other events, and when the Target Center Arena needed a new roof, the City of Minneapolis chose to model a sustainable building and stormwater management approach by re-roofing with a green roof, the first installed on an arena in North America. Approximately 1 million gallons of stormwater are captured annually by the 2.5 acre green roof, preventing drainage into the Mississippi River.

Designed by Leo A. Daly and Kestrel Design Group, the pattern of the pavers that divide the growing zones reveal a design based on veins of a leaf from afar. The Target Center green roof consists of a state-of-the-art waterproofing membrane from Sika Sarnafil, Bonar (formerly Colbond) Enkadrain, a 2.75 inch deep growing zone in the center of the main arena roof structure and a deeper 3.5-inch growing zone around the perimeter where the structural capacity is greater to maximize the rooflite® Extensive MCL growing medium. A pre-grown Sempergreen sedum mat was supplemented with native plugs and seed to enhance plant diversity and ecological resilience and to reflect the mix of flora found in the dolomite bluffs overlooking the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers – while a few have failed, about 30 species flourish on the roof.

Year: 2009
Owner: City of Minneapolis
Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA
Building Type: Commercial
Type: Extensive
System: Custom
Size: 113,000 sq.ft.
Slope: 1%
Access: Inaccessible, Private

Designers/Manufacturers of Record:

Waterproofing Membrane & Insulation: Sika Sarnafil
Roofing Consultant: Inspec
Landscape Architect/Greenroof Designer: Kestrel Design Group, Inc.
General Contractor: Stock Roofing, a Tecta America Company
Architect: Leo Daly
Electric Field Vector Mapping (EFVM®): International Leak Detection (ILD)
Drainage & Filter Layer: Bonar (formerly Colbond)
Irrigation: KISSS
Water Retention Layer: American Engineering Fabrics
Growth Media: rooflite® Extensive MCL
Pre-Vegetated Mat Manufacturer: Sempergreen
Coverboard: DensDeck Prime Roof Board, Georgia-Pacific Gypsum

Click here to see more information about this project in The International Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database.

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Love the Earth, Plant a Roof!

~ Linda V.