Greenroofs.com Project of the Week: 7/18/16

FOOD ROOF Farm
St. Louis, MO, USA
8,500 sf. Greenroof

Project of the Week Description & Details

Urban Harvest STL, a St Louis nonprofit, empowers communities to cultivate equitable access to healthy, sustainably grown food and enhance biodiversity in cities. After years of gardening on the ground, the Urban Harvest STL founders combined their background in architecture with HOK with their experience in urban agriculture to design and build St Louis’s first rooftop farm, the FOOD ROOF Farm. Community engagement drove the design and the project illustrates various rooftop farming growing techniques including the intensive greenroof, hydroponic towers, raised beds, modular planters and greenhouse and tracks best practices for growing each crop efficiently.

Built in 2015, the 8,500 square foot FOOD ROOF Farm is located in the heart of downtown St Louis above a two-story storage facility utilizing a Sika Sarnafil PVC waterproofing membrane, which doubles as a root barrier, and pavers from Bison Innovative Products. With additional consulting and design services from Hanging Gardens, the hybrid intensive greenroof system and farm was built in conjunction with volunteers along with Urban Harvest STL. Over 100 varieties of vegetables, fruits, herbs and flowers are grown annually and more than 3,000 pounds of organic food is produced each year. The majority is donated to people who need it the most in the community. Other notable farm features include a Milkweed for Monarchs pollinator garden and keeping over 40,000 honeybees and 5 chickens. The community hub space hosts over 20 educational workshops and activities each year. And, the robust green roof infrastructure captures up to 17,000 gallons of stormwater per storm event, which equates to over 1,819,000 gallons annually. Rainwater captured is utilized for plant growth, reducing irrigation needs by up to 50%. Urban Harvest STL set out to not only create a social impact but also create an ecological return as well; they are increasing biodiversity gains and pollinator health on their rooftop. The FOOD ROOF Farm is growing healthy food and a community of healthy people.

Year: 2015
Owner: Urban Harvest STL
Location: St. Louis, MO, USA
Building Type: Commercial
Type: Intensive
System: Custom
Size: 8500 sq.ft.
Slope: 1%
Access: Accessible, By Appointment

Designers/Manufacturers of Record:

Urban Harvest STL Executive Director, Co-Founder & Designer: Mary Ostafi, AIA, LEED-AP
Urban Harvest STL Co-Founder & Designer: Joseph Ostafi AIA, LEED-AP, Regional Leader for Science and Technology, HOK
Architect: Charlie Lutz, Senior Designer, HOK
Greenroof Design & Consultant: Anthony Mayer GRP, LEED AP, Chief Executive Officer, Hanging Gardens
Roofing Contractor: Tom Cox, President, Bi-State Roof Systems, Inc.
Waterproofing Membrane: John Bernardi, Regional Manager, Sika Sarnafil
Certified Irrigation Designer: Craig Pisarkiewicz, MPR Supply Company
Paver Provider: David Mudd, Hardscapes Sales, Midwest Block & Brick
Paver Provider: Hilary Porter, Central Regional Sales Manager, Bison Innovative Products
Greenhouse Provider: Greg Garbos, Owner, Small Farm Tools
Structural Engineer: Kent MacPeek, Frontenac Engineering
Growing Media: St. Louis Composting
Growing Media: WaterGrip Brownie

View the PROJECT PROFILE to see ALL of the Photos and Additional Information about this particular project in The International Greenroof & Greenwall Projects Database.

Project of the Week Video Feature

Watch the FOOD ROOF Farm Project of the Week Video below or see it on our GreenroofsTV channel on YouTube:

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By Linda S. Velazquez, ASLA, LEED AP, GRP
Greenroofs.com Publisher