Greenroofs.com Project of the Week: 1/16/17

CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care
Philadelphia, PA, USA
145,000 sf. Greenroofs & Below Grade Parking Garage (On Structure Greenroof)

Project of the Week Mini Description & Details

The renowned Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, or CHOP, was founded in 1855 as the U.S.’s first pediatric hospital. Built in 2015 and designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, FKP as Architect of Record, and Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, the LEED Silver Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care at CHOP revolutionizes care for children, standing as the nation’s most state-of-the-art facility for outpatient medicine. The curving, colorful exterior is stacked to create an undulating, playful form and features two intensive greenroofs: the 3-acre Buerger Plaza garden at ground level (with a five-level underground parking garage below), and an innovative new multi-purpose rooftop garden crowning the six-story wing that provides therapeutic activities and a respite from the hospital. In addition, small structures on both the Plaza and the Sixth Floor are topped with extensive greenroofs.

Turner Construction performed one of the largest excavations of its kind in the city and built the largest green roof in Philadelphia, the sprawling 3-acre landscaped plaza. With all waterproofing by American Hydrotech, the greenroof plaza incorporates 166 trees, over 3,600 shrubs and 16,000 flowering perennials as well as four separate water fountains and informal lawns. Roofmeadow designed the profiles for both the Plaza and the Sixth Floor with assemblies ranging from 7.00 – 53.00 inches of media and sub-surface irrigation. This garden provides horticultural therapy within its winding paths, large shade trees, and meadows. In addition to its colorful vegetation, amenities include seating, a pergola, and playful fountain. All greenroofs were created using rooflite® green roof growing media. Approximately 6,700 cubic yards were used in total between three products to mimic and improve upon natural soil horizons: rooflite Intensive; rooflite Intensive Base; and rooflite Drain. Providing a stunning addition to the skyline of west Philadelphia, the CHOP Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care is a perfect example of combining various types of greenroofs to create a varied and lush urban landscape above structure while offering a positive and holistic medical experience.

Year: 2015
Owner: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Location: Philadelphia, PA, USA
Building Type: Healthcare
Type: Intensive & Extensive
System: Custom
Size: 145000 sq.ft.
Slope: 2%
Access: Plaza – Accessible, Open to Public; Six Floor – Accessible, Open to Patients and Staff Only

Designers/Manufacturers of Record:

Design Architect, Building Exterior and Public Spaces: Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects
Architect of Record, Medical Planning and Clinical Interiors: FKP Architects
Landscape Architect: Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects
General Contractor: Turner Construction Company
Waterproofing: American Hydrotech
Growing Media: rooflite®
Greenroof System Designer: Roofmeadow
Landscape Contractor: Sean’s Landscaping, Inc.
Graphics & Wayfinding, and Interior Design: Stanley Beaman & Sears

View the CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care 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 CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care Project of the Week Video below or see it on our GreenroofsTV channel on YouTube:

Greenroofs.com Project of the Week 1/17/17 video photos courtesy of rooflite, CHOP, Roofmeadow, PRNewswire 2015 © Jeff Goldberg/Esto, and Jeffrey M. Vinocur under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license on Wikimedia Commons.

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By Linda S. Velazquez, ASLA, LEED AP, GRP
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