Indian Hill House Green Roof Rehab
Indian Hill, OH, USA
3,671 sf of Greenroof

Image: Green City Resources

Greenroofs.com Featured Project April 27, 2020

In these constrictive social distancing times due to the coronavirus pandemic, it’s great to see one homeowner who has an additional outside respite space – her own greenroof. Not only is the vegetated roof space accessible to ascend and enjoy a bit of sun and nature, but the family can enjoy fresh cut flowers from the many perennials planted above their home, too.

Plus, perhaps most importantly in extreme cases like the one we are currently coping with, she and her family have fresh vegetables and herbs at their fingertips – greenroof to table! What a lovely way to provide some food security while staying at home.

Image: Green City Resources

Excerpt from Greenroofs.com Project Profile:

Located in a Cincinnati suburb with forested slopes and clear streams, the functional and highly aesthetic rehab of the Indian Hill House Green Roof has been the talk of the neighbors. Designed by Stride Studios and installed by Green City Resources, the homeowner desired a change to the vegetation on her existing green roof, which had been planted when the house was built in 2003.

Inundated with weeds and invasive plants, the original green roof was not as striking as she dreamt it could be. Stride Studios decided on a ‘firm monoculture block’ planting style in a curved linear design theme, better reflecting the organic nature immediately adjacent to the home.

Nestled into a wooded hillside spanning a creek, the plantings located around the house are very naturalistic and freeform in design and since both the home and property were quite dramatic, the designers felt the green roof had to match the drama.

Due to the roof’s consistent shallow soil bed depth, the team was restricted to using perennials, small grasses and ground covers within six inches. They removed five truckloads of old biomass and added back a little soil in compensation. A lift could only reach the middle section of the roof, so the soil had to be brought up via buckets.

Image: Green City Resources

Multiple groupings include Karl Foerster feather reed grasses and native Rudbeckia and Coreopsis alongside upright sedum with mixed masses of three separate species of ground cover sedums. All have year round interest with either a structural component or colorful features in the winter months.

Toward the upper end of the roof is a steel mezzanine that is used to access the roof from the floors below. Fabricated aluminum vegetable boxes set in the upper roof provide an additional 6” of rooflite® Ag Soil, bringing them up to a 12” depth. A variety of tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, strawberries, onions, herbs, zinnias and dahlias fill the boxes and a soldier course of lavender ‘Phenomenal’ fills the roof edge.

Image: Green City Resources

More

The cleanup of the green roof isn’t done until spring, leaving beautiful shades of amber for winter interest, and also giving aid to invertebrates and wildlife to nest.

The Indian Hill House Green Roof Rehab has been a wonderful accent to the contemporary Ohio home and an impressive addition to the overall feeling of the lushly wooded property, the result of a successful design and installation team.

Image: Green City Resources

Year: 2018
Owner: Private
Location: Indian Hill, OH, USA
Building Program: Single-Family Residential
Project Type: Semi-Intensive Greenroof
System: Single-Source Provider
Size: 3,671 sq. ft.
Slope: 6/12
Access: Accessible, Private

Image: Green City Resources

Image: Green City Resources

Credits:

SITE & LANDSCAPE DESIGN:
STRIDE STUDIOS

GREEN ROOF INSTALLER OF RECORD:
GREEN CITY RESOURCES

ORIGINAL ARCHITECT OF RECORD:
JOHN SENHAUSER ARCHITECTS

STRUCTURAL ENGINEER:
STEVE ALEXANDER, CCI ENGINEERS

GREENROOF SYSTEM:
SOPREMA®, SOPRANATURE® VEGETATED SYSTEM

“AG” GROWING MEDIA:
ROOFLITE®

PLANT GROWER:
KRUEGER MADDUX GREENHOUSE AND GREENFIELD PLANT FARM

ALUMINUM PLANTERS:
ELEGANT IRON STUDIOS

Image: Green City Resources

See the Project Profile

See the Indian Hill House Green Roof Rehab project profile to view ALL of the Photos and Additional Information about this particular project in the Greenroofs.com Projects Database.

Image: Green City Resources

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Love the Earth, Plant a Roof (or Wall)!

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