the bowery mission's new farm

from Matt Krivich at the Bowery Mission, our client for last year's design build:

From the photos below you can see that Greensulate has completed the installation of our rooftop farm. Because of the many obstacles that have come our way we decided to go with a simple design that can be flexible when needed in the coming years. We have meet the all of requirements of the United Way, while also protecting the structural integrity of the building and have created something beautiful above the noise of the popular and developing Bowery. 

In the future I would love to see you and your students on our rooftops observing, critiquing, collecting data, consulting, and casting vision. You have taken my inspiration and set it afire; keep me ablaze! 

brooklyn grange today at 5

37-18 Northern Blvd
Long Island City, NY

MEET IN THE LOBBY

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What kind of company is Brooklyn Grange?

Brooklyn Grange is a commercial farm, meaning we grow food and sell it. We want farming to become a thriving and viable industry in the urban setting, and we aim to promote city farmers by providing them with a living wage and reliable livelihood.

How is the farm financed?

The farm is financed through a combination of private equity, loans, grassroots fundraising events and the website Kickstarter.com.

Does the farm lease the roof?

Yes; we have a 10 year lease from Acumen Capital Partners.

How big is the farm?

Our one-acre (40,000 square foot) farm in Queens is made up of roughly 1.2 million lbs of soil and over 20,000 linear feet of green roofing material.

Can the building hold that much weight?

Our farm was designed and installed with the support of engineers and architects who assessed and approved the site. The building was constructed in 1919 and is built like a rock. The roof is made of a thick reinforced concrete slab, which is approved for loads far in excess of the 30 lbs per square foot of materials that we have installed.

How is the farm built?

Before laying down the soil, we laid down a green roof system, distributed by Conservation Technologies. The system is as follows: a layer of root-barrier, which prevents our plants’ roots from penetrating the surface of the roof; a thick layer of felt; drainage mats with small cups to hold excess water from heavy rainstorms (the soil and plants wick this stored water up in dry conditions to keep our water use down), and finally, a thin layer of felt to prevent the drainage mats from filling up with soil.

What kind of soil do you use?

We bought our soil from Skyland in Pennsylvania, a green roof supplier. The blend is called Rooflite and is composed of compost for organic components, and lightweight, porous stones. The stones make the material lighter in weight and also slowly break down to add trace minerals needed by the vegetables. Our beds are about 7.5″ deep with 1″ deep walkways

What are you growing on the roof?

There are hundreds of thousands of plants on the roof. Tomatoes are one of our biggest crops: we have 40 varietals planted. We are also growing salad greens, herbs, carrots, fennel, beets, radishes, beans, and many other exciting crops!

Is the farm organic?

We grow our vegetables according to organic principles, and we do not use any synthetic fertilizers, insecticides or herbicides. We are not certified organic by the USDA nor do we plan to apply for organic certification.

What do you do in the winter?

We farm the roof about nine months of the year. In the winter, we will use cover crops like rye, buckwheat, vetch and clover.

Where do you sell your produce?

We sell our produce directly to the community from several weekly farmstands, as well as to several local restaurants.

What restaurants carry Brooklyn Grange produce?

We sell produce to Roberta’s in Bushwick, Giuseppe Falco at Vesta in Astoria, Marlow & Sons, Joseph Leonard, Fatty ‘Cue, bobo, Eat, Juliette and others.

Why is the farm called Brooklyn Grange if it is located in Queens?

When we started our company in 2009, we thought we had a site in Brooklyn locked down. We were all living in Brooklyn and put together the plan there, so the name made sense. In spring of 2010 we had to look for a new site; subsequently, we found our current location on Northern Blvd in Queens. At that point, however, we had already established an LLC under the name “Brooklyn Grange,” had begun using the name in public at our fundraisers and events in the winter and didn’t want to confuse the folks who had been following our progress and supporting our efforts. We’ve kept our name as Brooklyn Grange, but we are thrilled with our new home in LIC, Queens and have really enjoyed meeting the community there.

Why Urban Farming?

The city will always rely on rural farmers for the bulk of our food, and the relationship between urban and rural communities must be celebrated. But having farms inside the city limits by taking advantage of unused roof space is an opportunity not to be missed. Roof farms have the potential to improve urban quality of life, create jobs, increase access to healthy fresh foods, and provide environmental education to those of us who live in and love the city.

LINK TO PHASE 1 DESIGNS

click here to view all 13 of the Phase 1 designs

You will be reviewing these and completing a simple survey that will help us determine class priorities. We will also be talking through this process in more detail on Wednesday.

contractors for the installation of the North Hall roof

Highview Creations

GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE METRICS

A Guide to Recognizing Its Economic,Environmental and Social Benefits

http://www.cnt.org/repository/gi-values-guide.pdf


Metrics-Structure Calculation North Hall Roof

FRIDAY BBG TOUR

We are meeting Uli in front of the new building at 5 - WE WILL MEET AT THE ENTRANCE AT 990 WASHINGTON A LITTLE BEFORE 5.

elliott's cell 718.666.6236

new york's roof makeover

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/technology/2012/06/interactive-journey-through-new-yorks-roofscape-makeover/2206/

[thanks nathan]

lectures on the blog

All lectures are being posted on the blog, in the readings section. A curated selection of diagrams from last class have now been put up. Also, a friendly reminder that you should be wrapping up the full NYC Green Infrastructure plan.

phase 2 program

Phase 2 : the EXPANDED DESIGN

Working as a team, you will expand the program of Pratt's green roof - you now have free reign to fold additional activities, ideas, structures, and scales into the existing framework you explored in phase 1. This does not mean your design should have everything but the kitchen sink - no dog's breakfasts please! Instead you will carefully craft a design concept that will guide your decisions from here on in. We are proposing two strands of exploration for you to choose from: urban agriculture and biodiversity. While these are large categories that have potential overlap, we ask that each team choose ONE as their primary organizing principle.

FOR NEXT WEEK

+ choose a strand

+ develop a design concept

+ determine how the strand that you choose impacts and works with the 3 primary goals that we began with

+ define at least 2 additional goals

+ each individual should begin to research one facet of their design - think about the flow of this info

Additionally, the project remains a DEP funded project: you will build on the work you have done thus far. [this may or may not mean that you will retain your physical design of the roof - it should at the very least provide a starting point]

original goals

[1] BEST CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES FOR STORMWATER MANAGEMENT

[2] APPROPRIATE DESIGN APPROACH FOR EASY MAINTENANCE

[3] CAREFUL CONSIDERATION OF HOW THE ROOF WILL BE USED AS A RESEARCH STATION

each team will define at least two additional goals

[4]

[5]

In order to achieve these goals you will STILL need to determine/ design the following:

§ rooftop construction system

§ overall layout of roof, access, movement of people

§ plant selection framework

§ water access, rain water harvesting

§ assess and understand soil selection [type of soil medium, weight, density appropriate for site conditions, and growing media]

§ working framework for research, data collection

§ conceptual ideas for how the roof fits within a larger ecosystem/ watershed

Design submittal schedule :

session 6b: concept articulation, identify + research for systems diagram

session 7 : working / peer review [minimum: plan, section, sketches, system diagram]

session 10: working list of drawings / diagrams / analysis / calculations for final

session 12 : 90% completion, desk reviews

session 13: FINAL PRESENTATION

relevant NYC building codes : STILL APPLY

dates, locations, and time of upcoming field trips/ class

Monday June 11th - Five Boro Rooftop
Randalls Island
leave from Pratt front steps at 2.15. or meet us there at 3pm.
Wednesday June 13th: in-house review with Facilities, and guests.
have system diagram drawings, and drawing / visual info on your concept for Phase 2

North Hall RM 306, 5.30pm
Friday June 15th: BBG tour and plant talk
meet at BBG at 5pm, exact location to be provided, will be posted here
Monday June 18th: Brooklyn Grange Farm, Urban Ag Rooftop
meet at Brooklyn Grange, in the lobby37-18 Northern Blvd
Long Island City, NY 11101
(N/R trains are close by)

phase 1 program

[1] BEST CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES FOR STORMWATER MANAGEMENT

[2] APPROPRIATE DESIGN APPROACH FOR EASY MAINTENANCE

[3] CAREFUL CONSIDERATION OF HOW THE ROOF WILL BE USED AS A RESEARCH STATION

In order to achieve these goals you will need to determine/ design the following:

• rooftop construction system
• overall layout of roof, access, movement of people
• plant selection framework
• water access, rain water harvesting
• assess and understand soil selection [type of soil medium, weight, density appropriate for site conditions, and growing media]
• working framework for research, data collection
• conceptual ideas for how the roof fits within a larger ecosystem/ watershed
  
  

relevant NYC building codes

1. structural analysis – weight of proposed installation can not exceed the allowed live load + dead load capacity of the roof [we will discuss]
2. decking : wood decking can not exceed 10% of the overall roof square footage. Non combustible material can exceed these requirements.
3. Fire Dept access

504.4.1 Rooftop access. Access to building rooftops shall be provided as follows:

1. For each 12 linear feet (3658 mm) of building perimeter accessible from the frontage space of the building and from any other exposure accessible to fire apparatus, a minimum clearance of 6 feet (1829 mm) in width and 6 feet (1829 mm) in depth from any obstruction shall be provided at the parapet wall or other perimeter of the rooftop. Where such building perimeter is 24 linear feet (7315 mm) or greater, but less than 36 linear feet (10 973 mm), the required clearance openings shall be separated by a distance of not less than 12 linear feet (3658 mm). Where such building perimeter is 36 linear feet (10 973 mm) or greater, the required clearance openings may be contiguous, provided, however, that such contiguous openings shall not exceed 12 linear feet (3658 mm) and shall be separated from other required clearance openings by a distance of not less than 12 linear feet (3658 mm). Each exposure accessible by fire apparatus may be treated separately for purposes of locating clearance openings and otherwise complying with the requirements of this provision.

504.4.2 Rooftop obstructions. Unobstructed space shall be provided on rooftops sufficient to allow firefighting operations, as follows:

1. A clear path of not less than 6 feet (1829 mm) horizontal width and 9 feet (2743 mm) in height shall be provided from the front of the building to the rear of the building and from one side of the building to the other, except that a conduit or pipe in compliance with the requirements of this section may cross such path. Such clear path shall be accessible from each point of the rooftop access from which clearance is required pursuant to Section 504.4.1.

4. railings or parapet : must be provided, 44” aff around entire roof. If this is to be considered habitable space, the enclosure will need to be a minimum of 7ft.
5. wind considerations – ensure proper securing of any objects, structures, to the roof deck for wind load considerations
6. as of May 1^st the Dept of City Planning passed a series of zoning proposal changes, Zone Green Text Amendments, that address removing obstacles to building green in NYC; green roof design was included as well, see : http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/greenbuildings/index.shtml

Other rooftop equipment: In a dense city where space is at a premium, rooftops can serve a wide range of purposes, including managing stormwater, providing recreation space, or generating renewable energy. In addition, systems such as boilers and cogeneration facilities can be safer and more efficient when located on roofs. Key building features such as stair and elevator bulkheads must also be located on roofs. However, zoning districts with contextual height limits restrict the space available for these systems above the maximum building height.

The proposal: Allow low-lying features such as green roofs, recreational decks, other stormwater detention systems and skylights anywhere below the parapet, regardless of building height. A guardrail no more than 30% opaque would be allowed up to 3’6” above the top surface of the roof. Greater volume, similar to what is already allowed in many Special Districts, would be allowed above the maximum building height to accommodate modern bulkheads, with requirements for setback and screening of equipment.