Green roofs in cities can contribute to improving the urban climate. The necessary policy instruments are being developed for their implementation and building materials are being analysed analytically, chemically and ecotoxicologically in individual tests and as model roofs.
Urban regions are facing serious challenges due to climate change. Heavy rainfall, flooding and heat wave events are expected to increase in frequency in the future. The planning model of the climate-resilient city is therefore becoming increasingly important and, in this context, the principle of the sponge city, i.e. the recycling of precipitation water, including the use of rainwater and grey water recycling. Green roofs are of particular importance, as they represent a space-saving option for the realisation of sponge city principles and thus an important building block at the core of the sponge city concept.
The research project pursues two objectives:
Firstly, to develop an effective mix of policy instruments with which blue-green infrastructures of a climate-resilient sponge city can be implemented across the board in existing buildings as quickly and effectively as possible.
Secondly, the development of model solutions for roofs as an important element of the blue-green infrastructure of a climate-resilient sponge city.
The research question to be answered is which quality criteria and model solutions can be determined for green roofs and solar green roofs in existing buildings and how their use can be established in practice. The task of the TZW is to experimentally investigate the environmental compatibility of building components with regard to the release and effect of pollutants. Ecotoxicological and chemical-analytical investigations of individual products are carried out for this purpose. The findings from the laboratory tests of the individual products are incorporated into a further work package in which model green roofs are designed and criteria for a funding guideline are developed. In addition to the analyses of individual products, samples from these model roofs and from real roofs will also be examined.
