Jiutian International Square, a 5 story mall in Zhuzhou in the Hunan province of China has built 4 villas with yards on the roof. Each building situated at the 4 corners of the new roof has nearly 500 square meters, with bedrooms, kitchens and balconies.

Zhuzhou Jiutian Real Estate constructed the 4 two-story cottages while building the new mall. The buildings have electricity and plumbing but instead of being residential homes, the 4 houses will be used as offices for the mall developers 160 real estate management employees.

New Green Law in Beijing

The developer used modern designs and landscape decorations to make the buildings look like villas. Last year Beijing passed a law requiring buildings to have green roof tops on buildings constructed within the last 20 years, shorter than 45 meters and with fewer than 12 floors

Zhuzhou is the second largest city in Hunan Province with a population of nearly 4 million people. Space is severely limited and these rooftop villas may be a solution for the future.

Concerns were raised about the safety of the villas, but city planners said the structures were built legally and with the required documentation proving that companies rather than individuals own the villas.

Racine Wisconsin, the Racine City Council has spent another hour debating whether the new Festival Hall roof should remain the original teal or change to copper. In June the aldermen voted to keep the roof teal to avoid ruining the city’s ‘branding’.

On July 17th the Civic Center Commission and Design and Review Committee’s chairman James DeMatthew asked the aldermen to reconsider the roof color. Saying the current stale look has turned off some customers and the copper color will give the new roof distinction.

Teal Color Still on Railing, Fencing, Light Posts

While some still believe the teal color is an identity for Racine, they voted 9-1 to change the color to copper. The roofing contractor hired to do the roof job said the city would end up saving from $10,000 to $20,000 by using the copper color instead of teal.

The replacement roof is designed to last 25 years and construction is expected to start sometime this year.

The Festival Hall is located on 5th street downtown right off Lake Michigan. The hall is used for weddings, concerts, festivals and other special events.

In Chandler Arizona the need to store rainwater has prompted an unusual roof top design. At CyrusOne data center the new roof will have higher sides and taper down to a channel running through the middle of the massive 1 million square foot facility roof. The data center will be modular and plans for completion in the first part of 2013.

Kevin Timmons CyrusOne CTO said “it’s an innovative marvel in itself. It is peaked at the perimeter with a valley through the center spine, exactly the opposite of every other roof you’ve seen. This roof shape allows for the natural convection of a hot return air from across the mission critical space back to the perimeter of the building where cooling units are installed. At the same time, the center valley collects rainwater and routes it away from the building to catch basins where it is reused for site cooling and landscaping needs.”

Data Center Guy

According to a blog by Timmons at freshairdc.blogspot.com as a “data center guy” he and others like him, locate, design, build or operate facilities that house computers and electronic storage. On the blog there are pictures posted of the construction on the project they have nicknamed “Ginger”. There is also a design of the innovative commercial roof and evaporative cooling technology that will be used to cool the center.

The high school in Davidsville PA will be getting an energy efficient lining to cover their aging roof. While the roof is still structurally sound, it shows signs of wear, the white water proof lining is expected to last for 15 years.

The roof is past its warranty and replacing it with a new roof would have cost the Conemaugh Township Area School District $1.2 million. The durable lining will cost considerably less at $393,275.

Completed This Summer

Cleveland based Garland Co. manufactures the lining and roofing contractors at TMR Roofing based in Saltsburg will install the lining. Installation will take place over the summer break and expected to take a month. They are hoping to have the roof work complete before school resumes in the fall.

The Conemaugh Township Area High School was built in 1938, the latest major renovation came in 2004 with the construction of a new athletic stadium.

In Hays Kansas, Dave Gray, the owner of the property next to Singers Music Venue has asked permission to remove the historic roof. The State Historical Preservation Office (SHPO) was asked to approve the removal of the downtown buildings roof to make an outdoor smoking area. Built in 1946, the building is part of the Chestnut Street District and is recognized on the National Register of Historic Places.

While waiting for the SHPO recommendation, Gray hired a roof contractor to remove the old shabby roof. Allegedly while removing the top, the roof trusses fell and the roof had to be completely taken down.

Alter the Historic Character

In the meantime, SHPO denied the request stating removing the roof would alter the historic character of the building. Grays next step was to appeal to the Hays City Commissioners since they have the power to override SHPO’s decision.

City Attorney John Bird said he was disturbed that the city was faced with this situation and that the building owners did not apply for a building permit prior to starting the roof repair. While some commissioners were in favor of approving the roof removal so the building owners could go on with the improvements. The commissioners voted to table the issue until Gray can make additional attempts to work with the SHPO.

In Sunrise Florida, residents of Mediterranean style luxury condos are complaining of leaking roofs, rotting fascia and cracked walls. The 4 story condo towers at Artesia cost $300,000 to $600,000 and were completed in 2008, the complaints started in 2009.

Patrick Horan purchased 6 condos and is the association president at Artesia; talking about the roof he said “It is deteriorating in front of our eyes because of the way it was installed. The roof is bubbling. It started in 2009 with small pancake bubbles and it has just grown.”

Who Is To Blame?

Minto Communities, the developer puts some of the blame on the condo association for not maintaining the buildings. Steve Svopa, Minto’s vice president said “we want to do the right thing.” He went on to say “Minto and its subcontractors have investigated all of these issues, and have agreed to correct virtually all of the items raised, whether or not they are the fault of the associations’ lack of ongoing maintenance or construction issues.”

Terrance Duffy bought 3 condos and is the secretary and treasurer for one of the condo associations, when talking about Minto he said, “They are blaming the installer and /or the materials supplier for the roof. They have indicated a willingness to continue to patch active leaks as they occur, however this is not acceptable to us. We want a proper roof, properly installed.”

The homeowners have complained twice to officials at Sunrise City Hall only to be told it is a civil matter between them and the developer. The next course of action may be a lawsuit if the roof repair is not completed to the condo homeowners satisfaction.

March’s hailstorm damaged the McAllen Texas Civic Center Auditorium’s roof to the tune of $24,000. The commerical roof had an elastomeric acrylic coating that was damaged causing water to pour into the 52 year old theater. The auditorium is located at 1300 S. 10th street in McAllen.
The roof was replaced in 2007 costing the city of McAllen close to $49,000.

The 5-year warranty on the rubber like coating had recently expired leaving the city to cover the cost of repairs. Employees were able to mop up the inch of rain covering the floor, but the wood floor on the stage still buckled due to the moisture. Several events had to be cancelled due the theater flooding.

Theater Open Although Roof Still Leaks

Workers covered the hard wood floor with plastic and ran a humidifier to fix the buckling. Omar Rodriguez, who oversees the auditorium, stated in a letter to customers “As it stands today, we feel confident that we can proceed with your bookings at the auditorium on the original dates contracted.”

Other city buildings were also damaged in the hail storm; it is unknown at this time when the civic center or other roof repairs can be made.

Manhattan based Brighten Farms plans to turn a Brooklyn warehouse into the world’s largest rooftop garden. The hydroponic farm will be on top of the former US Navy warehouse In Sunset Park. The soil-less farm will be 8 stories high and overlook the Brooklyn Queens Expressway.

The 100.000 square foot garden is expecting an annual yield of 1 million pounds of hydroponically grown produce. The green roof will also help reduce rain water runoff overloading the city’s sewer and water systems.

Burroughs President Marty Markowitz said “Here in New York, we don’t have acres and acres of unused land to grow fresh food, but Brooklyn’s got plenty of industrial buildings with unused roofs that are perfect for urban farming.“ Markowitz also headed the revisions to the city’s zoning laws to maximize rooftop space for farming.

Fresh Produce to Local Grocers

Brighten Farms design, finance, build and operate the roof top greenhouses. They are hoping any roof repair and renovations will be complete in early 2013. This will be 1 of 6 commercial roof top farms in the city supplying fresh organic produce to local residents and businesses.

The second largest rooftop farm is in New York City on top of a 6 story Brooklyn Grange warehouse. The 40,000 square foot garden is on its second growing season.

In Saraspur Ahmedabad India, the Smt. Shardeben General Hospital replaced its black tar roof with a reflective white china mosaic.

Head of medicine Dr. Shubha Desai stated that the hospital’s roof repair is helping save lives. Reducing the indoor temperatures and improving the health of the patients, especially the infants. The children’s unit and neonatal ward where previously on the top and hottest floor of the hospital until recently moved to the lower and cooler levels of the hospital.

Ahmedabad Population About 3,910,000

Ahmedabad is one of the fastest growing cities in India, Smt. Shardaben General Hospital is the city’s municipal hospital and it services some of the poorest communities in India. The hospital sees a dramatic increase in heat related illnesses during the hot summer months.

Ahmedabad gets extreme heat for several months a year. Average summer heat from March to June is 106 degrees, the average temperature from November to February is 86 degrees. The climate is dry until the southwest monsoon brings a humid climate from mid-June to mid-September.

Ahmedabad Municipal Operation is planning to replace all the hospital roofs with the cooler white roofs to help mitigate the intense heat.

Salt Lake City Utah is opening a new multi-million dollar shopping center this week. One of the main focal points is a retractable roof. The roofing system at City Creek Mall is the first of its kind in the state of Utah.

Sponsors Downtown Rising, The Mormon Church and mall operator Taubman Centers decided to “keep it local” when choosing who would to the roofing work. Ductworks Inc., a Logan based welding company fabricated the retractable roof system while working with contractors Jacobson Construction and Uni-Systems. Ductworks president Jeremy Jenkins said “it was a real honor to be selected to do it.’

Meant To Be Unnoticed

It took over 50 workers and 18 months to complete the roofing system. The 12 fabricated panels are each 100 feet wide, the roof spans 60 feet when fully extended. The roof opens and closes in sequence since the panels overlap each other. The intention is for the roof not to be noticed by the people on the ground level. Jenkins added the goal is to have the roof open as much as possible with the exception of bad weather.

Ribbon cutting for the downtown City Creek Mall is set for Thursday at 9:30 a.m. ,they are expecting more than 50,000 people for the grand opening.