The University features a green roof, complete with live plants that produce oxygen and a drainage system that reduces stormwater runoff, on the John and Frances Angelos Law Center at the corner of Maryland Avenue and Oliver Street. It's part of the University's ongoing efforts to create a more sustainable campus that uses less energy and reduces its impact on the environment.
Green roofs are an increasingly popular way for both public institutions and private companies to maximize the potential sustainability of existing buildings. The law center, constructed in 1982, houses the sixth-largest public law school in the country, with an enrollment that has increased 20 percent since the current building opened. In the interim, a host of green technological innovations has come into play, and retrofitting a building with many years left in its lifespan is not unusual. The University plans to repurpose the building for other academic uses when the new John and Frances Angelos Law Center opens at the intersection of North Charles Street and Mount Royal Avenue in 2013. That new structure also will feature a number of green innovations.
"As we begin to transition to a new home for the School of Law, it makes sense to complete a retrofit that reduces the building's environmental impact as soon as possible," said Steve Cassard, UBalt's vice president for facilities management and capital planning. "Whatever use we make of this building, it will remain an important part of our campus and we intend to see that it is as efficient as it can be."
The major elements of the green roof include:
- a geofabric membrane, which overlays the building's flat roof
- plants and soil that provide shade and take up rainwater
- a retention system that sheds excess water that the plants cannot process.
The plants, selected for their hardiness and their ability to survive in an urban climate, also process greenhouse gasses and produce oxygen; the insulating effect and shade they create helps reduce cooling costs for the building. The plants and soil, laid out in modular trays in a grid system across the span, absorb the sun's ultraviolet rays, protecting the roof and making it last longer.