Our secret ingredient for deep systems: rooflite intensive base in Deep Planters & Deep Garden Roofs
Posted in Blog, intensive base, Products on April 8, 2021
At rooflite, we are always trying to respond effectively and quickly to the changing needs of the green roof industry. We embrace innovation and make it an integral part of our daily work.
Several years ago, we saw an industry trend toward deeper planters and system build-ups to support a different type of plant palette. As part of our regular review of our products and their applications, we assessed how we could best support these more demanding designs with deeper systems. With a science-based product development process, we came up with a brand new, proprietary product that no one else in the industry offers: rooflite intensive base.
rooflite intensive base is an underlying layer that mimics and improves upon natural soil horizons while also being lightweight and free draining. It’s used as the middle layer in our deep systems – between rooflite intensive, which offers optimized performance for green roofs, and rooflite drain, a granular lightweight aggregate.
rooflite intensive base was designed to meet the unique demands of a deeper system:
- Meets the special requirements of a deeper root zone
- Provides more aeration and less organic matter for the deeper root zone
- Normally used when depths exceed 18 inches
- Available in different saturated weight classes, which vary by region
Offering this product has allowed design professionals to install to greater depths with more freedom and flexibility in plant palette. Our customers have used rooflite intensive base on a variety of projects:
- Rooftop Reds: an innovative rooftop vineyard in Brooklyn – the world’s first commercially viable urban vineyard.
- The Redwood: a sixteen-floor apartment building in downtown Baltimore with a 9th floor Sky Lounge, a rooftop garden area.
- Reading Healthplex: built in the fall of 2016 as part of a Reading Hospital expansion, it features a series of rooftop gardens, totaling over one acre of greenery.
- Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia: its Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care features an innovative 145,000 square foot rooftop garden, made with rooflite.®
Interested in learning more about rooflite intensive base? Take a look at the product details [link to product page] and the systems that feature rooflite intensive base: