Authorities and scientists strive to address the challenges of increasing temperatures and foster biodiversity in crowded cities with limited open spaces, such as Paris. The city witnessed record-breaking summers this year and a team of engineers concluded that zinc roofs hold a significant hand in this. Moreover, the shortage of green places adds to the damage. Thus, the team of engineers from Roofscapes is turning zinc rooftops into gardens to fight rising temperatures.
The Roofscapes team, Eytan Levi, Olivier Faber, and Tim Cousin noticed what went unnoticed and ignored by everyone, the zigzagging zinc roofs of the residential buildings in Paris. Yes, these vast areas are at large left unattended, but they can help the city in combating the increasing summer temperatures.
Paris witnessed sweltering summers with temperatures reaching a record high of 42.6° Celsius. It ranks as the seventh most densely populated city in the world and faces a well-documented shortage of parks, it becomes increasingly evident that the solution, or at least a portion of it, lies above the head.
Cousin said, “We’d been looking at climate change in the city and particularly during the hot summers when we became aware that these zinc roofs were lying in the sun accumulating solar energy and overheating to up to 80C. They were contributing to the heat island effect in the city, meaning it was 10 degrees hotter than in the surrounding areas.”
Roofscapes states that the wooden structures will be securely attached to load-bearing walls and each project will require strict planning approval, including engineering and safety studies. A key challenge is to win over the conservative architects at the French culture ministry’s B×¢timents de France, who prioritize preservation over progress. Eytan Levico said, “We’ve had talks with them, which is already a big step, and we’re very hopeful.â€
The sky terraces can be built after approval with a cost of around €1,500-€2,000 (£1,300-£1,700) per square meter. The owners of the property or flat would pay for the cost and benefit from the extra space. They may also have the opportunity to receive subsidies from the government’s ecological transition fund in the future, like homeowners who want to improve their energy rating can currently do.
The team highlights the altane wooden terraces in Venice as a prime illustration of how roof structures can seamlessly blend into traditional surroundings. To spread the word and bring their point of view in front of the citizens, they arranged a rooftop festival.
The first Paris Rooftop festival was held in September 2023 in partnership with a French roofers’ union and an association for urban vegetation. It will now be held every year.
“We were able to welcome hundreds of visitors and the many reactions we received were overwhelmingly positive, highlighting people’s desire to access their roofs, discover the city differently, and make unexpected encounters with one another,†Levi added.
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Up until now, Roofscapes has been dependent on grants from public authorities and the European Commission. However, the three founders have a future vision of reaching a point where they can sustain themselves financially.
In this context Levi said, “It’s tricky and not the most obvious way to make a business or make money, but we’re hoping it will succeed in two or three years, and we’ve had a lot of interest from public authorities, companies and people.â€
Paris poses a unique challenge due to its large number of buildings with zinc roofs. Approximately 70-80% of the city’s properties, totaling about 110,000 structures, have these roofs. These zinc roofs not only absorb the sun’s heat, intensifying the rising temperatures, but their sloping nature also complicates any efforts directed towards them.
To address this issue, the Roofscapes team recommends constructing wooden platforms that span the inclining panels. This innovative approach enables the creation of not only roof gardens and terraces, but also functional walkways. By implementing such a solution, the team believes that three advantages can be achieved, they are as follows:
- It will prevent the metal from overheating.
- Subsequently, temperatures will be reduced in the city that will boost biodiversity.
- They can be used as outdoor areas for residents to enjoy
Roofscapes is turning zinc rooftops into gardens to fight rising temperatures and a prototype installation is currently being examined and is on track to be finalized at the beginning of the upcoming year.
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According to Tim Cousin, to make a difference in the city, having many roof terraces is crucial. However, we have witnessed a change in people’s mindset regarding this matter. Some years ago, they were not concerned about climate change, but now they understand its urgency. There are no other city areas available for creating additional green space apart from the roofs.
Other Cities Using Roofs for Climate Solutions
If talking about using roofs for climate solutions, there are various cities working in this direction.
- Zurich already has a mandatory green roof programme. It covers all flat roofs on new buildings that have not been used as terraces since 1991.
- Since 1984, Linz in Austria has made it mandatory to have green roofs, resulting in one of the highest concentrations of green roofs in the world. With approximately 2.7m2 per citizen, Linz is truly leading the way in embracing green roofing.
- Rotterdam, on the other hand, is also actively participating in the Rethinking Rooftops movement, showcasing its commitment to sustainable practices.
About the Team
Levi, Cousin, and Faber met at an architecture school in Switzerland. They all started working at different businesses in Paris but became frustrated with the traditional building and development models that didn’t allow for creativity. So, they decided to resign from their jobs. They then enrolled at the MIT School of Architecture and Planning in the US, where they founded Roofscapes in 2020.
Source: ROOFSCAPES
