Home > About Blue Cross > Our Company > Newsroom

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's Living Roof

Return to Newsroom

Contact:
mediarelations@bcbsm.com

Facts

• Michigan’s first "living roof" atop a parking deck, located on Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan's downtown Detroit campus, was completed in November 2006. The deck is near the intersection of Congress Street and I-375.
• The nine-story, 1,825-space parking deck features a green roof with 52,300 square feet of sedum plants.
• The vegetated area is approximately 70 percent of the 75,000 square-foot roof area.

 

Benefits

• Controlling rainwater runoff is considered the primary benefit of the green roof, but it offers additional value. The green roof also:
  • Will extend the lifespan of the parking deck and reduce repairs and maintenance
  • Protects underlying roof materials from damaging ultraviolet radiation
  • Moderates extreme roof temperatures and the temperatures of surrounding buildings
  • Eliminates the need to physically remove snow and ice from the roof
  • Filters, collects and stores rainwater as an irrigation source for campus landscaping
  • Creates a cleaner environment by trapping dust and absorbing carbon dioxide
  • Increases biodiversity by creating a habitat for insects, birds and butterflies

 

Technology

• Each of the vegetated system's layers serves a specific function that allows the green roof to survive with minimal maintenance.
• The system consists of the following layers, starting at the bottom:
  • water proofing membrane
  • root barrier
  • drainage material consisting of plastic coils to permit runoff of excess rainwater
  • filter fabric to keep debris from creating blockage in the drain system
  • retention fabric placed to store rainwater for reuse by plants
  • pre-vegetated mats that contain various sedum plants
• A variety of sedum plants are used to ensure constant growth in the growing medium.
• Sedum plants survive with minimal maintenance. They are drought tolerant, weed resistant, withstand extreme temperatures and do not need mowing.

 

Health Benefits

• • An added feature of the rooftop is a one-tenth mile walking path made of recycled rubber paving.
  • The walking path supports company employee exercise and health programs such as Dump Your Plump and Not One More Pound, which are both team activities that encourage exercising or walking 30 minutes per day, five days a week.
  • In April 2007, BCBSM kicked off the first National Walk @ Lunch Day on the green roof walking path. The annual event is dedicated to demonstrating how exercise can fit into, and not compete with, a work day. The event is also a day to remind and encourage employees and employers to incorporate a 30-minute lunchtime walk into their daily schedules.

   

  LEED Certification

  • The green roof is one of the first projects in the country to achieve the United States Green Building Council’s LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for a structure whose primary function is a parking deck. The USGBC created a rating system and certification in 1995 to recognize and promote environmentally-friendly buildings.
  • Neumann/Smith Architecture of Southfield designed the project in conjunction with the landscape design firm of Grissim Metz Andriese, Landscape Architects of Northville and Turner Construction of Detroit.

# # #

Additional Information