Rooftop Greenhouse
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Adam Paton (website) Download Original
Part refurbishment of ground floor workshop and part new build of three storey office with an experimental rooftop greenhouse
With half of humanity now living in cities, there are compelling reasons to grow more food in them. Our rooftops are largely unused, yet the rooftop is where most of the sunlight falls. Our experimental rooftop greenhouse is a three storey extension on a single storey workshop.
It grows crops and acts as a solar energy capture device, heating the building below. The thermal mass of the building acts as a storage buffer, which in turn keeps the greenhouse warm at night. It has reduced our heating bill by 80 per cent and eliminated the need for heating in spring, summer and autumn, both to the greenhouse and the building. Rain water collected from the roof irrigates crops that are grown hydroponically, providing a near constant supply of fresh vegetables.
Additional new roof areas are flat to accommodate an orchard and soft fruit cultivation.
Data
- Begun: Apr 2010
- Completed: Sep 2012
- Floor area: 220m2
- Sector: Office
- Total cost: £114,000
- Funding: company own funds
- Tender date: Apr 2010
- Procurement: Self build
- CO2 Emissions: 21.8kg/m2/year
- Address: Seawater Greenhouse, 2a Greenwood Road, Hackney, London, E8 1AB, United Kingdom
Professional Team 
- Architect: Wilton Studios
- Client: Seawater Greenhouse
- Structural engineer: Howard Cavanna & Associates
- Building services engineer: Seawater Greenhouse
- Quantity surveyor: Seawater Greenhouse
Suppliers
- Steel Fabricator: Cannon Steels
- General Contractor: Adam Lloyd Construction
