(PR.co.nz) Auckland, New Zealand — May 27, 2011 — Stormwater360, New Zealand’s leading innovative stormwater management company, has announced the company’s agreement with LiveRoof®, LLC, the top horticultural experts in the green roof industry in the USA to distribute its hybrid LiveRoof® pregrown Green Roof System in New Zealand and Australia.
The LiveRoof® green roof system is the most biologically sophisticated green roof solution. Green or vegetative roofs are old technology that have had a resurgence of popularity in Europe and USA in recent years. This is because they provide numerous environmental benefits over conventional roofing. These include a reduction of stormwater runoff (preventing sewer overflows and stream habitat destruction), greater energy efficiency in buildings from superior insulation and improved urban biodiversity. These environmental benefits are also coupled with a nicer green aesthetic and a roof that will last up to 3 times longer than a conventional roof.
The system is ideally suited to New Zealand in view of our high and consistent year round rainfall, which is climatically ideal for green roofs. This combined with extensive research over the last 3 years by Auckland University and other research organisations to demonstrate the benefits of green roofs in a New Zealand environment means we should expect to see a lot more greening of our skylines in years to come.
“LiveRoof makes installing a greenroof easy, essentially it’s “ready lawn” for roofs” notes Greg Yeoman, Director, Stormwater360. “ LiveRoof is superior to other systems being offered in our market. LiveRoof goes up with mature plants in modules that form a green roof as a dense, seamless planted surface. There’s no uncertainty about plant establishment with LiveRoof. With its unsurpassed horticultural expertise and commitment to support, LiveRoof as a company complements our business model of technical marketing to architects and engineers for specification of solutions.”
This product is the first pregrown module system of its type in New Zealand. Manufactured with 100 percent recycled plastics, LiveRoof modules are compatible with different types of flat roof systems and single-ply roof membranes. The modules are installed on top of a waterproofing membrane on the roof deck, creating an instant green roof. Planting options include sedums and succulents as well as a range of native ground covers, grasses and sedges. Stormwater360 is working in cooperation with local commercial propagation nurseries, to create localized soil mixes and develop plant species adapted for green roofs in various regional environments across Australia and New Zealand.
The first LiveRoof Installation is planned for October 2011. The installation will be on a shipping container building constructed as an information kiosk in the newly developed Wynyard Quarter on Auckland’s waterfront.
PRESS RELEASE BACKGROUND
The LiveRoof® System is the only green roof installed with full-grown, mature plants that are healthy and thriving in a sustainable ecosystem established on the day of installation. Manufactured with 100 percent recycled plastics, LiveRoof modules are compatible with different types of flat roof systems and single-ply roof membranes.
The Soil Elevator™, a removable insert that lines the inside of LiveRoof modules, allows growers to fill them up above the top. When the modules are installed side-by-side, and the Soil Elevators are then removed, an uninterrupted layer of soil and vegetative surface extends above and across all the modules. This unifies the soil over the entire roof and conceals the modules under the plants even during dormancy. With LiveRoof, there are no unsightly grid lines on the rooftop, no seams between modules to allow air to escape from the roof below and reduce green roof benefits, and no module edges exposed to the sun to heat up and stress adjacent plants.
Live Roof’s Moisture Portal™, a second innovative feature, provides an opening on the sides of the modules. Soil-to-soil contact is established between modules when they are set in place.
Above, across and between modules, a LiveRoof is a continuous green roof. Uniting the soil maximizes the cohesiveness of the soil and plant roots and allows natural sharing of moisture and nutrients. The roots of LiveRoof plants bind the soil together and hold it in place. The soil itself stores, filters, and releases water — naturally.
About Stormwater360
Founded in 1996 in Auckland, NZ. Stormwater360 provides New Zealand’s most comprehensive range of stormwater management technologies that remove pollution from stormwater and control volumes of stormwater preventing flooding In-house engineers and scientists continually refine the company’s product range to meet the requirements of customers’ specific projects. More information is available at www.stormwater360.co.nz.
About LiveRoof®, LLC
LiveRoof, LLC (www.liveroof.com) is the horticultural science company that developed the LiveRoof® Hybrid System: Combining the best elements of proven green roof technologies, LiveRoof establishes a seamless vegetative surface rooted in a continuous layer of soil. This design maximizes environmental benefits, energy savings and rooftop aesthetics. Live Roof’s natural function and natural beauty offer the highest level of green roof performance at the lowest level of acquisition-installation-maturation-maintenance costs. The proof is on the roof — showcased in LiveRoof projects that stand out as signature elements on commercial, public, university and school buildings in more than two dozen states and Canada.
Media Contact:
Michael Hannah
michaelh@stormwater360.co.nz
+64 21 422 398
Stormwater360
www.stormwater360.co.nz