Pictures of the green roof at Olive 8
The green roof at Seattle hotel-condo project Olive 8 is being installed this week. It is one of the largest green roofs in Seattle at 8,355 square feet.
The roof is actually two green roofs so the developer, R.C. Hedreen, can test out which system it likes best. Above the chillers there is a sod-based green roof. On the actual fourth floor ground level, there is a tray-based sedum system. There is a lasting argument between which one of these techniques is better, which I will discuss in a later post at greater detail. For more on this project, or to learn about R.C. Hedreen's conversion to being a green developer, read the story in the DJC here.
R.C. Hedreen is also considering a second green roof on the 39th floor of Olive 8, though if it pursues that option it will need to be sod-based as David Thyer, president of the company, said the city is afraid the green roof trays will blow away at such a great height.
On Tuesday, I was fortunate enough to see part of the tray installation. Here are photos I took of the process:
For more on Olive 8, see the official page here. To see more photos, visit Eco Friendly Mag here.







January 9th, 2009 - 00:56
Sweet pictures. Thanks for sharing these. I’d love to understand the structural load differences between this kind of roof and a normal roof. Dig that up about Olive 8!
January 12th, 2009 - 11:34
Looks great – very cool!