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An investigation into new SUB rooftop garden irrigations systems

University of British Columbia. Sustainability Office

In attempt to obtain LEED Platinum+ rating, the highest rating for a green building within North America, a producing rooftop garden is to be integrated into the new Student Union Building on UBC campus. This report contains a summary of the selected crop, it’s management and irrigation needs specific to this particular garden, as well as a brief suggestion to a monitoring system. However, its main focus is a comparative analysis of the considered irrigation systems to be implemented on the rooftop garden. This was done through a triple bottom line analysis, which not only looks at the economical impact of the system, but also assesses the environmental and social bearing. The three systems in question were sprinkler irrigation, drip tape, and soaker hose. An example of the factors taken into account during the analysis would be the cost of the materials necessary for the installation or maintenance, the efficiency of the system with respect to water conservation, or the level of convenience it imposes for the staff. Based on the information reviewed within this article, the recommendation arrived at was to implement the drip tape. Many aspects influenced this decision, such as the budget, limited amount of staff, life expectancy, and the scale specific to the design of the Student Union Building rooftop garden. In conclusion, the recommended irrigation system presented in this report was selected due to the installation and maintenance costs being low, its efficiency with water usage, and the fact that it has very little social impacts. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”

Text

University of British Columbia. APSC 262; UBC Social Ecological Economic Development Studies (SEEDS) Student Report

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0108339

Applied Science, Faculty of

Unreviewed

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/