Elements of rooftop garden design

This chapter focuses on the elements that must be considered when designing rooftop gardens and integrating them within buildings. Different types of rooftop gardens and how they can be integrated within existing and new buildings in order to enhance their environmental performance, better connect with their users and contribute to the amelioration of the urban environment are presented together with a description of necessary factors for implementation. These include: techniques and technologies for cultivation (i.e. simple planters, green roofs and hydroponics), necessary structural loadbearing capacity of the host building and protection from wind. The chapter also gives an overview of existing innovative and experimental projects of rooftop gardens, ranging from those that require little to high investment.