Due to the size of the design space, a master plan proved necessary. Located in downtown Raleigh, this design links together the roofs of an apartment and a house with a bridge connecting the second-story of the house to the apartment. There are only a half dozen or so of roof gardens in Raleigh and Birdsong Garden Design was sure excited to complete the project!
The focus of the design was to allow the roof to serve as an experiment plot for different green design principles. Most notably, the apartment shows a green roof (the large square located to the left of the plan) of which can be seen here. Other features include a rain garden that collects excess rainwater and slowly filters and cleanses it as well as a collection point for rainwater to be used for vegetable gardens (with raised beds). In this design, the green roof garden collects the majority of the rainwater with the rain garden being the secondary tier of water collection.
Additionally, our designer, Pete showed his dedication to community outreach throughout this design, teaching a class to a group of "students" (Neuse Waterkeepers - Raleigh falls into the watershed of the Neuse river) about techniques used in the design of the rain garden; the goal being to educate on how to organically purify water as much as possible and diminish adverse environmental impacts. Furthermore, after the class, the students and Pete worked together to construct the rain garden.
To ensure the satisfaction of the clients, they had a series of meetings with Pete and also toured other roof gardens in Raleigh together to discuss what in particular appealed to them. The complete project was designed and installed within six months.
