Liceo Scientifico Keplero Experimental Green Roof

Liceo Scientifico Keplero Experimental Green Roof
Rome, Italy
2,153 sf Greenroof

Image: Roberto Casalini

Greenroofs.com Featured Project September 16, 2019

Most educational greenroofs and walls are found at higher institutions of learning, but educators at the Liceo Scientifico Giovanni Keplero in Rome planned and executed the first vegetated roof on a school in Italy in 2016.

Congratulations to professors Roberto Casalini and Antonio Vestrella who spearheaded efforts in 2015 and their yearly team of students who routinely manage and monitor the educational research greenroof, and recently added a greenwall at the entrance to the high school.

Image: Roberto Casalini

We all know the importance of not only teaching sustainable redevelopment practices such as using living architecture whenever possible, but providing true hands on experience is invaluable!

Image: Liceo Scientifico Keplero Facebook

Image: 2019, Liceo Scientifico Keplero Facebook

Excerpt from Project Profile:

The Liceo Scientifico Giovanni Keplero building in Rome hosts a public secondary scientific high school. Professor Dr. Roberto Casalini, together with his colleague Dr. Antonio Vestrella and a group of 25 students, completed the Experimental Green Roof in the summer of 2016, and it’s purportedly Italy’s first on a school.

Students are actively involved in its daily maintenance including cultivating; performing scientific experimentation; and its related social networking. Students sell produce in the high school and money earned at the end of the year is donated to charity.

Inaugural green roof Keplero students from 2016. Image: Liceo Scientifico Keplero Facebook

2019 Students. Image: Liceo Scientifico Keplero Facebook

The award winning Keplero green roof is visible from the upper floors of the school and the surrounding buildings, providing pleasant views.

About 200 square meters was divided into 2 areas: 150 square meters with a depth of about 12 centimeters uses the multi-layer Extensive Sedum Green Roof SEIC system. It has since been enriched with Mediterranean flora species in successive interventions, resulting in a significant increase of biodiversity.

2018. Image: Liceo Scientifico Keplero Facebook

Image: Liceo Scientifico Keplero Facebook

In the remaining 50 square meters, an experimental area with a depth of about 15 centimeters provides the test ground for the multi-year scientific experimentation investigating the thermal, hydraulic, and agronomic characteristics in conditions of the Mediterranean environment.

Divided into 9 2×2 meter boxes, 3 modules are raised and the remaining 6 are in direct contact with the surface of the green roof. The trials study a combination of 6 plant species of Mediterranean flora with 3 irrigation levels measuring survival rate, flowering, biomass, growth rate and water consumption.

Image: Liceo Scientifico Keplero Facebook

Monitoring includes 2 data loggers, 3 rain gauges, 3 sensors for atmospheric temperature, and 3 sensors for soil temperature and humidity. In 2017 they built a green wall, and students also cultivate a vegetable garden in a small outdoor space at ground level.

The Keplero Experimental Green Roof provides opportunities for the students to study agronomy, pollution, biodiversity, microbiology, climate, energy and more, plus sustainable urban practices.

Installing the greenwall on July 14, 2018. Image: Liceo Scientifico Keplero Facebook

Image: Roberto Casalini

Year: 2016
Owner: Liceo Scientifico Keplero
Location: Rome, Italy
Building Program: Educational
Project Type: Research/Test Greenroof
System: Single Source Provider
Size: 2,153 sq. ft.
Slope: 0%
Access: Accessible, By Appointment

Image: Liceo Scientifico Keplero Facebook

2018. Image: Liceo Scientifico Keplero Facebook

Credits:

GREEN ROOF DESIGNER:
PROFESSOR ROBERTO CASALINI, PHD, LICEO SCIENTIFICO KEPLERO

GREEN ROOF DESIGNER:
PROFESSOR ANTONIO VESTRELLA, PHD, LICEO SCIENTIFICO KEPLERO

GREENROOF SYSTEM:
HARPO VERDEPENSILE

INSTALLATION, RESEARCH & MAINTENANCE:
PROFESSORS AND STUDENTS, LICEO SCIENTIFICO GIOVANNI KEPLERO

Image: Roberto Casalini

Image: Liceo Scientifico Keplero Facebook

See the Liceo Scientifico Keplero Experimental Green Roof project profile to see ALL of the Photos and Additional Information about this particular project in the Greenroofs.com Projects Database.