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November 2010
guest feature article

Designer of GoGreenRoof™ Water Harvester Seeks GGR Campaign Team

By Tim Elam, Designer
All photos and graphics by and © Tim Elam

Publisher's Note: Tim Elam, of Reno, Nevada, contacted me about possible partnerships within our growing industry to further the development of his GoGreenRoof™ Water Harvesting System.  Elam is seeking to launch a city by city campaign to install greenroof projects, starting in northern Nevada and is openly looking for collaborators on this project, which intends to go against conventional wisdom regarding Nevada’s dry climate. “If we can do it here, we can do it anywhere,” he states, insisting that his Water Harvester now makes it possible for all roofs to be greenroofs. Tim would like to team with other designers and providers to make his vision a reality ~ maybe you'd like to collaborate?

They say that necessity is the mother of invention and that is what happened in Reno, Nevada, back in 2008 when I was helping a friend build a wine cellar.  We knew we wanted a roof that would be both functional and aesthetic in nature.

At the time, I was vaguely aware of sod roofs and their place in history, which compelled me to begin my research and discovery process.  What I found was an emerging greenroof industry and the discovery of the Greenroof portal which has been most informative on the state of the art in this exciting yet relatively infant technology.

What I noticed was that there was yet to be a fully integrated and marketable roofing system that would answer many of the recurrent questions and concerns from potential consumers.

Especially in Nevada, we hear:  “How do you water your roof?… it’s too hot in Nevada….the weather is too harsh, too windy, not enough rainfall, how do you maintain it???  Etc., etc. These were all good questions that demanded answers.  As I continued on my Greenroof journey, I began to make phone calls and ask many questions myself and to many of the manufacturers of various greenroof components.

In October of 2009, I invited Colbond to Reno to present a Greenroof seminar to northern Nevada architects and planners.  This event was met with more questions, from cynics to forward thinkers, regarding the practical applications and potential socio-economic benefits of greenroofs.

This is the most recent rendering of the GoGreenRoof™ Water Harvesting System but there have been some basic design changes since.  Contact me if you'd like to see the drawing in greater detail.

 

The Water Harvester in Action: The parapet design provides retention of the planting medium while allowing efficient evacuation of water runoff.

After the seminar, I had even more questions and concerns, although by this time, I was beginning to recognize the opportunity to take it to the next level.  The result was the initial design of the GoGreenRoof™ (GGR) Water Harvesting System.

The GGR System features the following innovations:

* Patented Parapet Design and Hidden Gutter

* Encased Water Return System

* Cistern Water Storage Feature

* Netafim Subsurface Drip Irrigation System

* COLBOND Open Weave Matting with Water Retention Mat
 
* GRACE Ice and Water Shield

The patented GGR parapet design with all its features will replace many traditional roof types (composite, tile, shake, metal roofs). The GGR system is designed for an extensive green roof (although it can be retrofitted for intensive roofs): it accepts 3-5 inches of engineered soil and growing medium recommended for verdant plant growth providing the many of the features and benefits of an integrated green roof system.

As the first fully integrated ultra light extensive greenroof system, the GGR Water Harvesting System was designed to be used primarily for residential retrofit applications. Yet the system is equally adaptable to commercial and institutional applications, as well as others.

It features an easy cleanout hidden gutter that eliminates leaf build up, an attractive and easily installed fascia and an encased water return and subsurface drip irrigation feature that returns harvested water to the roof surface for healthy vegetation and easy maintenance.

Imagine a living tapestry of succulents, herbs and grasses whose colors change with the seasons and which harvests its own water.

In Reno, there are several high profile opportunities to install drought resistant rooftops, sprouting sedums to sage.  For example, the Fleischmann Planetarium at the University of Nevada Reno is begging to be a greenroof!

A currently barren Fleischmann Planetarium; photo left © by Fleischmann Planetarium, photo right by Jean Dixon.

I believe it’s just a matter of putting a team of specialists together to approach the decision makers.  There are several other great high profile greenroof projects that could put Reno on the greenroof map.

With its vast resources of wind, solar and geothermal projects, integrating greenroofs into the formula could in a big way, continue to further the region's efforts to take a leadership role in the sustainability movement.

GGR cistern collecting rainwater off the greenroof.  The hidden gutter delivers the water into the cistern for both storage and return to the GGR drip irrigation system. The captured water can also be used for other watering purposes.

My vision is to assemble the best in the greenroof industry to develop a strategy to approach key decision makers in northern Nevada with an offer they won’t refuse.  By taking this multidisciplinary approach that includes architects, roofscape designers and component suppliers, we can create an unprecedented opportunity to achieve our collective goals.  The stage has been set after considerable exposure in the Reno marketplace.

All I need now is stakeholders to step up and express their interest and commitment to the GoGreenRoof™ Reno Project.  If we can pull this off, then the formula will work in other cities.

However, this is an opportunity to make Reno “The Biggest Little Greenroof City in the World.”
 

Tim Elam

Tim Elam, a self-described proactivist, is actually a retired teacher and football coach who lives in Reno, Nevada, now enjoying his second career as an Amtrak Passenger Train Conductor on the infamous California Zephyr between San Francisco and Chicago.

Tim and his wife Joan, own Reno's Enchanted Garden aka Rick's Resort where Jack Johnson trained for the fight of the century in 1910.  This past fall the property was selected by the Historic Reno Preservation Society for the Harvest of Homes Tour and has become a destination attraction for hundreds of visitors each year.  Known for his artistry for using reclaimed building and landscape materials, Tim and Joan have created a destination attraction for in-kind thinkers.

Tim's cabin/design workshop on the property.

Stating the property is still a work in progress, Elam has plans to install the Water Harvester on the main house, already sporting a greenroof on the porch, hoping to create an outdoor showroom for future greenroof projects in Reno and northern Nevada. 

For further information, you may contact Tim Elam at www.gogreenroof.biz or by phone at 775.722.8934 or email at tim@gogreenroof.biz.

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