Built in the 1920’s, renovated in 2003 with the greenroof added in 2004, 29 Garden Street was redesigned to support graduate student needs; this six-story complex contains 75 apartments. Harvard Graduate Student Housing at 29 Garden Street in Cambridge, MA clearly demonstrates adaptive reuse – the former police station was transformed into a new residence hall. And to revitalize the pedestrian environment at street level, landscape architecure firm Richard Burck Associates introduced shade tree plantings and new sidewalks. The award-winning second-floor greenroof was built atop the previously barren roof of the existing parking garage. Now, the garden courtyard provides a beautiful outdoor amenity space for residents and has made this housing building one of the most popular places to live on campus. The open-air courtyard and spacious common areas create a community feeling at this complex.

The American Hydrotech project profile (see below) states, “When representatives from Jonathan Levi Architects made their initial site visit to Harvard 29 Garden Street (an 80-year-old, nondescript building they were commissioned to redesign into housing for 143 students), one of the first items identified for change was an unattractive blacktopped roof over a one-story parking garage.

“Because all of the building’s units looked out onto this roof, the architect proposed to capture this space aesthetically. And they have. The once unsightly rooftop is now a 10,000 square foot Garden Roof? providing pleasing views and helping to add a sense of place and community for the graduate student residents there. The Garden Roof will significantly increase the life expectancy of the roof and is also helping to control stormwater runoff.

“The Garden Roof Assembly from American Hydrotech allowed the rooftop garden to seamlessly blend into the building – creating an extensive green roof system with an average 4-inch-deep soil mix and low-growing hardy plants. The building’s Garden Roof consists of a multilayered waterproofing membrane – MM6125?-EV, a hot fluid-applied, completely monolithic membrane bonded directly to the substrate. A decided advantage of this system is being able to combine hardscape and softscape while maintaining proper drainage at the deck level and moisture retention just below the soil.

“The ability to provide a single source warranty for the entire assembly was a deciding factor in vendor selection. The Rooftop plantings include a mix of succulents, sedums and delosperma, drought tolerant varieties that can take Boston’s high day-night temperature fluctuations. Now after a long day in class, students can just sit back and enjoy the view.”