Abstract: Green roof system is considered a relatively new
concept in Malaysia even though it has been implemented widely in
the developed countries. Generally, green roofs provide many
benefits such as enhancing aesthetical quality of the built
environment, reduce urban heat island effect, reduce energy
consumption, improve stormwater attenuation, and reduce noise
pollution. A better understanding on the implementation of green roof
system in Malaysia is crucial, as Malaysia’s climate is different if
compared with the climate in temperate countries where most of the
green roof studies have been conducted. This study has concentrated
on the technical aspect of green roof system which focuses on i) types
of plants and method of planting; ii) engineering design for green
roof system; iii) its hydrological performance on reducing stormwater
runoff; and iv) benefits of green roofs with respect to energy.
Literature review has been conducted to identify the development and
obstacles associated with green roofs systems in Malaysia. The study
had identified the challenges and potentials of green roofs
development in Malaysia. This study also provided the
recommendations on standard design and strategies on the
implementation of green roofs in Malaysia in the near future.
Abstract: Most people today are aware that global climate
change is not just a scientific theory but also a fact with worldwide
consequences. Global climate change is due to rapid urbanization,
industrialization, high population growth and current vulnerability of
the climatic condition. Water is becoming scarce as a result of global
climate change. To mitigate the problem arising due to global climate
change and its drought effect, harvesting rainwater from green roofs,
an environmentally-friendly and versatile technology, is becoming
one of the best assessment criteria and gaining attention in Malaysia.
This paper addresses the sustainability of green roofs and examines
the quality of water harvested from green roofs in comparison to
rainwater. The factors that affect the quality of such water, taking
into account, for example, roofing materials, climatic conditions, the
frequency of rainfall frequency and the first flush. A green roof was
installed on the Humid Tropic Centre (HTC) is a place of the study
on monitoring program for urban Stormwater Management Manual
for Malaysia (MSMA), Eco-Hydrological Project in Kuala Lumpur,
and the rainwater was harvested and evaluated on the basis of four
parameters i.e., conductivity, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH and
temperature. These parameters were found to fall between Class I and
Class III of the Interim National Water Quality Standards (INWQS)
and the Water Quality Index (WQI). Some preliminary treatment
such as disinfection and filtration could likely to improve the value of
these parameters to class I. This review paper clearly indicates that
there is a need for more research to address other microbiological and
chemical quality parameters to ensure that the harvested water is
suitable for use potable water for domestic purposes. The change in
all physical, chemical and microbiological parameters with respect to
storage time will be a major focus of future studies in this field.
Abstract: Green Roofs offers numerous advantages, including lowering ambient temperature, which is of increasing interest due to global warming concerns. However, there are technical problems pertaining to waterproofing to be resolved. Currently, the only recognized green roof waterproofing test is the German standard FLL. This paper examines the potential of replicating the test in tropical climate and reducing the test duration by using pre-grown plants. A three year old sample and a new setup were used for this experimental study. The new setup was prepared with close reference to the FLL standards and was compared against the three year old sample. Results showed that the waterproofing membrane was damaged by plant roots in both setups. Joints integrity was also challenged.
Abstract: The implementations of green roof have been widely
used in the developed countries such as Germany, United Kingdom,
United States and Canada. Green roof have many benefits such as
aesthetic and economic value, ecological gain which are optimization
of storm water management, urban heat island mitigation and energy
conservation. In term of pollution, green roof can control the air and
noise pollution in urban cities. The application of green roof in
Malaysian building has been studied with the previous work of green
roof either in Malaysia or other Asian region as like Indonesia,
Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan and several other countries that have
similar climate and environment as in Malaysia. These technologies
of adapting green roof have been compared to the Green Building
Index (GBI) of Malaysian buildings. The study has concentrated on
the technical aspect of green roof system having focused on i) waste
& recyclable materials ii) types of plants and method of planting and
iii) green roof as tool to reduce storm water runoff. The finding of
these areas will be compared to the suitability in achieving good
practice of the GBI in Malaysia. Results show that most of the
method are based on the countries own climate and environment.
This suggests that the method of using green roof must adhere to the
tropical climate of Malaysia. Suggestion of this research will be
viewed in term of the sustainability of the green roof. Further
research can be developed to implement the best method and
application in Malaysian climate especially in urban cities and
township.