TERRACE GARDENS/GREEN ROOFS

and its effects on a building.

ERRACE GARDENS and its effects on a building.

In today's urban environment high rise buildings, parking areas, network of roads
have acquired major urban land. In such congested environment rooftop and
terrace of buildings provide a valuable potential source of outdoor space accessible
to users of building.
Need of terrace gardens has increased with increasing number of high rise
buildings which deprive their occupants of any visual contact with nature. Terrace
gardens bring back the missing link between man and nature though on a
moderate scale.
The factors which make roof gardens important part of architecture throughout the
world is: Full use of terrace, which is normally a discarded area in crowded cities. Maximum
meaningful use of minimum available space.
An economical way of balancing green space with uncontrolled growth of cement
structure in urban areas.
They provide additional insulation to building .

AIM-

TIVE:

TO STUDY IMPORTANCE OF TERRACE GARDEN AND ITS EFFECTS ON

BUILDING.

y and understand what is terrace garden and its need and utilization.

y history of terrace gardens in context with landscape..

y construction technique of terrace garden.

of terrace garden on building (such as temperature control, insulates building against

nd cold, controlling storm water runoff, erosion and noise pollution )

y elements involved in terrace garden and architectural aspects of terrace gardens

ng , scale and proportion, aesthetics)

ludes study of design of terrace garden, elements and their

andscape(above ground level), basic study of plant materials, structural implication and
ction techniques.

TION:

pecific- Restricted to study of residential and housing.

dy is limited to standards of terrace garden(bye laws)

dy is limited to Landscape elements and plants used.

METHODOLOGY
Selection of
topic
Formulation
of Aim and
Objectives
Study and analysis
related to Objectives and
Scopes
Case study
and Interview
Analysis
Conclusion

Objective 1: To study and understand what is terrace garden and its need
and utilization.
WHAT IS TERRACE GARDEN?
A terrace garden is a garden which is established on a terrace, roof, or patio,
usually in a house where there is limited gardening space. These types of terrace
gardens are especially popular in urban areas.
(www.wisegeek.com)
Terrace gardens are commonly created at three different levels,
which are:
On rooftop of a building.
Porches, window boxes, portico , balconies.
and such projected levels out of tower block, above the ground level
At the podium level, around the base or on roof of large basements.

GREEN ROOF
A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially
or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium,
planted over a waterproofing membrane.It has the same
benefits as terrace garden.

WHAT IS THE NEED OF TERRACE GARDEN?

Gardens(Ground level)
gardens (Above ground level)

.Gardens cools the air.

.Reduces noise pollution in urban areas.
. A garden can have aesthetic, functional,
nd recreational uses.
.Garden controls storm water runoff

Terrace

1.Terrace gardens also cool the air.

2.Terrace gardens also reduces noise pollution in
urban areas.
3. A terrace garden also has aesthetic, functiona
and recreational use.
4.Terrace garden also controls storm water runo
up to some extent.
5.Terrace garden acts as a insulator to a buildin
controls the inside temperature of the building
6.It reduces air conditioning cost by min. 25%.
7. Terrace garden doubles the life of the
conventional roof.

race gardens has all the benefits that a garden at ground level has, but a terrace
ens impact on the building proves to be beneficial for the users residing in the
ding. Hence terrace garden is an emerging need in the urban areas.

UTILIZATION OF TERRACE GARDEN

1)Terrace gardens are used for Aesthetic purpose or as a Recreational space .

2)Terrace gardens are also used for Farming unit in the house/apartment.
Nowadays, it has been successfully experimented to plant vegetables and fruits
on the terraces. With proper care and maintenance , one can grow almost every
vegetable on the terrace in soil at a depth of just 25-30cm.

ctive 2: To study history of terrace gardens in context with landscape.

HISTORY OF TERRACE GARDENS:
Terrace garden is not a new concept and it has been used since ages.
Few examples of terrace gardens from the history are:
1.Egyptians-Ziggurats of ancient Mesopotamia.
2.Hanging gardens of Babylon
Study of hanging gardens of Babylon
(As it is well documented)
Location
Reason behind it
Construction techniques
Conclusion

Mesopotamian Ziggurat
at Ur.

Objective 3: To study construction technique of terrace garden.

The construction of a terrace garden is a complex process.
A great care has to be taken while construction of various layers laid
in a terrace garden. A typical section of a terrace garden has the
following layers in the order of their preference:
1. Soil Substrate
2. Filter Layer
3. Drainage
4. Water Proofing
5. RCC Slab

The cross section of a green roof begins (starting from the bottom)
with an:
Insulation layer
A waterproof membrane to protect the building from leaks.
A root barrier to prevent roots from penetrating the waterproof
membrane.
A drainage layer, usually made of lightweight gravel, clay, or plastic.
The drainage layer keeps the growing media aerated in
addition to taking care of excess water.
Finally, the top layers consist of growing media, plants.
The growing media is lightweight material that helps
Detail study of all the layers in the
With drainage while providing nutrients to the plants.
construction of terrace garden will be done
to understand how it works.

Objective 4:Impact of terrace garden on building (such as temperature

control, insulates building against heat and cold, controlling storm water
runoff, erosion and noise pollution )
lowing are the impacts of a terrace garden on a building

ound Insulation/Controls noise pollution.

orm water retention

mperature control

esthetic benefits

sulates building

nd insulation /Controls noise pollution

n roofs can be designed to insulate for sound, with plants blocking the frequenci

m water retention
n roofs can be designed for exceptional storm water retention capability.
plants capture and hold rainwater. Water stored in the growing media is released
ugh evaporation .

perature control
race garden acts as a thermal mass, slowly absorbing and holding energy from
ght and releasing it when the ambient air cools.

Insulates building:

Objective 5: To study elements involved in terrace garden and

architectural aspects of terrace gardens (Planning , scale and
proportion, aesthetics)
The elements involved in terrace garden are as follows:
PLANTS
PONDS AND FOUNTAINS
STONES AND PEBBELS
PERGOLAS
LIGHTS
PAVINGS(PATHWAYS)
FENCING
FURNITURE

ARCHITECTURAL ASPECTS OF TERRACE GARDENS

(Planning , scale and proportion, aesthetics)
PLANNING
A terrace needs a careful "planning because even if it is used for only few months in
a year or few times in a day, it serves as another room.

SCALE AND PROPORTION

Scale and Proportion is a matter of "does it look right?
Scale usually bears reference to the size of a thing or object that appears to have a
pleasing relationship
to other things or to the design as a whole.
Proportion is the relationship of the width to the length of an area or the relationship
to parts of an organization.
AESTHETICS
Relation between structure and the garden.
Composition of design elements likes plants, fixtures, etc.
Orientation of garden.
.