Cairo University

Faculty of Engineering
AET/Fall 2010
Independent Studies

Application of
Green Roofs in
Cairo

By: Mahmoud Sherif

Saad
Jan, 2011
 n
The Problem

 Air Pollution in Cairo is 10 to 20 times what is

considered a safe limit. (1)

 Imagine that one jet crashing

and killing about 1000 daily
for 15 years (1)

(1) Dr. Salah Hassanein, “Air Pollution in Cairo - The Cost” Arab World Books Articles 11-
2010 http://www.arabworldbooks.com/articles1.html
 n
Object ive
Will Green Roof prot ect m e?

Out com es
 Technicalguidelines about the construction of
Green Roofs

 Estimated environmental benefits for Green
Roofs

 Part-1
Literature Review

SO2 concentration NO2 concentration

PM10 concentration
O3 concentration
 Part-1
Literature Review

Every day, the average person inhales about

20,000 liters of air. (2)

NO2, SO2, O3, PM10

most caused by fossil fuel-burning power plants and
automobiles that combust fuel.

Sunlight, hydrocarbons, and nitrogen oxides have to

mix together.

(2) “Air Pollution”, 12-2010,

http://library.thinkquest.org/26026/Economics/pollution_problems_in_the_thir.html
 Part-1
Literature Review

Increased roof life

Reduced Noise Levels
Thermal Insulation
Heat Shield

Reduction of dust and smog

levels
Urban heat island effect
Natural habitat for animals and
plants
Visual effect of cities and
landscape
(3)“Green Roofs Benefits”, International Green Roof Association
11-2010, http://www.igra-world.com/benefits/index.php
 Part-1
Literature Review

low maintenance,
Low or no irrigation,
build-up height 60-200mm
Weight 60-150 kg/m2
Moss-Sedum-Herbs and
Grasses
Periodical maintenance,
Periodical irrigation,
build-up height 120-250mm
Weight 120-200kg/m2
Grass-Herbs and Shrubs
High maintenance,
Regular irrigation,
build-up height 1250-400mm
Weight 180-500kg/m2
Lawn or Perennials, and Trees

(4) “Types of Green Roofs”, International Green Roof Association

11-2010, http://www.igra-world.com/types_of_green_roofs/index.php
 Part-1
Literature Review

(5) “Green Roofs Engineering”, International Green Roof Association

11-2010, http://www.igra-world.com/engineering/index.php
 Part-2
Case Studies
Quantifying air pollution removal by green
roofs in Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
Pop.= 2.9 million in 2000

170 Green Roofs reduced to 71 after

verification
Percentage of green roof to total area
Error margin =1% or smaller

(6) “Removal of air pollutants by green roofs”, 12-2010

http://www.slrss.cn/download/
 Part-2
Case Studies
Quantifying air pollution removal by green
roofs in Chicago

198,000 m2, 63% short grass, 14%large herbaceous

plants, 11% trees and shrubs. And 12% various hard
surfaces
The total air pollution removal by 19.8 ha of green
roofs was 1675 kg between August 2006 and July
2007.
O3 has the largest uptake of 52% of the total uptake
followed by NO2 (27%), PM10 (14%), and SO2 (7%).

(6) “Removal of air pollutants by green roofs”, 12-2010

http://www.slrss.cn/download/
 Part-2
Case Studies
Quantifying air pollution removal by green
roofs in Chicago

If this case study proved that a total of 1675 kg of air

pollutants were removed by 198,000 sq.m. extensive and
intensive green roofs in one year; it can be concluded that for
a 400 sq.m. green roof, 3.22 kg of air pollutants can be
removed.

(6) “Removal of air pollutants by green roofs”, 12-2010

http://www.slrss.cn/download/
 Part-2
Case St udies
Seat t le Cit y Hall, Seattle, WA

1250 m2 roof is planted with 5,600 pots

The runoff from the roof goes into a 30,000 cubic
foot rainwater
This water is then used for toilet flushing
 Part-2
Case St udies
Seat t le Cit y Hall, Seattle, WA

Existing Roof/ New Roof: New Roof

Green Roof Area 13,200 square feet
Green Roof Type Extensive
Green Roof System American Hydrotech Inc.
Accessibility Maintenance only
Installation season Fall 2003
Establishment Period Six months
Slope of existing Roof Flat
Soil Mix/ depth 6 inches
Plant Type Drought tolerant plants
Irrigation Yes
Structural Load 50 lbs/sq.ft
Cost $2/sqft
 Part-2
Case St udies
Seat t le Cit y Hall, Seattle, WA
 Part-2
Case St udies
Seat t le Cit y Hall, Seattle, WA
No operations and maintenance manual exists
The intent was to irrigate the roof for just the first
year
Access to the roof is through a small room that has
a vertical ladder which is difficult to carry tools
through it
The water used for toilets is yellow in color because
of the green roof soil and there was a lot of
complaints
 Part-3
GUID ELIN ES
loca l Gr e e n Roof s
Reinforced concret e is m ost w idely used in t he
resident ial buildings in Cairo. A check for load
bearing capacit y is essent ial before building t he
green roof
Wat er proofing m ust m eet t he requirem ent s for t he
root resist ance t est or else an ext ra root barrier
has t o be inst alled
Up st and height for adjacent building part s and
penet rat ions: m inim um of 150 m m . Up st and
height for roof edges: m inim um of 100 m m (4 in).
Slope m ust not be great er t han 10 degrees
Sim ple ext ensive green roofs weigh bet ween 60-
150 kg/m 2. once t he cem ent t iles are rem oved,
Ext ensive Green Roof can be inst alled wit hout
increasing t he assum ed load
 Part-3
GUID ELIN ES
loca l Gr e e n Roof s
Because Cairo has very low rain int ensit y, num ber
of roof out let s doesn’ t have t o be m uch but an
inspect ion cham ber has t o be placed over t hem for
m aint enance.

Sim ple Ext ensive Green Roofs wit h drought

resist ant plant species have t o be irrigat ed only
during plant ing and inst allat ion m aint enance over
t he first year.

50 cm veget at ion free zones at every opening

Access t o t he roof has t o be guarant eed

t hroughout t he inst allat ion and for annual
m aint enance and service of t he Green Roof
APPLICATION OF THE
Part-4
GUIDELINES ON A LOCAL CASE
local Green Roofs
The selected local application is a residential building
located in Nasr City, Cairo with a roof area of 400 m2 and
will be planted with an extensive Green Roof.

Figure 19a ( Schematic Figure 19b ( 38 , Abdullah Ben Taher St ., Nasr City )
section ) Google Earth
APPLICATION OF THE
Part-4
GUIDELINES ON A LOCAL CASE
local Green Roofs
The actual building roof was covered by cement tiles which were removed to reduce
the dead load and add the green roof safely.
For insurance that the roots will not penetrate the water insulation, an extra protection
board was installed on the concrete slab.
Insulation and water drainage layers were installed.
Filter Fabric and soil mix which included sand, compost and nutrients.
A roof access room was built and an automatic irrigation system for irrigating the plants
for the scarcity of rain in Cairo, short grass, shrubs and small plantings were planted.

Figure 20 ( 3D rendering for building no . 38 before and after building green roof using
3ds max )
 APPLICATION OF THE
Part-4
GUIDELINES ON A LOCAL CASE
local Green Roofs

Taking Building no.38 as a prototype for Green Roofs in

Cairo, the research will try to repeat this prototype allover
a specific land in Nasr City

Figure 22 ( 3d rendering for Building no . 38 , the prototype ) Figure 21 ( selected Area in Nasr city ;
1 , 300 , 000 m2 )
APPLICATION OF THE
Part-4
GUIDELINES ON A LOCAL CASE
local Green Roofs

Area = 1,300,000 m2
Average roof area =500m2
No. of buildings = 1400
Total Roof Area = 1400x500=700,000 m2
Assumed that 80% of Roof Area is green
Green roof area =700,000x0.8= 560,000 m2

Figure 23 ( 3d rendering showing the buildings in the selected area before and after creating the Green Roofs )
APPLICATION OF THE
Part-4
GUIDELINES ON A LOCAL CASE
local Green Roofs

Chicago Example showed that for every 400m2 of green

roofs, 3.22 kg of pollutants are removed. The total removal
of pollutants can be calculated as: (560,000/400) x 3.22=
4648kg
4648kg of pollutants can be removed annually by creating
extensive green roofs all over the selected area in Cairo

Figure 23 ( 3d rendering showing the buildings in the selected area before and after creating the Green Roofs )
THANK YOU