Watermatic Ltd

Irrigating roof gardens or podiums carries the same principles and methods used in irrigating a normal garden. Lawns will be irrigated using either popup sprinklers, or sub surface bio drip irrigation line and flowerbeds, raised beds, and containers are irrigated using precise drip line method. This will depend on the height of the building and the depth of the sub-strait.

These systems are automatically controlled by our latest computerised technology exclusive to Watermatic which can also be remotely controlled via GPRS.

The image shows a roof garden (Podium) , as it is planted on top of underground car park.

Roof Gardens & Podiums

A roof garden is any garden on the roof of a building. Besides the decorative benefit, roof plantings may provide food, temperature control, hydrological benefits, architectural enhancement, habitats or corridors for wildlife, and recreational opportunities.

Roof gardens are found most often in urban environments. The plants reduce overall temperatures of the building which in turn reduces energy consumption. "The primary cause of heat build-up in cities is insulation, the absorption of solar radiation by roads and buildings in the city and the storage of this heat in the building material and its subsequent re-radiation. Plant surfaces however, as a result of transpiration, do not rise more than 4-5 °C above the ambient and are sometimes cooler." This then translates into a cooling of the environment between 3.6 and 11.3 degrees Celcius, depending on the area on earth (in hotter areas, the environmental temperature will cool more).

Roof Garden vs. Green Roof

A roof garden is actually very different from a green roof, although the two terms are often and incorrectly used interchangeably. A roof garden is an area that is generally used for recreation, entertaining, and as an additional outdoor living space for the building's resident(s). It may include planters, plants, dining and lounging furniture, outdoor structures such as pergolas and sheds, automated irrigation systems and lighting systems. A roof garden re-establishes the relationship between man and nature that can be lost in urban environments.

It is different from a green roof in that the considerations are primarily of an aesthetic and/or recreational nature, whereas a green roof is usually constructed to cover a large area in the most economical and efficient means possible with an emphasis towards improving the insulation and/or improve the overall energy efficiency of cooling and heating costs within a building.

The panels that comprise a green roof are generally no more than a few inches up to a foot in depth, since weight is an important factor when covering an entire roof surface. The plants that go into a green roof are usually sedum or other shallow-rooted plants that will tolerate the hot, dry, windy conditions that prevail on most rooftop gardens. With a green roof, "the plants layer can shield off as much as 87% of solar radiation while a bare roof receives 100% direct exposure."

The planters on a roof garden, on the other hand, can generally range anywhere from 6" up to 3' in depth, depending on the weight-bearing capacity of the roof, and would be placed more for aesthetic purposes. These planters can hold a range of ornamental plants, anything from trees, shrubs, vines, or an assortment of flowers. Since the planters on a roof garden are placed in random fashion, it would much less likely to provide the environmental and energy benefits of a green roof.