Photo gallery

  • Above: The roof garden of the Art and Exhibition Hall in Bonn, Germany. Photo: Deutche Telekom.

  • Above: A green roof atop a building in Beijing. Source: Treehugger.

  • Above: DPI Marine and Freshwater Resource Institute, Queenscliff, Victoria, designed by Lyons Architects.

  • The California Academy of Sciences, as featured on thegrowspot.com


  • Another vertical garden by Patrick Blanc in Madrid, Spain. Photo: Adaptiveruse.

  • Above: Westin Awaji Resort, Japan, photo courtesy of Graeme Hopkins and Churchill Memorial Fellowship.


Domestic roof garden by Marigreen, UK & Czech

  • Above: The Toyota Roof Garden. Photo: Business Week, Japan.

  • Above: The Ford Assembly Plant in Michigan, US.

  • Above: Melbourne’s 6-star CH2 building, the ‘greenest building in Australia’.


Church with turf roof, Saurbær, Iceland. Source: Boddie.

Above: Living wall and grass roof, Singapore. Source: Sidonie Carpenter.


Above: Millenium Park, Chigago, at more than 24 acres, one of the largest green roofs in the world. Source: greenroofs.com.

  • Above: Earth homes by Swiss architect Peter Vetsch. Photos: Simonstocken.
  • Below: the famous Chicago City Hall green roof. Photo: greenroofs.com

  • Above: ACROS Fukuoka building, Japan, via Metaefficient website.

MORE PHOTOS OF GREEN ROOFS AROUND THE WORLD here.

  • All care has been taken to correctly cite and reference sources, but if we have in error breached copyright by hosting any of these pictures, the copyright holder can comment below and we will remove it immediately.

87 Responses to this post.

  1. Posted by raine tyler on June 18, 2007 at 5:29 am

    Great!!!

    Reply

  2. Posted by liz smtih on June 19, 2007 at 1:48 pm

    what an inspiration!! love the swiss architect and the earth homes….would love to see the inside of some of them…..what does it take to start a green roof? obviously alot of special materials must go into that in order to keep the roof from caving in…any places like that in Pennsylvania? would love to visit…seems like everyone is getting green everywhere else but US :( (sad to say)

    Reply

  3. Posted by Scott on June 19, 2007 at 2:42 pm

    Great gallery, but the reference to the Superdome is wrong.
    The Superdome is in New Orleans, not New York.
    The roof of the Superdome is not green/planted, it’s concrete – the photo is of the playing field INSIDE of the dome and the workers aren’t “revealing messages” – they are marking the lines and yard numbers on the playing field.
    Lastly, it should be noted that the playing field is artificial turf since it is in an enclosed dome.

    Reply

  4. Posted by Aline on June 19, 2007 at 4:21 pm

    Impressive and comforting that there are intelligent and sensitive people in our world when we need them utmostly.

    Reply

  5. Fab….Just a little thing…Scandinavia started this trend over a 1000 years ago and we still have a lot of them, especially in Norway. I think Hundertwassers buildings ought also be included.

    Reply

  6. Posted by Dawn on June 20, 2007 at 2:34 pm

    I think one of the reasons the U.S. is not as advanced as other countries is becasue its President is anti-environment.

    Reply

  7. I think it is also due in part to the fact that our education system doesn’t involve even the basics of gardening or farming. Kids know more brand names than they do insects, plants or trees. We are going to need 50 million farmers in the days to come, it needs to be in all education systems in the world.

    Reply

  8. Posted by Nick on June 22, 2007 at 7:34 pm

    How is Millenium Park a green roof? It is ground level and not on a structure. If underground parking is present, wouldn’t calling the park a “green roof” be a bit of a technicality?

    Reply

  9. Posted by Administrator on June 22, 2007 at 11:20 pm

    Hello Nick. It is most certainly a green roof. It’s considered the world’s biggest green roof. One site with info on its construction is here:
    http://www.greenroofs.org/washington/index.php?page=millenium
    Thanks, Scott, for the Superdome correction.

    Reply

  10. Posted by sgs on June 25, 2007 at 11:52 pm

    nick, i live in chicago. it is a roof over an underground parking garage and a train yard which was extremely ugly and bordering the art institute of chicago.

    Reply

  11. These are truly beautiful and make you think what cities could look like- especially with green walls. But… I did read somewhere that green rooves weigh more due to soil etc, and that the extra material required to hold them up more than negates any environmental gain (eg: Co2 offset). Have there been any studies done on this. Obviously not applicable to the beautiful wooden shed?

    Reply

  12. These are truly beautiful and make you think what cities could look like- especially with green walls. But… I did read somewhere that green roofs weigh more due to soil etc, and that the extra material required to hold them up more than negates any environmental gain (eg: Co2 offset). Have there been any studies done on this. Obviously not applicable to the beautiful wooden shed?

    Reply

  13. Posted by Mike on June 27, 2007 at 1:40 pm

    Don’t forget to add that UCF received a grant from FDEP to install a green roof in Orlando, FL.
    http://www.dep.state.fl.us/secretary/news/2005/05/0505_01.htm

    http://news.ucf.edu/UCFnews/index?page=article&id=002400411a428d50103c2675a02007d87

    Response to Jo:
    Yes the initial CO2 is increased. But the long term savings from less energy consumption, better control of stormwater runoff, plant absorbtion of CO2, etc. will catch up in the long run. There is also the added benefit that the roof will treat it’s own runoff not allowing it to transport the nutrients from the fertilized lawn into our waterways.

    I, as an Engineer in Florida, personally strive to show the benefits to every developer that comes to the table with a design project (cistern, green roof, permeable pavement, grass not requiring fertilization, tie existing landscaping into the beauty of the overall design, etc.). Progress Energy and FPL (local to FL) offer percentage cost reductions in power bills if the building is constructed as “green.” The developer can also get grants to offset their initial capital from FDEP (see above example) and can have local impact fees reduced. The US may be REAL FAR BEHIND but there are programs in effect to get this ball rolling. We Americans just need to spread the word about their availability.

    Reply

  14. Here is a small residential demonstration project in Montréal (Québec) Canada:

    http://www.ecosensuel.net/drm/portfolio/projetpilote1.html

    Reply

  15. I represent equus Industries in N.Z. we supply waterproofing membranes to the N.Z construction market. (I have given you our Australian website as we now also manufacture and supply from melbourne) I am writing to you as one of your correspondance mentioned Friedensrich Hundertwasser. He lived for many years in the North Island in a town of Kawakawa. whilst there he also contributed great piece of Architecture. One of his most famous landmarks in N.Z are the Toilet blocks which are not only very beautiful they also have a greenroof which has been there for many many years. if you wish I could email you a picture. or try http://www.kawakawa.co.nz to see the local council website

    Reply

  16. So beautiful! thanks for the inspiration. I’m trying really hard to get folks here in Brooklyn to try green roofs!

    Reply

  17. Posted by Mario on August 4, 2007 at 12:25 am

    It´s a concept that needs to be spread out, all around the world.

    Reply

  18. Posted by Anna on August 25, 2007 at 5:02 pm

    I hope someday this environmental technology will be affordable for the middle and below middle class. It would also be great if the government will give tax and other incentives for us to restrcture our homes as such. It makes so much sense.

    Reply

  19. Posted by dr mum on October 1, 2007 at 5:35 pm

    Some of these examples are stunning. The roof above Awei just took my breath away and I cried.
    I want to make my own living wall outside my shop.
    Do they need planning permision…anyone know?
    Hundertwasser was into this bigtime in Vienna many years ago and the bureaucrats thought he was mad… and did everything they could to stop him.
    luckily Bio-artists are hot now.

    Reply

  20. Posted by Dave Bennison on October 22, 2007 at 9:45 am

    These are brilliant forms of architecture, far beyond some of the examples to be seen in the UK. Wonderfull inspiration!

    Reply

  21. i think it’s so nice to be all this greenroofs at australia but i asking my self too much why we do that becouse i think it’s be nice most if we do that in empty peace

    Reply

  22. Posted by Heather Wylie on October 25, 2007 at 1:40 am

    Thank you for putting this great photo collection togethor!

    Reply

  23. Greetings, we are designing a condo tower in down town Denver, USA and hoping to have vertical ‘gaden’ climing up the walls of the building. Currently we are thinking of simle planters suspended off building exterior wall with small upright evergreen trees in them. Do you have any purtinent sites for us to see or photos of similar installation to look at? We greatly apprecaite the help. Client has hard time visualising it and we must convince them quickly to keep the ideat alive. Have a great day.

    Reply

  24. Cool! this is what I am looking for similar green roof proposal, you have a good gallery of thouse green roof samples… great job!

    Reply

  25. Posted by amar on February 19, 2008 at 5:13 pm

    simply amazing nothing else to say about it

    Reply

  26. I love this gallery. The company I work for, Rana Creek, did the Academy of Sciences green roof, gap headquarters, and many others. If you’d like other photos, let me know.

    Reply

  27. Posted by Sharon on April 1, 2008 at 2:54 pm

    Am busy with designs for an addition to our home in “The Cradle of Humankind” South Africa and this has made me rethink what we will do!

    Reply

  28. Posted by Jenny on April 2, 2008 at 1:17 am

    Hi,
    I think this should catch on. I think to re-use wasted roof space is a natural thing to do. We have an appartment block and a flat roof – however the engineers we have spoken to say that to strengthen the roof would cost approx 1+K @ m² – as its a very large roof (Would calc to 100k +. As this is a new idea here in Australia – I think we need to speak to someone involved in the Greenroof project for some out of the box ideas. Are there specialist engineers in this area? Any Help Anyone?

    Reply

  29. Our company does green roofs and green walls but we’re located in the US. We have engineers on staff and are just now starting to work with large box stores and other existing large roof owners on retrofit installations. Happy to answer questions.

    Reply

  30. Posted by Gabriela on April 29, 2008 at 10:25 pm

    Hello,
    I am a producer for a design and architecture magazine in Latino America, “Urbana”. We will like to make a article about your fantastic work, is it possible to get high quality images for our publication? obviously we will print all the required credits and information you need.
    Please contact me, as we will like to have an interview too
    thank you and congratulations
    Gabriela

    Reply

  31. [...] • Green roofs are aesthetically pleasing. [...]

    Reply

  32. Fab site! easy to use, and aesthetic! would like to reference you and use images if possible. Found you through living wall system Au on google though was looking on US site http://www.greenroofs.com/ in directory for you, you are not listed there – you are a much better site.
    loved it.

    Reply

  33. Posted by Alex on May 9, 2008 at 1:04 pm

    thank you! inspiring!

    Reply

  34. Inspiring. Especially the green roof in Raleigh, North Carolina. That’s just down the road from rural Washington, North Carolina with our Estuarium.

    Reply

  35. Thanks for your nice phtos of Green Roof.
    We are speciallized in Waterproofing works in Vietnam. Wwould like to concentrate about new technology in greenroof, Could you please give us more morinformations, photos & typical specification of these jobs.
    Thanks and best regard
    Hugo Benz

    Reply

  36. Quite Informative pictures of Australia’s Green Houses

    Reply

  37. Quite Informative pictures of Australia’s Green Roof Tops

    Reply

  38. [...] just love this website:  http://greenroofs.wordpress.com/contact-us   Check out the incredible pictures!  But even better is the working idea of a green roof.  Want [...]

    Reply

  39. Posted by Richard on June 30, 2008 at 10:24 pm

    Thank you for a hope-generating collection.
    It is important that people in Chicago see all these efforts, many so sculptural and imaginative, so that we do not get complacent, but continue to press in this direction.

    Reply

  40. [...] and throughout Japan, but people are starting to install green roofs in suburban areas as well. Truly green. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)Green roofs can take root on almost any [...]

    Reply

  41. Posted by amazingly saved on July 26, 2008 at 10:14 am

    I would love to do a green wall. Is there a place with directions or ideas on how to do this?

    Reply

  42. Great stuff. I’m glad to see Sydney is working hard to implement this into more of their urban design. Ecoroofs and bioswales have a place in all sustainable architecture.

    Reply

  43. Posted by Heather Spalding on July 30, 2008 at 4:49 pm

    Amazing! We are submitting some grant proposals to put in green walls at Portland State University. We have one green roof, but we really want to use these methods to beautify our campus. Thanks!

    Reply

  44. Posted by Jeff White on August 21, 2008 at 3:45 am

    In Response to Tony, It’s great that bush can afford to be “green” on his own property meanwhile waging war on OUR environment through his fascist, neocon arrogance. HE IS THE MOST ENVIRONMENTALLY DESTRUCTIVE

    Reply

  45. [...] Here is a link to some photos of the more recent, trendy green roofs. [...]

    Reply

  46. What about Monaco? I was there in June and from the view from outside the Royal Palace, there’s hardly a free roof anywhere. Almost every condo and roof has some form of green roof– which looks amazing.

    Reply

  47. Yes this is a great and inspiring collection. Glad to see people stressing the beauty. Green roofs have to be seen, no good on top of a tall building where it would be invisible. Stormwater retention/treatment in an urban area can be a big benefit, but the insulating properties that are claimed can be much more cheaply achieved by other means. And those living walls – amazing, wonder if they are hard to install and maintain. Singapore should be a good location – no winter!

    Reply

  48. Posted by janis on November 19, 2008 at 6:15 pm

    millenium park is definately not a green roof.

    Reply

  49. Actually, it is. I understand it’s atop a car-park and railway, among other things. Its construction and planning were featured at the first Green Roofs conference in Brisbane. Its designers and engineers boast it to be the world’s largest green roof.

    Reply

  50. [...]  A green roof atop a building in Beijing [...]

    Reply

  51. Posted by Michael Ho on December 16, 2008 at 10:58 pm

    i wish the vertical landscape could be applied into all scales of our cities!

    Reply

  52. Posted by Pamela Sheets on January 1, 2009 at 11:41 pm

    Hi I have a friend that put up a tree house. This is the coolest I’ve ever seen. How would I go about sharing this photo.

    Thanks,
    Pam

    Reply

  53. Posted by Dr . shahram Jamshidi on January 6, 2009 at 6:12 pm

    Dear sir / Mam
    Hello…………
    I am delighted to learn more about your company and your activities.
    It would be highly appreciated ; if you would me your printed catalog or magazine.
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    adress:
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    Reply

  54. Posted by Saba jadoon on January 9, 2009 at 8:14 am

    Hi
    I am feeling so good to see such a beautiful architecture. its amazing i love to see this with my own eyes. i wish to go there. Insha Allah

    Saba Jadoon
    Pakistan

    Reply

  55. Posted by Naveed Jadoon on January 9, 2009 at 9:12 am

    Thanks for you efforts!. Great work done… Amazing..

    Reply

  56. Posted by Roberto on January 26, 2009 at 5:22 pm

    Dawn (14:34:49) :
    I think one of the reasons the U.S. is not as advanced as other countries is becasue its President is anti-environment.?????

    http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/02/is_george_bush.php

    Only your dispassionate Canadian correspondent could write this without colour or favour, but is it possible that George Bush is a secret Green? Evidently his Crawford Winter White House has 25,000 gallons of rainwater storage, gray water collection from sinks and showers for irrigation, passive solar, geothermal heating and cooling. “By marketplace standards, the house is startlingly small,” says David Heymann, the architect of the 4,000-square-foot home. “Clients of similar ilk are building 16-to-20,000-square-foot houses.” Furthermore for thermal mass the walls are clad in “discards of a local stone called Leuders limestone, which is quarried in the area. The 12-to-18-inch-thick stone has a mix of colors on the top and bottom, with a cream- colored center that most people want. “They cut the top and bottom of it off because nobody really wants it,” Heymann says. “So we bought all this throwaway stone. It’s fabulous. It’s got great color and it is relatively inexpensive.”

    Reply

  57. Posted by archidevo on March 25, 2009 at 12:59 am

    So here is the proof: These images are so helpful in assisting the understanding of successful ideas – to the non-believers. Anything is possible, and these images are an inspiration for me. What a discovery. Thank you.

    Reply

  58. I am very enjoy your blog, your blog is very true of the stick, you would like to see more blog content! I wish you a happy day!

    Reply

  59. Posted by RaiulBaztepo on March 28, 2009 at 11:42 pm

    Hello!
    Very Interesting post! Thank you for such interesting resource!
    PS: Sorry for my bad english, I’v just started to learn this language ;)
    See you!
    Your, Raiul Baztepo

    Reply

  60. Posted by the teetee on March 31, 2009 at 3:45 am

    i love green roofs when i get big and famus everyone will get one

    Reply

  61. salam kenal. berkunjung nih di blognya, informasi yang bagus mudah-mudahan dapat dicontoh untuk bangunan di Indonesia. makasih ya. dan jangan lupa kunjungi juga blog saya.

    Reply

  62. Posted by Kylee on April 13, 2009 at 1:00 am

    Jenny, what have the engineers said about an extensive green roof – a sedum mat with a waterproof membrane underneath. It usually doesnt need extra support and is cheaper and easier to install and maintain than an intensive green roof. It doesnt look as amazing but it does the job environmentally and with the amount of sedum available some great designs can be attained. I think the more green rooves we can get throughout our cities in the next few years the better and all governments, from local to federal should be encouraging and participating. I am on a mission to get my workplace to put a green roof on all our freestanding buildings.

    Reply

  63. Posted by Kylee on April 13, 2009 at 1:22 am

    Greenbau, I agree we should be stressing the beauty of a green roof but I disagree that they are no good on top of a high rise where they would be invisable. The environmental benefit of reducing the urban heat island effect is also incredibly important in the fight against global warming and slowing the effects of our cities on the planet.

    Reply

  64. Nice shots, love those pictures

    Reply

  65. Posted by @-@ on May 2, 2009 at 3:02 pm

    I felt the green roof looked very ugly and lack of design. let me thinking of a guy without shaving decade. But, I like ch2 ideas a bit walkway + green + furniture = useful for people…… rather than a massive Green kinda out of control…

    Reply

  66. my name is tyrone and i was wondering how much a green roof would cost for a one achor roof

    Reply

    • Posted by bennic on May 22, 2009 at 3:06 am

      Hi Tyrone,

      Its difficult to provide a simple answer to your question because there are lots of factors that affect how much it costs to design and construct a green roof. These factors include the size of the area to be greened, the ease of access to the site, the types and availability of materials used in construction of the green roof, the potential requirement for town planning permission and building certification and the fees charged by the various people who would need to be involved in the process.

      As a rule of thumb, the more developed a green roof industry becomes in a particular city, the more likely it is for costs to come down due to economy of scale and competition in the market place. At the moment, depending on the factors mentioned above, you may find a green roof fully installed could cost anywhere between $200 to $2,000 per m2 or more. Of course, the more time and experimentation you are willing to spend yourself, the less you will have to spend on others doing it for you.

      All the best,
      Ben Nicholson

      Reply

  67. [...] For more pictures of amazing green roofs, check out Green Roofs Australia. [...]

    Reply

  68. Posted by Lily Dickson on May 26, 2009 at 1:50 am

    I beleive more can be done. I remembered my mother told me about thier green roof garden 60yrs ago they had in China when they were growing up, they always played up on their roof gardens at night time especially. The had a fruit and vegetable garden up there.
    Love the : Earth homes by Swiss architect Peter Vetsch

    Reply

  69. [...] Roof top gardening is already very advanced in America http://www.skyvegetables.com/and Australia http://greenroofs.wordpress.com/contact-us but London has yet to take up the idea in a big way – until now that [...]

    Reply

  70. Posted by Keshava Kunudr.C on June 4, 2009 at 9:03 am

    GREEN IS LIFE

    Reply

  71. [...] top gardening is very advanced in many cities in America http://www.skyvegetables.com/and Australia http://greenroofs.wordpress.com/contact-us but London is only just realising its [...]

    Reply

  72. [...] pictured above, makes it a little easier to take in the benefits and beauty of rooftop greenery. Here is an entire photo gallery devoted to eco roofs of the world, and here is a Flickr pool. Image [...]

    Reply

  73. Green roofs need to be part of the total architectural solution. We need to consider solar, greening roofs and other environmental factors to ensure that we preserve and maintain beauty and livability.

    Reply

  74. All pics are mind blowing, a very fantastic snaps, highly appreciable post.

    Reply

  75. I would like permission to use the image of ” Millenium Park, Chigago, at more than 24 acres, one of the largest green roofs in the world” in an article about green roofs I have written. I cannot access your email ID from your contact information.
    Please reply to me on the email address above to let me know if I have permission to use the image.

    Dr. Singh

    Reply

  76. Dear Sir/Madam

    Your blog is truly beautiful and very excitement i want visit to sydeny now.

    salusa

    Reply

  77. [...] pictured above, makes it a little easier to take in the benefits and beauty of rooftop greenery. Here is an entire photo gallery devoted to eco roofs of the world, and here is a Flickr pool. Image [...]

    Reply

  78. Woww..that’s seem more green roof. Nice and harmony. green peace. make cool world.

    Reply

  79. wow very nice pictures…. amazing….

    Reply

  80. Just a note; Should anyone like some free information on extremely drought tollerant and some endangered as well as wet looking local native plants to Melbourne Australia, let me know.

    Reply

    • Posted by Kylee on October 14, 2009 at 10:14 am

      I am very interested in this information. I am trying to put forward a proposal to my company but I need more inforamtion and the more drought tolerant the better. I am in Sydney so if you know where I can get access to Sydney natives information I would appreciate it.
      Thank you

      Reply

  81. The roof tops is a fantastic concept… which posses a question in my mind. when are we going to label our plants at Nurseries with their annual CO2 intake. Bit like making informed food choices really.

    Reply

  82. Amazing collection of green roof photographs. Thank you for sharing

    Reply

  83. [...] pictured above, makes it a little easier to take in the benefits and beauty of rooftop greenery. Here is an entire photo gallery devoted to eco roofs of the world, and here is a Flickr pool. Image [...]

    Reply

  84. [...] research and usage with the number of green roofs there increasing 10-15% each year. From browsing this photo collection on the Green Roofs Australia blog, or this international database, one can see the many varieties [...]

    Reply

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