Roof gardens
The objects of landscape design should also include roof gardens. They were arranged in ancient times and had the most diverse architectural and planning solutions. For instance, famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon were arranged on stone terraces Babylon more than 2,000 years ago. In the past, these gardens were created for the elite, they were a privilege of the rich. Further development of gardens on rooftops was due to the massive construction of buildings with a flat roof, which became widespread from the early twentieth century.
Nowadays the gardens on roofs creation is , above all, necessary to improve the ecological situation in cities with negative characteristics of the environment, and to improve the aesthetic parameters of urban spaces. Roofs are considered to be the buildingfifth facade and city fifth facade. In large cities windows and balconies of high buildings often look out at lower buildings unattractive black rooftops - service units, shopping centers, and due to overheating in the summer they emit harmful volatile substances. Visual discomfort affects the mood of people, reduces efficiency, increases the unpleasant feeling of "isolation" from nature.
At the same time, different urban landscape levels height creates conditions for efficient roofs operation as additional recreation areas, accommodation cafés, playgrounds in the open space. They should be more actively used for recreational purposes and to improve environmental comfort in the cities.
Roof gardens is currently very diverse in form, in architectural and landscape design, in functionality. To create them the roofs of residential buildings, supermarkets, garages, warehouses, service stations, cinemas, etc are used. They are divided into exploited (designed typically to address a variety of recreational tasks.) and not operated (designed to protect the building from excessive solar radiation, as well as to improve ecological parameters of the space).
Today there has been two approaches to the organization of roofs space for recreational purposes:
• imitation of natural garden with all its attributes and details;
• creating necessary for recreation equipment only which ismicrospace oriented to the surrounding landscape: the sea, cityscape, neighborhood green mountains.
To create a small roof garden it is necessary to think in terms of its configuration. Around the perimeter of the roof you must have secured fences. According to the nature of planning organization small roof garden can be settled in the regular-free (landscape) and mixed style. Regardless of the planning style chosen we must strive to create a comfortable environment, primarily according to functional, environmental parameters.
To achieve the required parameters for environmental protection you should introducecooling and humidifying air water devices on the roofs, (small cascades, waterfalls, ornamental pools), provide active watering plants and drainage of soil nutrient and soil cover in winter, or use mobile forms of greening roofs, wind-proof suit wall, vertical gardening, geo plastic; use special types of vegetation.
Except vegetation, which requires additional engineering devices, gardens on roofs include various small architectural forms and sculptures. pergolas, shady canopies, etc is used the most often.
New technologies of "green roofs" creation include a range of construction work. This decision of waterproofing, installation of drainage layer with the required filtration. Hydro isolation is concluded in layers and is a bitumen-polymer membrane that is reinforced by nonwoven polyester fiber with continuous filament and provided with special additives that prevent the penetration of plant roots in coverage