by Brianna Crandall — August 5, 2015—St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton, Wisconsin, is continuing its commitment to providing person-centered care in a sustainable manner by adding its third planted roof. Contractors wrapped up the installation of a 6,110 square-foot LiveRoof system atop the new Fremont Tower the end of July.
The hospital’s first 4,125 square foot green roof was installed on the Heart, Vascular and Lung Center building in 2009. This building received LEED Gold Certification in recognition of its sustainable design and operation. The hospital also installed a 3,000 square-foot vegetated roof on its Cancer Center in 2011.
St. Elizabeth Hospital is part of Affinity Health System, Ministry Health Care and Ascension. The new five-story building was designed to embody the organization’s commitment to be responsible stewards of natural resources, with sustainable features such as efficient mechanical systems, use of passive solar energy, and low-flow faucets, toilets and showers. The building also has ground-floor and rooftop gardens, which benefit patients and the environment.
Created to be a restful place for patients to heal and a great place for associates to work, the new rooftop garden was designed by Hamill Green Abrahamson, the architects for the project, and was installed by Craft Building Services. Bachman’s Inc. of Minneapolis, Minnesota, custom grew the green roof system as the regional LiveRoof licensee.
LiveRoof reminds that green roofs provide aesthetic, environmental, social and financial benefits, including better stormwater management, longer roof life, energy conservation, interior noise reduction, urban heat island effect mitigation, improved air quality, enhanced aesthetics, a reduction in operating costs, an increase in building values, and potential LEED credits, as well as enhanced public relations and conservation of municipal septic systems.
