Tackling climate change will need movement towards sustainability on many fronts, including green infrastructure. The British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) is making an impact with student-led research projects in green energy technology.
Harveer (Harvy) Singh Takhar, a part-time BCIT Building Engineering/Building Science graduate student, spent a large part of the past three years of research connecting blue-green roof performance with the support of Dr. Rodrigo Mora, Faculty, BCIT Building Science Department.
The research
“The idea was to harvest the benefits of green roofs, while keeping them healthy by storing water, considering most green roofs adversely affect building systems during the drought. So we added a water cavity, known as the blue roof component, that will feed the green roof portion with capillary irrigation, and it can draw water when it needs it,” says Harvy.
With a number of research partners, including the City of Vancouver, there is a public display of various roof assemblies at the Helena Gutteridge Plaza, just north of Vancouver City Hall. The assemblies include a conventional flat roof, a blue roof, a green roof, and a connected blue-green roof. The goal of the research was to analyze the stormwater performance and thermal response of the various roof assemblies.
Harvy and Dr. Mora also received CleanBC funding from the Government of British Columbia for another set of more heavily instrumented research roof assemblies. These assemblies were constructed at BCIT in 2019, and Harvy and Dr. Mora have been doing the data collection and ongoing maintenance.
Harvy and Dr. Mora have presented the research at many past conferences that include: Ecocity World Summit, Adaptation Canada, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, and Buildex Vancouver. The emergence of green solutions are well received and proven, with many standards and policies adjusting to accommodate them.
Harvy’s thesis was published in early 2022, and compared stormwater runoff data as well as temperature data of each type of roof assembly.
In October 2022, Harvy received the Jeffrey L. Bruce International Research Award at the CitiesAlive conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for his thesis. The award also came with another opportunity to present the research.
“It was a great opportunity to present the thesis findings and meet like-minded individuals, and there were a lot of industry professionals that took a keen interest in the study,” says Harvy.
He says other research also integrated well with what they did at BCIT, and he’s understanding how this solution can help sustain green roofs and harvest rainwater rather than sending it down the drains.
“We can help with policy decisions with the data and analysis that we have been able to take on.”
Advice For Future Students?
“Well firstly, don’t rush research! Take your time to ensure the analysis is conducted well,” advises Harvy. “Also, let’s find methods to integrate nature-based solutions to our work, the rest of the success will follow.”
Learn more about programs in the BCIT School of Construction and the Environment