Rooftop gardening is trendy in Vancouver and the city encourages people to grow plants on rooftops, community gardens, balconies, etc. One such rooftop can be found at the Vancouver Public Library (VPL), the unique building designed by Canadian architect icon Moshe Safdie, was completed in 1995. It is one of Vancouver’s downtown landmarks, it catches the eye, resembling the Colosseum in Rome. VPL’s green roof takes up 20,000 square feet of the available 28,000 square feet at the top of the structure. The roof was initially transformed to a functioning green roof that was inaccessible to the public. Recently an expansion project of the eighth and nineth floor made two new publicly accessible outdoor rooftop spaces. The first, two large outdoor terraces on the north and south of the eight floor, each being approximately 4,700 square feet. The second, a public rooftop garden on the ninth floor, about 7,400 square feet, which provides an outdoor public green space as a retreat from the busy downtown.
The Phillips, Hager and North Garden on the ninth floor is the first publicly accessible rooftop garden in Vancouver. It provides a natural meeting place in downtown with its great vantage views. To recognize their positive impact on the city of Vancouver through their charitable pursuits, the garden is named in honor of city builders and philanthropists Art Phillips, Bob Hager and Rudy North. VPL’s rooftop public garden is designed by landscape architect icon Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, who was the original designer of its green roof. It features green and blue fescue, reflecting the shape of the Fraser River. The plants that can be found in it are native to the southwest region of British Columbia, resistant to drought and requiring little maintenance. Moreover, a solar photovoltaic system, including 52 solar panels, 350 watts each, is installed along the outside of the rooftop garden. They provide renewable energy and generate approximately 16,500 KW of electricity per year, enough to power the LED lights of the ninth floor of the library. As many other green rooftops, this garden benefits the city of Vancouver in many ways, from helping with rainwater, regulating temperature, improving air quality, to providing a habitat for coexistence with birds and insects, and creating an informal outdoor public space.
Figure 1. Vancouver Public Library Rooftop Public Garden. Image source: Sahar Alinezhad, Vancouver, 2021.
Figure 2. Vancouver Public Library Rooftop Public Garden, view of the BC Place. Image source: Sahar Alinezhad, Vancouver, 2021.