It’s no play on words to say the roof crowning the new Testa Produce Inc distribution center is “green.”
In fact, 50% of the 91,300-square-foot facility’s roof is actually green: It’s a vegetated, barrel-sloped roof custom-designed for Testa by Lawrence Dziurdzik of Illinois-based Allen L Kracower & Associates and representatives from Philadelphia PA-based Roofmeadow. The roof was installed and is maintained by Robert Ebl Inc, a Chicago-based landscaper specializing in green roofs.
Now nearing the end of its first growing season, the roof’s plants—various drought-resistant sedum species—have taken root and begun working to make the building more sustainable, in part by preventing rainwater runoff. All water not used by the plants is filtered into Testa’s internal water cistern to be used for non-potable purposes throughout the building, such as toilet flushing.
Additional benefits include the plants’ emission of oxygen, which contributes to cleaner air; efficient, sustainable insulation; reduction of the city’s heat island effect; and decreased heat waste emissions. The roof’s sloped design also lends a distinctly “green” identity to building’s entrance.
Situated in the Chicago Stockyards Industrial Park, the new Testa distribution center is in line to receive the US Green Building Council’s highest LEED rating: Platinum certification. It was designed by Epstein architects, Summit Design + Build served as construction manager, and WBS Equities served as owner’s project consultant. Financing was provided by MB Bank. All are local Chicago-based concerns.
For more information and to see photos of the facility, visit www.testaproduce.com.
