Leaf Island™ is an award-winning green technology company. We design products that regenerate cities to function as natural ecosystems. GaiaSoil™ Green Roofs utilize our patented ultra-lightweight growing medium, GaiaSoil, to support the best green roofs on the market.
GaiaSoil provides unparalleled ecological function at a fraction of the weight of competitors’ products. Composed of recycled Styrofoam, GaiaSoil reflects our commitment to reusing waste stream materials to improve the environmental performance of cities.
The design behind our green roofs reflects Leaf Island’s philosophy: Applying the concepts of biophysics and plant biology to create the best possible green technology from an ecological perspective, while incorporating waste stream materials and insuring that it is scalable to the extent that it can change the environment in a meaningful way. In essence, we design green technology that is universal.
The GaiaSoil in our green roofs is mostly composed of recycled styrofoam, a pernicious waste stream material that we turn into something extraordinary. Styrofoam allows GaiaSoil to be extremely lightweight while also providing the correct amount of aeration to accomodate dense vegetation. We understand that the biggest obstacle for substantial plant growth is the lack of aeration in the soil column – something that GaiaSoil has overcome. In this regard, we internally refer to our GaiaSoil green roofs as “solid-state hydroponics”.
We invite you to see for yourselves. Our GaiaSoil green roofs at the 5-Borough Maintenance Facility at Randall’s Island are available for public viewing. Simply ask the wonderful staff at this NYC Parks & Recreation facility to give you a tour.
Gallery
Linda Tool Green Roof, Red Hook, Brooklyn
Linda Tool Green Roof, Red Hook, Brooklyn
CityWide Services Green Roof, Randall’s Island, NY
Falk Recreation Facility Green Roof, Bronx, NY
Technical Specifications
Good For You, Good For The City
The main driver behind the Urban Heat Island Effect (UHI) is not the large amount of concrete and asphalt covering our cities, it is the lack of vegetation. Dense vegetation produces cool air through evapotranspiration, something that is central to the green technologies Leaf Island designs. Our Linda Tool Green Roof saves the Linda Tool & Die Company 30% on their heating & cooling bill due to the dense green roof plants providing an HVAC intake temperature 20-30 degrees cooler than black roofs. On top of that, it cools the ambient air for the nearby area. Consider the scaling effect that a similar green roof on every building would have.
Insulation Capacity
The Styrofoam used in GaiaSoil creation has a lab-tested insulation factor. With an R-Value of 2.7/in for dry GaiaSoil and 1.2/inch for fully saturated GaiaSoil, Leaf Island produces the only green roof media on the market that insulates. We offer the option of installing additional Styrofoam block insulation below the waterproof polyurea membrane if the client desires a higher rooftop R-Value.
Ultra-Lightweight Media
GaiaSoil is much lighter than competitor’s green roof media, allowing for green roof installations on almost any rooftop. For rooftops with a high load bearing capacity, GaiaSoil allows for an extremely thick soil layer which supports an incredibly wide variety of plants, many that cannot grow on typical rooftops because of low soil depth. This thicker soil layer also significantly increases stormwater capacity, which qualifies these green roofs for the highest possible subsidies or tax abatements in certain jurisdictions.
Adaptive ReUse
Styrofoam takes up 30% of landfill volume and doesn’t degrade. GaiaSoil is composed of 90% recycled styrofoam by volume. Leaf Island prides itself on turning waste stream products like Styrofoam, which pollutes our waterways and oceans, into something that can be used to great ecological benefit. Its unlikely that the world will ever stop producing Styrofoam in the foreseeable future, but you can rest assured that purchasing a GaiaSoil Ultra-Lightweight Green Roof System will remove thousands of cubic yards of Styrofoam from landfills.
Unparalleled Growth
Leaf Island understands plant biology. We know what plants need to have aerated, uncompacted soil to grow properly. GaiaSoil is formulated to never compact and always maintain optimal aeration so that plants get everything they need. When MetroPolder used our GaiaSoil and a competitors product on opposite sides of a green roof, the result is what you see to your left. The GaiaSoil side was intended to be biodiverse, but the sedum growth was so explosive that it overtook the other vegetation.
Contact Us
Igor Bronz
Co-Founder
igor@leafisland.org
646-322-6400