With the FOAMGLAS® Compact Roof System, the blue roof of the EMA is in seventh heaven

Extreme drought and extreme rain: with global warming, we will face them more and more often. The water issue is a topic very high on everyone's agenda. With retention roofs, we can store and temporarily buffer rainwater that falls on flat roofs. But roofs with permanent water on them place high demands on construction and materials. With the FOAMGLAS® Compact Roof System, every roof structure meets the highest standards of durability and reliability. The fact that the EMA in Amsterdam also opted for FOAMGLAS® is no coincidence.

One step beyond green roofs

Green roofs retain rainwater that falls on the roof and then slowly release it through evaporation. They thus act as a buffer and help avoid overloading the sewage system.

Retention Roofs or blue roofs, go one step further. Every green roof stores water, but there is little control over exactly what happens to that water. With a retention roof, that control is there. This has two advantages: during long periods of drought, retention roofs act as useful reservoirs and during intense rainfall, rainwater will be slowed down or not discharged into the sewer system at all. At the same time, retention roofs offer the possibility of sustainable reuse of rainwater, for example for the toilet or watering plants. The combination of a green roof with a water retention system is therefore often used.

In addition to storing and buffering rainwater, retention roofs offer another benefit. Because rainwater has a cooling effect, indoor temperatures will stay lower. This provides greater comfort during the summer and significant air conditioning savings.

1400 square meters

Given its watertightness, high reliability and extraordinary compressive strength, it is being FOAMGLAS® Compact Roof System therefore increasingly used for retention roofs. As in the building of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) at Zuidas in Amsterdam. There, 2 x 150 mm FOAMGLAS® T3+ slabs were installed on a 1,400 square meter concrete substructure. Essential for a FOAMGLAS® Compact Roof are a flat substructure and a complete encasement of the insulation boards with bitumen. First, a bitumen emulsion was applied followed by the burning of a bituminized polyester mat. Then, using liquid bitumen, the FOAMGLAS® insulation boards were completely bonded to each other and to the substructure. The insulation layer was finished with a two-layer Soprema roofing with root-resistant top layer. A retention roof system from Optigrün with intensive greening and various terrace finishes was applied to the roof covering.

Want to know more about water retention roofs and the FOAMGLAS® Compact Roof System?

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