Cameron proudly dwells on her organic rooftop farm atop the Uncommon Grounds restaurant at Devon Ave. in Chicago. Hailed as the US’s first certified green rooftop farm, it’s the projection of passion for greener spaces around and above. The across-the-board project cost $100,000. You’ll find Black Prince tomatoes, peas, Nardello peppers, beans, squash, cucumbers, onions, celery, herbs and lemons growing there in 28 bed planter boxes. Moreover, rooftop beehives offer the honey supply to the restaurant. It’s a great conceptual project asking you to grow what you eat.
LEED architect Peter Moser of Swiss Design Group headed the architectural developments. Since it was necessary to make the building strong enough to hold the four tons of soil in rooftop planters, a deeper foundation with steel support was laid. A robust roof is studded with recycled plastic and wooden material. Moser further took some sustainable moves that included:
• Installation of solar thermal panels to heat water and reduce gas consumption.
• Placing fluorescent lighting in all back of the house areas, bathrooms and offices.
• Use of low VOC paints.
• Use of locally harvested wood from Jackson Park (white oak and silver maple) for tabletops, fireplace mantel, host stand and stage door.
• Utilizing wood scraps in designing a mosaic pattern of end pieces.