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comment U.S. Postal Service Delivers Sustainable Message
One of the primary United States Postal Service buildings in the country is now home to a 2.5-acre green roof, the largest in New York City. Employees of the Morgan mail processing facility can wander along the park-like rooftop, resting at one of the 14 Brazilian-wood (FSC-certified) benches, admiring the trees and native plants, or taking in that famous NYC skyline.
The thriving green roof spans across the top of the 2.2 million-square-foot mail facility, located on West 28th street between 9th and 10th Avenues. 
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The structure is able to support the weight because it was constructed during the Depression in such a way that copper column tops could allow for additional stories (and consequently the weight of a living roof). For this reason, the URS Corp, who is the design firm for multiple renovations on the facility, proposed a green roof in September of 2007. “The biggest advantage to the whole project was that we didn’t have to do anything structurally to the existing building,” explains Shalini Mohan, AIA, design manager.
The budget was $4.5 million, but the initial design came in at about $7 million. The team had had to cut over 35 percent of the costs from the original plan, which included a whimsical elevated boardwalk path meandering through the flora, solar light fixtures, and an ornamental iron wall. “It was challenging because we wanted to make a statement without losing that initial design intent. That was the worst part,” Mohan says.
Primarily completed by November 2008, the roof officially opened in mid-July. It’s expected to last 50 years, about twice as long as the one it replaced, provide better insulation for the 75-year-old building, and reduce storm-water runoff. Michael Krawiec, AIA, project architect from URS, says aside from the operational benefits, the roof will serve as an “urban retreat” for employees. Elizabeth Kennedy Landscape Architects, landscape consultant for the project, worked to incorporate low-maintenance and drought-tolerant plants and trees.
The green roof is only one stage in a seven-step program for sustainable renovations on the building; other plans include upgrading lighting, windows, and air units. The team is hoping for LEED-EB certifications when completed. The finished landmark building will serve as a case study for green renovations on landmark buildings in NYC in addition to leading the way for the USPS’s national environmental initiative to reduce energy use 30 percent by 2015.
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