In what is estimated to be one of the largest green retrofitting projects in U.S. history, a makeover of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center is underway in New York City. The cost of the transformation is on the order of $463 million. While the effects that the green technology will have on the massive convention center and its surrounding environment are not yet known, they will, however, be closely monitored in a research study by a team of engineers from Drexel and the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.
The 6.75-acre green roof is the centerpiece of a series of renovations designed to make the 27-year-old building an example of retrofitting for sustainability. When it opened in 1986, the Javits Center was—according to many architects—outdated by sustainable design measures—before it even opened.
“The Javits Center green roof exemplifies the kind of environmentally sensible urban redevelopment projects that [New York] wants to encourage,” says Dr. Franco Montalto, a professor at Drexel’s College of Engineering and the lead researcher. “The retrofit building will reduce urban runoff, mitigate the urban heat island effect, and, potentially have a cooling effect on the streets and buildings that surround it. Our research will seek to quantify these benefits.”
As part of the study, four climate stations will be installed on and around the green roof; flumes, thermistors, soil sensors and a series of weighing lysimeters will be installed within the green roof itself. Together, these instruments will be used to evaluate what effect the green roof is having on its immediate microclimate, how much rainwater runs off and/or evaporates, and to what extent the roof—and the intake for the convention center’s air conditioning system—is cooler once the vegetation is in place.