Costa Ricans love to say
that we live in a true green country but
those who have left the country know that
when we come to the airport
juan santamaría
that’s how headquarters in costa rica this is
costa rica seen from the air is in
the costa rica where we live our day
to day and I present to you my neighborhood is not
very different
Saint Augustine is five hundred
houses 500 tin roofs and roof tiles and I
I imagine that where they go out of their way will not be
very different but it is that they have to
do all the neighborhoods of the city is
A) Yes
I would like to know and they raise my hand
who have heard about the order and
island or heat island effect though
I see a few more
I tell you that this is a topic that
Now he is charging a lot more
relevance for the issue of warming
global
however it is not new to imagine that
since the 1800s a scientist
British called lu hao web started to
document as in england in london
specifically the temperature was
always higher than the countryside areas
that surrounded him study of the 1800s
at present the nasa is still
taking note and documenting this
phenomenon
this is what is known as island of
heat cities tend to be a lot
hotter than the green areas that
they surround it and scientists have
found that there are two reasons
main for this
one is that we have very little vegetation
in the cities the plants absorb the
water the soil and transpire through
his eyes
they are those water droplets in the air
and help cool
imagine that an adult oak tree
can generate 40,000
gallons of water a year with this
perspiration that are 100 gallons of
water per day
that’s why it feels so good
sit under a tree not only
the shadow is also that moisture that
it generates
there is another problem in the cities the
materials that we are using to
build them cement and metal asphalt
all these materials that make
they absorb sunlight and generate heat
and continues to radiate heat for long
hours
this problem is not exclusive to coast
delicious
this problem is seen in most of the
cities of the world
easy concept if we continue to build
our cities in this way then
this way this problem is not going to improve
not to change
however there are already architects
engineers and very creative people who are
starting to design different cities
and paradoxically to design the city
from the future
we are looking to study the lessons
From the past
who know about the gardens here
hanging of Babylon one of the seven
wonders of the ancient world in society
this does not leave us unfortunately the
construction itself but it did tell of the
epoc that tell us how this was a
structure made on terraces where each
one of those terraces is covered in
vines creepers and you looked
like a green mountain in the middle of
desert
this one is said to be one of the first
green roofs or ceilings dius of the
history of mankind and yet
there are even older ones in the north of
scotland ireland neolithic community
of this 4,500 years ago they started to
build these different
these homes with a technique that today
we call tri-herzio or shelters under
Earth
it was all covered in dirt and
zacatito above and vegetation but
they use it for
protect yourself from the cold weather of these areas
as far north green roofs
they know from the beginning of the story
of humanity and they have not been there is
they have been reusing and reinventing
throughout our history many
times to protect us from the weather and in
others as a status symbol of
wealthy families who can give themselves the
luxury of having these elevated gardens in
the present
we continue to create this infrastructure
green with the same purposes the
green roofs and green buildings we
help keep the temperature inside
of the buildings with which we lower the
energy consumption to maintain
temperature of these buildings
also these give us as an oasis
inside the city and right now it’s
also exploring the extent to which this
green infrastructure helps us with a
topic that we call biophilia something of what
that I speak earlier that jimena
need we humans have
to be in contact with nature
more the green roofs are using
to raise the price of buildings in
new york for example where the river is
idol
the land is so limited a building
that has a park up the value goes up
incredibly and not only that but the
buildings around that now have
view that garden
also now they are using these
roofs to plant food have
doors on the ceilings are also
studying how much can you help
decrease the recovery time of
patients in hospitals that are already
implanting bird roofs or that both
improves the productivity of people
in work centers
in short there are many reasons to create
green roofs and one of the countries that goes
to the water at the forefront in this
movement is singapore singapore is a
super interesting imagine that
singapore is 73 times smaller than
Costa Rica
we thought we were
little ones and is also 1 ° north of the
ecuador and has almost the same
amount of population and how will be the
heat island effect in singapore
Well, it turns out that maybe it’s not so bad
as in costa rica because since the years
60 a very visionary prime minister who
they had decided that singapore was going to
turn into the first garden city and
since then they have been investing
very much in green infrastructure in
this country
even at this moment they are
developing the idea beyond a
airport that is going to have a forest
in
This is one of the most visited sites
one of the tourist centers of
singapore is called the bay garden
it’s a masterpiece of engineering and
landscaping
I would like us too
we had a garden city and not a
city of cans
however, we have several challenges
still we need to overcome one
very important is that in costa rica not
we have roofs
most what we have are roof of
zinc that are not made to withstand
virus roofs
Another problem we have is that the
materials that are used in this
infrastructure on these roofs and
green buildings are taking
long time to get to costa rica
then we have many limitations
to build them and finally the
third limitation that we have are
us because still the
Costa Ricans we are not seeing the
living ceilings as a necessity but that
we see it as a luxury and we are not
interested in investing in it
however, I did want to have my roof
the pp and I said here let’s see something is
has to be able to do and then I gave
the task of inventing what we can do
how can we make a green roof over
a zinc roof because at home too
we have done if this is the first
experiment that we did we did it in
a warehouse that my mom has because
you know that moms are the
unique ones that lend themselves to this type of
Experiments her then that itself was
Something sure did not advise me with a
engineer who helped me see that the
structure the supported and make sure of
that we were going to build for there
is to found and remain in place
so first of all we made a
four inch wooden frame for
keep the substrate there we’re going to put
the plants and that black material is a
geotextile layer that helps us
hold the substrate and also to that
filter excess water
the substrate that is where we sow the
plants
had to be very light because the
land is the heaviest there is
one of the heaviest things that gets
on the roof
then we made clear granxa leaves
dry we picked up right there in the area
very ecological local materials and
We also put him some land
happened that when we picked the leaves
happily we have a lot of seeds
contempt and other plants that after
were the ones that colonized the roof but
You’ll see
everything has a happy ending this substrate
is very light then we knew that with
a light wind with rain we
I went to abortion
then we covered it with sanz it did not look
very cute but at least I was going to
fulfill its function and after that
we sow the plants
we chose plants that were very
tough because this is in your ru
I do not know if they know their places
when we were making this roof of
the temperature was at 39 degrees to
have an idea but they are already
beginning to fall the first drops of
rain
these plants we put and put me
it was jazz and grass that are from the
places stronger than those who resist
the time I and the dry season and a month
then there is the roof
the plants were happy without system
irrigation
everything was fine what happened after the
rainy season they will return again 39
great significance the entire roof was left
dry dry dry but this part of the
experiment
we wanted to see how it was going to
behave this roof
we wanted an ecological roof and it will take
a year and a half later
this is the roof the seeds that
they fell on the roof were the seeds
that they should have gotten there from
the beggining
those are the seeds of the area those that
are used to being there and the
roof is still alive and we have fallen is more
strong than ever and this was our
first experiment and we have done other
plus
This is one that we really like in Tibás
because it’s a semi-accessible roof of
way from a terrace that has
all around we can see it and
enjoy it and get closer to it and you
we created a herb garden so that
the families that live in that complex
they could also benefit from the
roof products and we’ve had
very particular colonizers is
it has really become a small
ecosystem and a living roof for the
species that have come to visit us
we know that creating ceilings is the
correct product is that which are the
steps that we have to take in the
correct address
however each roof is a small
step we still have a lot to give and
that’s why we created a page in
facebook that is called green roofs be
the idea is that we are there
publishing information so that people
see what those living ceilings are like
they do what are the techniques what are
the plants that can be used and so
let’s go sharing information and
creating as a community offenders of
green roofs tied to costa rica
this is going
for now but I have a dream and like
said ellen johnson sirleaf the size of
your dreams have to access your
current capacity to reach them if your
dreams do not scare you are not what
big enough
Thank you
[Applause]
”
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