Milstein Hall at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

The Milstein Hall School of Architecture at Cornell University is home to a number of sustainable design features. The LEED Gold certified building utilized sophisticated mechanical systems and a host of recycled building materials. The signature of the building was the ZinCo USA Sedum Carpet System that was installed among an intricate diamond shaped pattern of rooftop skylights. The green roof system has 2.5” (63.5 mm) of Zincoblend extensive growing media to support the more than 90,000 native plug plants that were used to vegetate the system. The TPO waterproofing membrane had root resistant qualities that allowed the ZinCo Protection Mat SSM 45 to lay directly on top of the membrane. Because Ithaca, NY was a borderline hardiness zone for sedum vitality, a drip line irrigation system was installed to counterbalance the extreme high and low weather patterns inherent to central NY state.