Cost-benefit analysis of green roof application in telecommunication building in Hong Kong

Abstract

Hong Kong is a densely inhabited city with high density of tall buildings and the population is concentrated on only 35% of land, the adoption of skyscrapers is therefore common in order to increase the capacity.

However, the need of open space and greenery in Hong Kong’s built environment has long been ignored but the roof area has not been fully utilized. A lot of rooftops have used as a placement of water tanks, air-conditioning units, and other building services plants, which debases enormously from the whole upper-storey field of view. To further promote ‘Green Building’ in Hong Kong, different greenery systems such as green roof and green wall had been implemented in recent years.

The aim of this research is to adopt Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) to evaluate the effectiveness of green roof application in telecommunication building in Hong Kong. This study begins with an introduction of green roof design and different kinds of green roofs including their history, advantages and design considerations. The proposition was that it revealed the cost and benefit of green roof from the user’s perspective and identified the particular concerns on green roof from various professionals. The correlation between the cost and effectiveness on thermal insulation and energy saving were examined by comparing other local examples. Based on the result obtained from the literature review and case studies, conclusion and recommendations were made to further promotion of green roofs application in Hong Kong.