A Study on The Rooftop Garden of The Former Akita Company Building——Calculation of the load of the rooftop garden for purposes of preservation

摘要

Rooftop gardens are attracting attention as a means of reducing CO2 emission,increasing greenery in urban areas and improving the urban environment. The purpose of this study is to propose a way to preserve and protect the rooftop garden of the former Akita Company building that was constructed in 1915 in Japan. It is interesting that this rooftop garden has been kept in good condition until now. No modern technology was used to support the garden for 93 years. There is no other example of a rooftop garden in Japan which has been maintained for such a long time. To keep this building as a part of our cultural heritage and as a good example of a rooftop garden; the load on the rooftop was investigated to check the structural issues. The depth of the soil was measured. Using these measurements,the shape of the slab on the top was found and the volume of the soil was calculated. The volume of stone walls and other stones on the garden and also the weight of the small wooden house on top of the building and trees were calculated. The total weight on the rooftop came to 99.07 ton. (389.27kg/m2)