Greening roofs is as old as history itself and has got a long tradition in many cultures. Some people even say this dates back to the ‘Hanging Gardens of Babylon’. But the real breakthrough has been taken place since the last years. The area of newly built green roofs and walls is increasing permanently because they are a good alternative to

counteract recent environmental problems in urban areas.

So, green roofs and walls are a simple combination of positive impacts?

They are cool! They are thrilling, modern and fascinating!

Under the motto ‘The passion for comfort’ the Recticel Group as Europe’s biggest producer of polyurethane foam strikes to make a real difference in daily comfort for all, on-going with innovative solutions in all its businesses.

As market leader in most of its activities, Recticel provides work to more than 8,000 employees in some 120 establishments in 27 countries. In 2009 Recticel realised a turnover of 1.3 billion Euro.

One of the latest innovations of Recticel is its unique hydrophilic product line Polygrow®.

Basically developed as substrate for horticulture, Polygrow® has been adapted to

green roofs and walls.

extend the life time of roofs

decrease energy costs

enhance acoustic insulation

improve air quality

clean polluted rain water

unburden the canalisation

provide the cooling of cities

better biodiversity

Green roofs…

The sustainability of green roofs

Motor-driven traffic and the industry cause polluted air and rain water. Due to their vegetation green roofs can filter up to 20% of particulates in the air and thus positively influence the quality of the ground and surface water.

They also have a great impact on flood prevention. They retain precipitation and lead it back to the natural hydrologic cycle by evaporation. Especially ones with Polygrow® that can buffer water up to 70% of its volume minimize the peak load of rain water and unburden the canalisation.

Green roofs also counteract ‘heat islands’ and save energy costs. They act as a cooling system. Studies have shown: while the outside temperature is between 25 and 30°C rooms underneath a green roof will be 3 to 4°C colder. Additionally green roofs can reduce sound reflection by approximately 3 dB and enhance acoustic insulation by up to 8 dB.

Every day, UV and IR radiation or temperature changes damage the roof membranes. Protected by a green roof membranes can easily double the life time due to less material fatigue, crack formation or leakage.

2005 was the year when the story when Recticel’s latest foam family Polygrow® began.

In the focus: a new polyurethane substrate usable for the most common greenhouse vegetables: tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers and eggplants. In 2009 Recticel managed to design a growing medium that matches its requirements. Professional growers around the world agree about that. Polygrow® has been perfectly adapted to urban greening and is now leading to a new generation of green roofs.

thermal insulation and acoustic absorption

half the weight of comparable systems (PG D2: max. 35kg/m2 height 6 cm)

good moisture distribution and water buffer (up to 70% of its own volume)

easy and fast to install (especially PG D2), saving time and costs

stable in shape (no loose granules)

adaptable in shape and size based on the customer’s needs

The Polygrow® PG D2 system

Water will become more and more important for all of us.

With a water uptake up to 70% of its own volume, the unique PG D2 system is able to save a huge amount of rain water,

also over a long period of time. On one side this decreases the need of irrigating. On the other side it counteracts the peak loads of the precipitation and unburdens the canalisation in urban areas. But future green roofs won’t only become more diversified and sustainable. Future green roofs also need to be more simplified systems that are not affecting deterrence by their complexity. They need to be self-explanatory , cost effective and thrilling in one.

Polygrow® meets these challenges by its unique 3in1solution: PG D2! These slabs are acting as substrate,

water buffer and drainage in one single layer. There is no need to install 3 different layers separately.

Polygrow® PG D2 slab specialised on vegetation and water buffer capacity

Polygrow® profiling to guarantee a perfect drainage of waste water

Polygrow® coating acting as additional water buffer

The variety of Polygrow® - YOUR INDIVIDUAL SOLUTION

Polygrow® for green roofs is available in different varieties. Generally it can be divided into the PG D1 and PG D2 types for flat roofs

and the PG SD80 type for pitched roofs.

PG D1 PG D2 PG D3 PG SD 80 PG GD 1 PG GD 80

Polygrow® PG D1 slabs are available in different heights and are used as substrate layer in combination with traditional green roof systems (drainage, filter, substrate, vegetation layer).

Polygrow® PG D2 slabs are a unique 3in1 system acting as substrate, drainage and water buffer in one. Thus PG D2 is saving time, costs and weight.

Polygrow® PG SD 80 is a bonded polyurethane foam whose basis is the standard Polygrow®

formulation. Due to its better stiffness and capillarity PG SD 80 can be used for pitched roofs with a max. angle of 40 degrees.

Polygrow® PG D3 shows that flat roofs don’t need to be flat at all. On top of the basic PG D2 slab that is used to guarantee the functionality of the green roof system, a waved sheet is placed to give flat roofs a unique look .

Polygrow® PG GD 1 is a special slab usable for corrugated sheets. PG GD 80 is the appendant bonded foam version for pitched roofs.

Polygrow® for green walls Polygrow® PG W 80 is as PG SD 80 a bonded polyurethane foam whose basis is the

standard Polygrow® formulation. Due to its better stiffness and capillarity PG W 80 is usable for vertical green. To the single slabs a hole for the water pipes can be added.

Green walls become more and more popular around the world – mainly for aestheticreasons. Whether inside or outside they are attractive and inspiring, simply saidan eye catcher. But green walls also offer similar advantages like green roofs in terms of added value, water buffering and insulation.

In 2011 one of the biggest green roofs in Southern Europe had been realised. We are very proud that Polygrow® had been chosen for this great 11,000m2 project.

Initiator of the project had been the Adega Coop, the first winemaker cooperative in Alentejo, Portugal. Founded in 1955 more than 320 wine-makers joined Adega that commands an area of 2,200 ha vineyard. With a yearly production of 9 million litres of wine Adega is one of the biggest winemaker cooperatives in Portugal and already won a lot of awards.