Interview: Jaume Ferret Tintó

The added value of Et Posem Verda is clear to Jaume. “In Spain an architect usually designs a green roof, but it’s hard to find companies that actually know how to construct it. This is where we come in handy, we have the expertise to help these companies with technical information.” Jaume also actively promotes the concept of green rooftops in publications in different (online) magazines, he tries to make people aware of the grant that the municipality of Barcelona has available and organizes activities like a 24 hours open house where he shows rooftop gardens to the public. Jaume: “450 people visited our green roof in the centre of Barcelona. It’s a roof on top of a school. On this roof, there is a vegetable garden, a hydroponic system, an intensive green roof part with Mediterranean plants such as olive trees and an extensive green roof that is combined with solar panels. One side of the roof has been let empty, which clearly shows it’s visitors the difference. This aspect works very educational.”

“We conducted this green roof project for an elderly home. People that live there have very little moving possibilities,  they are in a wheelchair. They can’t go to the street or a park so the owner wanted to create a small park on the roof terrace adapted to wheelchairs.”

Jaume can clearly tell why there are not more green roofs in Barcelona and which Barriers he faces in his work. “First of all, most people don’t know about green roofs and if they do, they have a lot of prejudices. For example they think it will cause leakages or problems with humidity. Another big issue is money. Property owners don’t appreciate the benefits a green roof has for the neighbourhood enough. The government does, and they provide financial help for property owners to transform their roof, until up to 50% of the investment. The local government also created a contest for green roofs. The 10 best green roof projects got a grand of 75% of the investment.” He also did some projects for office buildings, they are motivated to implement sustainable measures on their property to improve their BREAM qualification. Furthermore, in some cases the local government enforces implanting a green roof on buyers of properties. Jaume gives us an example: “A supermarket could get a license to use a building that was first a cinema because they implemented a green roof.” He also sees that people are willing to invest in green roofs when it clearly benefits the wellbeing of its’s users. He names a project he conducted in Villa de Cais, just outside of Barcelona. “We conducted this green roof project for an elderly home. People that live there have very little moving possibilities,  they are in a wheelchair. They can’t go to the street or a park so the owner wanted to create a small park on the roof terrace adapted to wheelchairs, to make sure that the people that live there have an increased quality of life. The owner wants to offer good service to his customers and is conscious about environmental problems.”

Do you feel like the interest for green roofs is growing in Barcelona? “I think it is, especially during the lockdown, people were close to home and wanted to get more in contact with nature. Not only the interest in green roofs is growing, also the interest in sustainable houses in general, for example the consumption of energy, co2 reduction and sustainable construction materials.”