TREASURY ROOF
GREEN your Roof Demonstration
NATURE: Major Public Realm, Partnership, Insitu
TIMELINE: Complete 2024
DESIGN PARTNERS: Hassell, University of Melbourne, City of Melbourne.
AWARDS: 2025 National Australian Institute of Landscape Architecture for Gardens, 2025 Victorian Institute of Landscape Architecture for Gardens
OVERVIEW:
As we begin to see the impacts of climate change globally, with increasing temperatures, loss of biodiversity and native habitat it is an act of defiance and bravery to be the makers of change and take the steps needed to ensure liveability in our cities for the years to come. In the ‘Green Our Rooftop’ project, installed on the Treasury Roof we see exactly this - the first steps in a bold and triumphant reshaping of our future.
Green Our Rooftop transforms disused and forgotten rooftop spaces into living plant laboratories, with the intention of demonstrating that green spaces are the key to future proofing our cities to make them more resilient, cooler, and to create usable, beautiful spaces for people to access in an otherwise built up environment.
Located on the top of 1 Treasury Place on a heritage-listed Victorian Government office in Melbourne, the project shows what is possible when design, science and policy come together. The project has revived a previously unused rooftop space to create a beautiful, meadow like green roof in the heart of the city that provides necessary habitat for living species and a glorious dose of nature in an otherwise stark environment.
Image credit: Hassell Studios
“Rooftops are often unused surfaces — but designed with climate in mind, they can become both beautiful and high-performing ecosystems.”
Ben Duckworth, Principal and Head of Design, Hassell
A LIVING LABORATORY - THE FUTURE PROOFING OF OUR CITIES
The plant selection was made based on their ability to withstand a challenging environment, with rooftop gardens often highly exposed to the elements with changing weather, extreme heat and enduring sunlight.
In addition to the conditions, plants were chosen for their seasonal variation, texture and colour - creating a rich tapestry of plant communities that work together to provide a necessary home and shelter for the city’s wildlife including bees, birds and insects whilst also offering visitors a beautiful moment in nature.
The garden acts to gently cool the city, offering much needed respite from the extreme urban temperatures, absorbing rainwater and filtering pollutants.
THE MAKING OF A GREEN ROOF
A VIABLE SOLUTION TO CLIMATE CHANGE
Green Roofs are often considered expensive and challenging to install on a larger scale, particularly on existing structures.
Green The Rooftop demonstrates the possibilities of retrofitting existing (and even historic buildings) in an affordable, viable and scalable way, acting as the blue print for future projects aimed at combatting the effects of climate change.
EXTERNAL LINK HERE
A TOOL FOR OUR CITIES
As urban environments increasingly expand and vegetated environments diminish, green roofs and spaces will become a vital tool in ensuring the liveability of our cities.
Beauty and wonder need not be at the expense of viability and scalability and this project proves that green spaces such as this will become essential to city life as temperatures and impacts of climate change increase.
The full plant list used on the project is available to the public.
CITIES OF TOMORROW
INTERACTIVE TOUR
Visit 1 Treasury and explore the plantings for yourself with seasonal interactive tours. Explore the plant list, design concept and more with an ariel fly over.
SUSTAINABILITY HIGHLIGHTS
Visit project lead Hassell for sustainability highlights and more details on the outcomes of such demonstrations and plant science.
HOW WE WORK
With a vision for building something meaningful, our founder brings a blend of big-picture thinking and hands-on experience. They set the tone for everything we do.