By: Bill Downs, Sales Representative - Architectural Products
I live in Kansas City and the biggest project of the year in KC was the Kauffman Performing Arts Center. The theater itself is truly a work of art but the green space on top of the underground parking garage is a masterpiece.
I’ve heard people comment that the new theater resembles the Sydney Opera House. I guess that in a way it could remind you of that. But would it look so magnificent if there were a parking lot next to it instead of a beautiful green space?
The star of this show is EPS Geofoam! Geofoam offered an opportunity to build the park on the rooftop of a parking garage. There is 350,000 cubic feet of EPS geofoam on top of the garage with some areas up to 14 feet deep. The light weight of Geofoam reduced downward pressure on the parking garage, which allowed for the park to be built. While its compressive strength provided limitless customization in designing the landscape. There are 48 void boxes within the landscape design, which will contain 48 trees come spring of 2012.
Geofoam is a light weight void fill. One cubic foot of geofoam is equal to about 120 pounds of soil. Without the use of geofoam, the outdoor green space at the Kauffman Performing Arts Center would probably be a parking lot at street level.
You can catch EPS Geofoam’s 2nd largest green roof application performance all day, everyday, at the Kauffman Center in Kansas City.
