With the completion of the green roofs on the Empire State Building, including the one pictured, 85 Xero Flor green roofs cover approximately 530,000 square feet of rooftops across New York City according to Clayton Rugh, Ph.D., general manager and technical director for the company.

The construction of four green roofs totaling 9,100 square feet was recently completed on the one of the most renowned landmarks in the world, the Empire State Building.

The Xero Flor system was selected for all of the roofs: above the 21st floor east (3,450 square feet), 21st floor west (3,450 square feet), 25th floor northwest (1,000 square feet) and 30th floor west (1,200 square feet). The green roofs on the 21st floor feature rooftop patios with outdoor furniture.

"With its comprehensive energy efficiency retrofit program, the Empire State Building has attracted new tenants who derive direct economic benefits from our energy efficiency program and who recognize the value of healthy workplace environments for attracting and retaining talented employees," said Tom Durels, executive vice president of Malkin Holdings, L.L.C., which supervises the Empire State Building.

The green roof system features lightweight, pre-vegetated mats that utilize a patented, textile-based design engineered in Germany and refined over more than 40 years of installations. It is installed on tens of thousands of rooftops covering hundreds of millions of square feet all around the world, including 38 states in the U.S.

The company grows its green roof plants at independently owned local farms. The mats, which roll out like sod, are delivered with extensive vegetative coverage for instant green roofs with a diversity of mature, full-grown plants adapted to specific regional climates.

"It is a well-engineered system with the strength and durability required for the challenging conditions on the Empire State Building," said Rainer Gerbatsch, RRC, LEED AP, the president of Commercial Roofing Solutions, Inc., the roofing and waterproofing consultant for the project.