ABSTRACT
Green roofs can be designed for both new and existing structures. Such systems usually consist of vegetation and growing medium atop layers of drainage and waterproofing. They are classified as extensive, semi-intensive, intensive, earth-sheltered, or subterranean. When it is not topographically possible to build into the earth, there is always the option to construct buildings to be their own, self-contained "mountains". This was the concept behind Vo Trong Nghia Architects' design for FPT University in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. An interesting alternative to conserving nature without applying greenspace to a surface or using the earth to cover the structure is to allow the landscape into and/or through the space by building around trees, other vegetation, and fauna. Buildings and rooftops can be designed with "void" spaces that allow trees and vegetation to grow through the structure. Structures can be built within the trees themselves.
