Central City Library living roof

​What we are doing

We are installing an extensive living roof top layer on the Central City Library.

What is a living roof?

Living roofs use vegetation cover instead of conventional roofing.

Living infrastructure helps us work towards Auckland's climate change goals,  which include better water quality and more resilient buildings.

Benefits of living roofs

Living roofs have many environmental, economic, and social wellbeing benefits, including:

• providing stormwater management by reducing rainfall runoff.
• reducing library building's energy demand by providing insulation.
• counteracting urban heat island effect in the city centre.
• increasing biodiversity and habitat opportunities for insects and birds.
• protecting the roof membrane from solar damage.
• providing a carbon sink.
• supporting improved air quality outcomes.

These benefits will increase overtime as the plants become more established.

Project timeline

The project started in early July 2021 and is set to be completed in April 2022.

More information, including the design, will be available over the coming months.

The living roof is part of the Central Library Roof Remediation Project, which aims to preserve the library building for years to come.

Project progress

The video is a time lapse that shows the plants growing over a period of time on the library roof.

Our community partners - Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei's Nursery are supporting us with this project.

They have helped us with:

• native plant selection
• plant growing
• providing the living roof concept design.

See Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei for more about our community partner.