View our new Virtual Green Terrace tour  (requires media player)

View a narrated video explaining the technologies used (requires media player)


The 4000-square-foot cement patio area adjacent to the NIH Library in Building 10 has been transformed into a verdant, eco-friendly, garden terrace.

The NIH Library Green Terrace is an extension of the newly redesigned NIH Library facility and serves as an outdoor green garden oasis for NIH staff and visitors. The Green Terrace environment provides a natural, relaxing setting for individuals and groups to retreat, read, reflect, and rejuvenate.

A new entrance from the physical library to the Green Terrace has been installed to allow library patrons easy access to both environments.

Green Roof and Plantings

The NIH Library Green Terrace showcases several garden areas which are rooted in engineered soil. Some of the garden areas are drought tolerant, while others are designed for more traditional perennial gardens including an annual zone that features several types of tropical plants currently being researched at NIH for their medicinal values.

The walls surrounding the Green Terrace will be softened with several species of vines cascading from roof areas above or twined up on mounted trellises. The combination of garden surfaces and covered walls will help reduce the extreme temperatures in the summer. Green Terrace visitors may enjoy the eating nooks and bench seating under the shade canopies and along the garden walls.

Solar Energy

Several sustainable features beyond the vegetated roof surfaces are also incorporated into the Green Terrace design. Solar panels supplement the project's energy use powering the terrace lighting and irrigation pumps. The solar panels are mounted on the roof just south of the terrace.

Storm Water Management

Rain will be stored on site in a 1500 gallon cistern and recycled to irrigate the gardens and reduce the flow to and from the municipal water supply and storm systems. This feature, in combination with the vegetated roof areas, offers important reductions in storm water runoff from the NIH campus, ultimately supporting water quality improvement and conservation goals for the broader Chesapeake Bay watershed.

Green Terrace Handout (PDF)
 

For more information please contact a member of the NIH Library Facility Team:

301.594.6606    - Mary Hash

301.594.6473    - Ben Hope

301.496.2258  - Bradley Otterson