Giuliana Frizzi | Green Roof Installation and Maintenance Professional (GRIMP)
Giuliana Frizzi, MASc., EIT, LEED GA, GRIMP
Giuliana Frizzi’s education includes Environmental Engineering (from the University of Vermont, Bachelors of Science) and Civil Engineering (from the University of Toronto, Masters of Applied Science) with research experience in the water quantity and quality management of Green Roof systems. Giuliana has work experience in Engineering and Environmental services at Langan followed by a career as a Green Roof Engineering Technical Consultant at Zinco Canada.
Giuliana has delivered numerous international presentations (Source to Stream, Toronto ON Canada, 2022; Novatech International Conference on Urban Water, Lyon France, 2023; Water New Zealand Stormwater Conference, Auckland New Zealand, 2023; ASCE International Low Impact Development Conference, Oklahoma City OK USA, 2023; ICUD International Conference on Urban Drainage, Delft Netherlands, 2024) on the topic of green roof systems including conference paper publications. Giuliana has her Masters of Applied Science Thesis Paper ‘Exploring Seasonal Hydrologic Performance of Green Roofs with Various Layering Profiles’ published (2023) via the University of Toronto. Giuliana has presented as a university guest lecturer, providing education and advocating for green and blue roofs.
Giuliana started as an Engineering Technical Consultant at Zinco Canada (in 2023) designing and implementing green and blue roofs across Canada. She is actively completing her first projects, including extensive to intensive green roofs, green-blue roofs, green roofs with solar and urban agriculture roofs.
Contact her via email or LinkedIn.
1. How did you hear about Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and the Green Roof Installation and Maintenance Program (GRIMP)?
I completed my Masters of Applied Science at the University of Toronto with a research focus on the hydrologic benefits of green roof systems. During my literature review I came across Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. Unfortunately, I could not make the time to attend any of the GRHC events.
However, When I started my work in the green roof professional sector, I inquired about attending a GRHC event. My company, ZinCo Canada, being a green roofing supply and consulting company, was informed about the 2023 Cascadia Grey to Green Conference in Vancouver, BC, Canada through being connected to the GRIN BC network.
The GRHC event included GRIMP training on the agenda and my company agreed to let me attend, as we help coordinate green roof installations and maintenance.
2. What motivated you to pursue GRIMP accreditation?
Being in the professional green roof sector, it is important to know the entire chain of producing a green roof system: design, supply, construction and maintenance.
In my day-to-day, I focus mainly on the design (from a stormwater engineering and wind uplift engineering perspective) and supply sectors.
Despite this, we must acknowledge that each project has different site experiences and in order for the installers to have a smooth installation (and the green roof system to ultimately work as intended/designed), we must know how to design the system to allow for as seamless of an installation as possible.
We also must recognize that green roofs only perform as designed if they are properly maintained. So, we at ZinCo Canada provide installers and Landscape Architects with maintenance manuals specific to our systems.
3. During the training or in your work, what aspect of green roof installation and maintenance did you find most rewarding?
At Zinco Canada, we are more than just suppliers. We go to sites to help coordinate the install as well. It is very rewarding when the installers have ease with the products we provide as it facilitates a good customer relationship.
We also provide built-in-place systems (i.e. building each element of the green roof, including soil and plants, on the roof). Part of this is deciding the type of plant installation. With a soil based system, our projects can utilize plug planting. This method may have less coverage than sedum mats at the time of installation, but it allows the plants to grow in and mature on the roof. Thus allowing more variety of species to succeed and the roofs to have a more dynamic and colorful appearance, rather than a mono-culture/color. In short it is very rewarding to create truly beautiful and diverse green roofs.
4. What advice would you give to someone considering a career in green infrastructure?
The sector of green infrastructure is more than the sustainability ‘trend’ that some corporate businesses are pushing. Yes, it is important to provide housing, places of work, or buildings of service to the growing population, but it is also important that these spaces promote health to the occupants. Green infrastructure not only helps the surrounding environment by managing stormwater and reducing flooding, increasing urban biodiversity, reducing the urban heat island effect and absorbing urban air pollution, but it also provides mental health benefits to those who have access to the green spaces.
So, by choosing to further the green infrastructure industry, you are choosing to develop a better world for the environment, plants, animals, and people alike.
5. What trends in green roofs or sustainability inspire you for the future?
My Masters research focused on identifying the hydrological benefits of green roof systems utilizing man-made retention materials. Ultimately, I found that these manufactured systems manage stormwater similarly to the traditional soil-based green roof system.
So it is more of an anti-trend that I am inspired by. The industry should not be implementing man-made products, such as retention fleece/mineral wool into green roof systems.
One, they have large embedded carbon implications in the production phase of their life cycle assessments that will take decades for the plants to re-capture.
Two, their usage only focuses on the stormwater management aspect of a green roof system. Meanwhile a soil-based system focuses on both the stormwater management and the plant health aspect of green roofs; soil is where plants get their nutrients to survive. One may say you can add fertilizers to these soilless systems, but that introduces a variety of water quality issues downstream of the green roofs.
Finally, they are diverting green roof systems from being truly ‘green’ systems.
I am very fortunate to have found a company that also sees the value in the traditional green roof system.
6. How do you see the role of skilled green roof installation and maintenance in promoting urban resilience or addressing environmental challenges?
A green roof only acts as a good stormwater management tool, increases urban biodiversity, decreases the urban heat island effect and absorbs air pollution if it is still a living system, and it stays a living system with proper maintenance.
Further, a green roof system may seem like a stagnant system that cannot be adjusted to account for change in climate (i.e. more intense rain events), but by installing a built-in-place system, it is customizable.
With minimal effort, the planting type can be changed to include more water utilizing species (i.e. perennials > sedums) with higher evaporative capabilities (i.e. increase surrounding air cooling).
With minimal effort, any green roof can become a detention roof, and temporarily store more stormwater as well, just by adding a control mechanism to the roof drains.
With more effort, soil profile can be increased and the drainage board can be swapped out to allow for more water storage.This would require more skilled installers.
7. How do you envision having a GRIMP-certified professional contributing to the success of green roofing projects?
Having someone aware of what makes the installation of a green roof run smoothly is extremely beneficial to the success of the project overall. It allows the system to be designed not only to maximize the environmental benefits and aesthetics, but also increase the chance that the system will ultimately work as intended and the plants will survive. All of which decrease the cost of the project and increase its longevity.
8. Have you had a chance to put what you learned into practice? If so, can you share a recent project where it was particularly beneficial?
I utilize what I learned in the GRIMP training almost everyday in my work. For example, I had a green-blue roof (retention and detention storage) installation that had multiple installation specifics that needed to be addressed in order to build a proper and working system. As blue roofs are a fairly new concept, before installation, I created a layout of the blue roof (detention storage) components such that the water storage volume, the count of materials and the installation process were all optimized. Therefore, at the time of installation, the workers would not have to transport as many material elements, would know exactly how to layout the storage elements, and what tools they required to install the materials efficiently. The training also helped me speak effectively to the installers and guide them in the construction of the green-blue roof.
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities is a non-profit 501(c)(6) professional industry association working to grow the green roof and wall industry throughout North America since 1999. Our mission is to develop and protect the market by increasing the awareness of the economic, social, and environmental benefits of green roofs, green walls, and other forms of living architecture through education, advocacy, professional development, and celebrations of excellence.
We publish The Living Architecture Monitor quarterly online magazine where industry leaders share their insights and expertise. These articles increase awareness of the economic, social, and environmental benefits of green roofs, walls and other forms of living architecture.
We also offer free access to The Living Architecture Academy, an online professional development platform which is dedicated to bringing you the best, most up to date professional training information on design, installation and maintenance practices across a wide range of green infrastructure topics. The LAA offers short lectures and multi-day courses such as: Green Roof Professional Training, Introduction to Green Walls, Biodiverse Green Roof Maintenance, and more.
We also publish the Green Pages: Industry Green Roof and Wall Directory which is designed to support you with your living architecture projects by providing a list of trusted manufacturers, suppliers of accessories, green walls, nurseries, and certified Green Roof Professionals (GRPs). From small-scale residential projects to large commercial installations, this directory has everything you need to find support to create a sustainable and beautiful living space.
From the Living Architecture Monitor
