The present invention includes a material and method of installing a construction material for dry or arid climates, comprising: a growth media comprising an abiotic porous material and activated charcoal such as biochar; and at least one of a compost, grain hulls and nut shells, wherein plants in the material are able to survive without exogenous water for use in areas comprising at least one of Aw, BS, BW, Csa, Csb, Ds or Dw climates according to the Koppen-Geiger climate classification.

A protected membrane roof system for installation on a roof decking comprising an upper insulation board having an upwardly-facing upper board top surface and an opposite downwardly-facing upper board bottom surface and at least one through-hole communicating therebetween, a ballast material positioned over the upper insulation board, and at least one fastener assembly having a base seated substantially adjacent the upper board bottom surface, a rod extending substantially vertically from the base of sufficient size so as to extend through the through-hole of the upper insulation board and the ballast material, and a cap engaged with the rod above the ballast material, whereby the wind uplift resistance of the protected membrane roof system is improved and scour of the ballast material is reduced by effectively anchoring the ballast material to the upper insulation board beneath the ballast material.

The invention refers to a drainage system (100), in particular a roof drainage system, comprising an outlet member (10) and a flow restrictor (20), whereby the flow restrictor (20) is situated above the outlet member (10). The flow restrictor (20) comprises a contact portion (22) and the outlet member (10) comprises a flange portion (12), whereby a first sealing member (30) is arranged on and/or along the flange portion (12) of the outlet member (10) and a second sealing member (40) is arranged at the contact portion (22) of the flow restrictor (20).

A hail resistant roofing system and method includes a roofing substrate such as a shingle or tile or membrane having an array of exposed upwardly projecting features. The features may rise to sharp points and may have side surfaces that are angled relative to the plane of the roofing substrate. The features are spaced and arranged so that a large hail stone capable of damaging the roofing substrate will always impact one or more of the exposed features. This can break up the hail stone into smaller benign pieces or can redirect the energy and direction of the hail stone so that the impact is absorbed without damage to the roofing substrate.

A roofing assembly disposed on an underlying support comprising an underlayment assembly disposed in a securing relation to the underlying support. A conduit assembly is disposed on the underlayment assembly and structured to define a path of fluid flow. The path of fluid flow extends along at least a majority portion of said underlayment assembly. The conduit assembly is disposed in a single, continuous, looped relation to the underlayment assembly. A plurality of pan tiles are partially disposed in a confronting relation to the underlayment assembly. At least some of the plurality of pan tiles are partially disposed in an overlying relation to at least a portion of the conduit assembly. The plurality of pan tiles are disposed to have a predetermined spacing in between each other, which is disposed to receive at least a portion of the conduit assembly.

A plant cultivation container is provided which does not need a feed-water tube made of a porous material or the like but the plant cultivation bed material can be made permeated in a relatively short time period. For this purpose, a water reservoir portion for pooling plant cultivation water is provided, the water reservoir portion having a bed material accommodation part for placing a water-absorbing plant cultivation bed material. In the plant cultivation container, the water reservoir portion is provided with a surrounding feed-water channel that surrounds an entire circumference of the bed material accommodation part, and a feed-discharge channel for supplying the plant cultivation water from outside to the water reservoir portion and for discharging the plant cultivation water in the water reservoir portion to outside is provided in communication with the surrounding feed-water channel.

A rooftop greenhouse built into a roof infrastructure is disclosed. The roof infrastructure is constructed from conjoining modular building segments. The conjoining modular building segments are prismatic box-like structures, each having at least three walls, and the prismatic box-like structures are arranged and attached horizontally to create the roof of a building infrastructure. Inside each prismatic box-like structure is a displaceable garden box and a mechanism for lifting the garden box out of the prismatic box-like structure. The prismatic box-like structures and garden boxes may also be equipped with glass ceilings, thin insulation, mirrors, a growing medium, a grid system, an automated water supply system, an automated gas supply system, an automated temperature control system, an automated shading and light control device, and artificial lighting.

A rooftop greenhouse built into a roof infrastructure is disclosed. The roof infrastructure is constructed from conjoining modular building segments. The conjoining modular building segments are prismatic box-like structures, each having at least three walls, and the prismatic box-like structures are arranged and attached horizontally to create the roof of a building infrastructure. Inside each prismatic box-like structure is a displaceable garden box and a mechanism for lifting the garden box out of the prismatic box-like structure. The prismatic box-like structures and garden boxes may also be equipped with glass ceilings, thin insulation, mirrors, a growing medium, a grid system, an automated water supply system, an automated gas supply system, an automated temperature control system, an automated shading and light control device, and artificial lighting.

The present invention provides an inverted roofing system and method that is more thermally efficient, inexpensive and quicker to install, better able to withstand environmental conditions, and produces the appearance and some functional benefits of a traditional natural green roof ballast top-layer. It does not require a sloped roof gradient, and is capable of a user controlled mass per square foot roof load. The inverted roofing system and method provides a ballast top-layer that is lightweight, and maintains properties that will prevent wind uplift.

A data center cooling system includes a housing and a number of container data centers. The housing includes an enclosure and a roof. The enclosure defines at least one first air inlet. The roof is attached to the top of the enclosure and defines an air vent. The housing defines a vertical exhaust channel and a plurality of receiving spaces within the enclosure. The exhaust channel communicates with the air inlet. The receiving spaces communicate with the exhaust channel and the air inlet. The container data centers are received in the receiving spaces. A gap is formed between the container data center and the receiving space to allow the air from the first air inlet to flow through the exhaust channel through the gap to expel hot air surrounding the container data centers out of the air vent of the exhaust channel.