Press & Media Coverage

Below are the most up-to-date press releases & media coverage from Hydrotech. Click on a thumbnail or "Read More" link to continue reading or save a PDF copy to your computer. If you have any questions or would like to request more information, please contact us.

Displaying 1 - 12 of 27 items

December 7, 2020 Published by: Living Architecture Monitor

Incentivizing Green Infrastructure - The Floor Area Ratio Bonus

There are a lot of incentives for green roofs in the world today which improve the business case for implementation. Many of those incentives rely on making one-time payments based on the size of the green roof. While these incentives are good, there is an incentive that is much longer lasting and creates broader benefits for more people. This is the floor-area-ratio bonus.

Read the full article here. Continue Reading

November 11, 2020 Published by: The International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants (IIBEC) Interface

Moisture Absorption in Polystyrene Insulation: Effects on In-Service Design R-Values

Moisture absorption is a familiar concept. It is easy to understand moisture absorption mechanisms in polystyrene insulation. Unfortunately, some insulation-performance claims can be misleading when based on test results from a few field samples or extrapolations of long-term field performance from small-scale laboratory tests of limited duration and exposure. Ideally, engineers and specifiers would have access to peer-reviewed data from known scientific institutions to sort through the marketing claims. Sophisticated mathematical modeling is emerging to help predict polystyrene insulation performance in a range of climate conditions, but in the meantime, long-term field research studies are the best resource for reliable information. Download the PDF to read the full article. This article originally appeared in the November 2020 issue of IIBEC Interface. IIBEC Interface is the technical journal of the International Institute of Building Enclosure Consultants (IIBEC). The institute... Continue Reading
November 26, 2019 Published by: Architectural West

Garden Roof Benefits Patients at Pediatric Hospital in Palo Alto, California

Palo Alto, CA. (November 26, 2019) There are many reasons to incorporate a green or living roof into a design, including energy conservation, water management, and financial benefits. For one project in Palo Alto, California, the benefits of having a green roof transcended financial gains, and instead served a higher role.

The Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital (LPCH) at Stanford, originally constructed in 1991, is ranked as a top pediatric hospital in the nation and wins numerous healthcare awards year after year. A 2017 expansion opened a new 521,000 sq.ft. building and 3-1/2 acres of gardens and green space. There is overwhelming evidence that a connection to nature actively supports the healing process for patients, especially children. The LPCH recently incorporated healing, outdoor spaces into its new design, as well as outdoor patios at every level to bring the beauty of nature inside.... Continue Reading

November 11, 2019 Published by: Denis Gingras, National sales director of Hydrotech Membrane Corp.

Climate change and stormwater management

Climate change and stormwater management

A new color is emerging in the roofing field; after green roofs and white roofs, now here is the blue roof. The dense nature of urban areas, combined with the increased intensity of rain events and lack of at-grade green spaces, heavily taxes our municipal stormwater infrastructure. With increased risks of urban and overflow flooding would be expected outcomes of over-taxed sewers. To counter these costly scenarios, addressing water where it falls – at the rooftop – is increasingly being considered. It is very expensive to increase the capacity of our old and outdated infrastructure. Underground space is also crowded with different utilities in the public right-of-way; the use of this space is limited. Flat roof surfaces provide a vast untapped resource to increase the ability to capture rainfall.

The blue roof is designed to hold rainwater for a period of time, usually between 24 and 48 hours depending on the municipality’s... Continue Reading

May 2, 2019 Published by: Architectural Product - May 2019

No Chicago H20 Blues

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (May 2, 2019) Very near Lake Michigan in Chicago, Northwestern Medical Center faced several challenges in bringing a new campus building to life. Designed by Perkins+Will, the project involves a phased construction where a 14-story base building is presently under construction; a 20-story tower addition is planned for construction in five to 10 years. Since the project is built-out to all property lines there are no at-grade landscape areas, which presented a particular challenge given the city’s Dept. of Stormwater Management permit requirement that the project account the total building mass and footprint.

Read the full article here . Continue Reading

October 17, 2018

Hydrotech Announces New Fourth Edition Garden Roof Planning Guide

Hydrotech, a recognized leader in the vegetative roofing market, today announced the availability of the Fourth Edition of the company’s widely acclaimed Garden Roof® Planning Guide. For the last five years, updated print, online and app version of the complimentary resource have transformed more than 22 years of vegetative roof experience into an educational tool and resource for architects, facility management, building owners, installers and contractors on the latest technology, applications and benefits of vegetative roofs.

Click here for full press release announcement. Continue Reading

September 14, 2018

Hydrotech Membrane Corp. achieves ISO 9001:2015 Certification

Hydrotech is proud to have been awarded ISO 9001:2015 certification, an internationally recognized standard that ensures products and services meet the needs of clients through an effective quality management system.

Hydrotech Membrane Corporation's successful ISO 9001:2015 certification is testament to the positive engagement of our colleagues at all levels of the plant, and demonstrates a clear desire to embrace the standard as a fundamental element of its growth and customer focus strategies. The decision to work towards ISO 9001:2015 accreditation demonstrates Hydrotech's commitment to constant improvement of products, processes, procedures and systems in order to satisfy client’s needs. The ISO 9001:2015 standard demands a higher degree of leadership commitment than the previous standards and is underpinned by risk-based thinking.

Continue Reading

May 21, 2018

Hydrotech Announces New Protected Membrane Roof (PMR) Planning Guide

Hydrotech, a recognized leader in the development and distribution of premium waterproofing and roofing assemblies, today announced the availability of their Protected Membrane Roof (PMR) Planning Guide , a unique, new resource representing more than 50 years of proven assembly experience across the globe and 35+ years of Hydrotech’s industry knowledge. The guide strives to educate architects, engineers, general contractors and other design professionals on the key benefits of a protected membrane roof versus a conventional roof, the technology currently available and best practices for effective installations.

Click here for full press release announcement. Continue Reading

October 11, 2017

Hydrotech Expands Garden Roof® Assemblies with the InstaGreen® GT-4 Tray

ANJOU, QUEBEC (October 11, 2017) Hydrotech – a market leader in the development and distribution of premium waterproofing and roofing products and assemblies, today announced the introduction of the InstaGreen ® GT-4 pre-vegetated tray, an expansion of the InstaGreen ® product line within the Garden Roof ® portfolio of assemblies.

The GT-4 tray is one option for a stormwater management plan by providing valuable green space as a BMP on roofs to handle the first rains. It consolidates all growing media, drainage and vegetation in one convenient package for easy transport and installation by roofing professionals and landscape contractors. The tray is composed of 100% fully recycled content and features other key benefits such as:

300 mm x 600 mm high performance format can hold up to 100 mm of media for optimum plant growth Unique reservoir base design for increased water capacity and sustained plant growth in times of drought Perforated side walls to promote inter-tray... Continue Reading
October 1, 2017 Published by: Jean Garon - Voir Vert Magazine, Fall 2017

Creating “Green” hospitals; Quebec is seeing a “going green” movement emerging in the health care industry, as well as, creating environments centered around the public (French article)

Over the last ten years, enormous sums have been invested in the construction of modern university hospital centers and the renovation of existing establishments that have become obsolete. New institutions have a much more environmentally responsible profile by considering environmental impacts, social benefits, and economic sustainability throughout their life cycle. This is the case of the University of Montreal hospital (CHUM), the McGill University health center (CUSM) and the CHU Sainte-Justine, just to name a few. Continue Reading

April 3, 2017 Published by: Living Architecture Monitor

Update on Wind Standards

Wind data is a critical issue to consider when building a new structure. An increase in the number of green roofs on buildings has driven a need for new wind design standards to be written for vegetative roofing assemblies. Richard Hayden discusses what is being done to update the protocol that is in place to incorporate built-up (loose laid) vegetated roofing assemblies. Continue Reading

July 1, 2016 Published by: Magazine Voir Vert, été 2016

One category , three prizes at the Durabilys event of the CaGBC-Qc (French article)

Exceptional green roof price at the 2016 Durabilys event . This contest was designed to recognize and promote outstanding projects in 3 categories (residential, commercial/industrial and institutional).

Congratulations to Les Toits Vertige for installing 3 of the winning green roof projects.

The prize winner in the institutional category, the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium , includes the first GardNet growing media confinement system installation in Quebec. Continue Reading

Recent Press

  • November 26, 2019

    Palo Alto, CA. (November 26, 2019) There are many reasons to incorporate a green or living roof into a design, including energy conservation, water management, and financial benefits.  For one project in Palo Alto,...

  • November 11, 2019

    Climate change and stormwater management

    A new color is emerging in the roofing field; after green roofs and white roofs, now here is the blue roof. The dense nature of urban areas, combined with the increased intensity of rain events and...

  • May 2, 2019

    CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (May 2, 2019) Very near Lake Michigan in Chicago, Northwestern Medical Center faced several challenges in bringing a new campus building to life. Designed by Perkins+Will, the project involves...

  • October 17, 2018

    Hydrotech, a recognized leader in the vegetative roofing market, today announced the availability of the Fourth Edition of the company’s widely acclaimed Garden Roof® Planning Guide. For the last five years, updated...