Picture this – Melbourne’s city rooftops covered in lush greenery.

It may sound fanciful, but a new project launched last week by the City of Melbourne is hoping to green our buildings and houses for good.

Plants on balconies and rooftops are increasingly popular. Photo: Shannon Reddaway

The Growing Green Guide for Melbourne was fittingly presented on the rooftop garden of the council’s CH2 building, and will be produced by the Inner Melbourne Action Plan (IMAP) comprising the 4 inner city councils – Melbourne, Yarra, Stonnington and Port Phillip – as well as the University of Melbourne.

The project will comprise a ’how to’ handbook guide on constructing a green roof or wall, and help people consider all the aspects they need to cover before transforming these spaces into vegetated, leafy habitats.

It will also identify prime sites for the future development of green roofs, walls and façades in inner Melbourne, says The University of Melbourne’s senior lecturer, John Rayner.

Artist Stephen Mushin depicts his view of a flower farm atop a Swanston Street building.

“While the criteria for this has yet to be determined, it will most likely identify sites determined in terms of environmental outcomes, such as a reduction in storm water flows, sites with a high public focus or with minimal planning and heritage issues.”

Cr John Chandler, the mayor of Stonnington and an architect, also launched a series of fact sheets on behalf of IMAP, to help building designers meet sustainability requirements during the planning stage of all development and extension designs.

“I am very much looking forward to this. It’s good for residential, good for design and good for the environment,” he said.

A childcare centre green roof in the Docklands.

The Growing Green Guide handbook will be published in December next year, while the fact sheets can be downloaded from each council’s web site now.

The project is funded through the Victorian Government’s Sustainability Fund under the Victorian Local Sustainability Award.

A green façade in the Melbourne CBD.

Hero image: a computer generated image of city buildings with green roofs.