To make our cities more resilient to water-related challenges, such as floods and droughts, we need to rethink how we manage
stormwater. One way to do this is to use blue-green infrastructure, which mimics natural processes and enhances biodiversity.
These are solutions that use plants, soil, water and other natural elements to capture, store and reuse rainwater where it
falls, instead of sending it to the sewers.
Our goal is to design and test sustainable blue-green infrastructure that can reduce sewer overflows and increase water availability.
We focus on green roofs and water retention features, which we study in the lab and in the field.
We also measure how these solutions affect the microclimate and the energy balance of the urban environment. We use experimental
and modeling methods to understand how water and energy move between the soil, plants and the atmosphere in built environment.
We explore the potential of using recycled materials for green roofs. We experiment with irrigating blue-green infrastructure
with reclaimed water.
