Surrey Library

The Project

Surrey City Centre Library was developed as a central gathering place for a rapidly growing downtown community. The four-storey building uses sculptural concrete, extensive glazing, large open interior spaces and rooftop daylighting features to create its distinctive form.

The roof had to serve more than one purpose. In addition to protecting an actively used public facility, the assembly had to accommodate planted areas, drainage, rooftop features and long-term access while supporting the sustainability objectives of a LEED Gold project.

Roofing Delivery

The wider library development was delivered as a fast-track civic project under a compressed construction schedule. Our roofing scope formed part of a closely coordinated building-envelope, structural, mechanical and landscape effort.

The layered roof assembly created a waterproofing base beneath exposed and vegetated areas. Sloped insulation supports drainage, cover boards protect and stabilize the assembly, and the fully adhered TPO membrane provides the primary waterproofing layer. A TPO slip sheet separates the membrane from designated green-roof overburden areas.

The integrated leak-detection system adds another quality-control measure for a roof where planted areas can make future membrane access more involved than on a conventional exposed roof.

Why This Assembly Fits a Green-Roof Civic Building

A vegetated roof depends on the waterproofing assembly below it. The membrane must remain continuous around drains, penetrations, roof edges and changes in elevation, while protection and separation layers limit damage from the growing medium and landscape components above. A fully adhered TPO membrane creates a continuous waterproofing plane, and the TPO slip sheet helps separate that membrane from designated overburden areas.

Sloped EPS insulation establishes drainage before the planting layers are installed. Cover boards create a stable substrate and protect the insulation and vapour-control layers during construction. The integrated leak-detection system is also valuable where planted areas can make future membrane access more involved than on an exposed conventional roof.

Green roofs can capture rainfall, moderate rooftop temperature swings and add planted space to dense civic sites. Exposed white TPO areas complement that strategy by reflecting more solar energy than darker surfaces, while the complete roof assembly supports the building's broader sustainability goals.

Supporting the Sustainability Strategy

The Canada Green Building Council reports that approximately 39% of the library roof was planted with sedum. The vegetated areas capture rainfall and contributed to the building's broader sustainability strategy. High-reflectance white roofing on exposed areas was also used to reduce heat-island effects.

The roofing system was one part of a wider building program that earned LEED Gold certification. Other published measures included water-use reduction, construction-waste diversion, low-emitting interior materials, efficient lighting and proximity to public transit.