A former automotive shop with uninsulated brick exterior and painted CMU interior walls built in the 1980’s when insulation was seen as unnecessary and excessive mechanical heating and cooling were the norm, True Nature Foods is a prototype green upfit on a shoestring-budget.


The Rooftop Victory Garden by the nonprofit Urban Habitat Chicago will help stabilize heat loss, reduce the heat island effect and stormwater runoff, and best of all, provide a local habitat for birds and insects, and best of... produce food for a neighborhood co-op. Named after the former use of the site as a ‘victory garden’ during the World Wars, this project received a small grant from the City of Chicago Department on the Environment toward realization of the vegetated roof, and has become a ‘poster project’ of sorts for the grant program.

Species planted in fall 2006 include buckwheat, burdock, comfrey, Jerusalem artichoke, and artichoke, which were selected for their ability to provide food, fuel, fiber, encourage human health, and help build healthy soil. Species planned for spring and summer 2007 will include herbs such as mints, rosemary, oregano; tomatoes, potatoes, beans, and squash.

Other sustainable design strategies for future phases (for which funding sources are still being sought) include south-facing trellises with vines trained from the roof garden for shading during summer, solar curtains for alternately rejecting and absorbing sunlight, vegetated thermal mass benches for moderation of temperature swings, custom-made solar heaters for collection of radiant energy, and exterior raised planters, and most importantly... stairs and an observation platform to make it easier for visitors to view the rooftop garden, harvest crops, and provide a roof over the adjacent community paper and cardboard recycling center.


Landscape/biological consultant: Mike Repkin, Michael Repkin Designs; Architectural consultant: Dave Hampton, Echo Studio; Structural engineering consultant: Louis Shell, Louis Shell Structures

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