Studio Gang HQ

Studio Gang desired a native Illinois prairie atop the existing structure for their Chicago headquarters, but the building had only 22-psf available load capacity. Omni Infinity Media’s light weight and proven track record with biodiverse, native, seeded meadows was essential to creating this green roof. A late-season installation in 2015 necessitated seeding with a cold-hardy annual, and winter wheat yielded a bountiful grain harvest the next year. By 2017, the trees and native wildflowers were well-established and continue to flourish today. An annual BioBlitz has documented many habitat and biodiversity markers including over 60 native plant species, earning a Floristic Quality Index score of High Quality Natural Area on this 4,700-sf green roof. The Bur oaks have also fruited, perhaps producing the first roof-adapted acorns in history, and Studio Gang staff have transplanted seedlings growing beneath the trees to their home gardens.

Uses of Omni Infinity Media
Green Roof
Meadow

Key Takeaways
FQI score: High Quality Natural Area
Only 5”-deep growth media
The first-known rooftop wheat harvest

High Quality Natural Area on a roof

“With more than fifty species planted on top of a historic building, our mini prairie functions more as a thriving ecosystem than a green roof, creating food and habitat for birds, butterflies, insects, fungi, and now people.”
— Jeanne Gang, Studio Gang

Explore the Field Guide

Studio Gang hosts an annual Bioblitz to document the plants, birds, bats, insects, and microorganisms that visit their rooftop. The 2023 annual Bioblitz report shows that “We recorded 84 species of plants, 71% of which were native,” and concludes: “The rooftop prairie ecosystem is thriving. The plant community is mature and stable and is providing vital native habitat and food for local and migratory insects, birds and bats.”

Read the 2023 Bioblitz Report

first-of-its-kind rooftop wheat harvest

The Studio Gang rooftop yielded a healthy crop of amber waves the summer after its installation, and local students in an after-school program hand-harvested, threshed & winnowed the wheat. About 3,000 square feet of the green roof were harvested, producing 66 pounds of wheat. Professional millers ground the grain into 66 pounds of high-quality pastry flour, and a Chicago bakery baked it into cookies that the local students sold as a fundraiser. The initiative marked the first-known rooftop grain harvest and was publicly recognized by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel with a press conference and visit to Omni headquarters.

Wheat is an often-overlooked capability of green roof agriculture, despite it being a predominant crop for major civilizations through all of history. Traditionally, productive green roof systems focus on vegetable and herb production. This collaboration between Omni and Studio Gang illustrates the feasibility of green roof grain production and shows that at least 1 pound of wheat can be produced annually from every 50 sf of green roof area.