Dave Williams and Jon Kinder hope to change the way people think about the grass you just can’t kill.

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Jon Kinder and Dave Williams, co-founders of Prairie Designs, love that stubborn little sprout erupting from its asphalt volcano, and they want many more just like them, only closer to the sky rather than buried in pavement. What most people try to kill or cover up in their own sidewalks and driveways is literally a living example of what the Texas Christian University Masters program graduates created to address environmental challenges plaguing building owners.

The two met three years ago through a professor who suggested the environmental science students might collaborate on a green roofing thesis. Witnessing how differently two types of native, hardy short grass ecosystems survived amid limestone gave them an idea. If they could fabricate a lighter limestone alternative a roof could support, and make sure it had plenty of grass-friendly gaps, they could slow the water flow across the roof and allow the plants to better absorb it, creating a more efficient green roof.

With the help of two TCU art professors, the pair designed a lightweight concrete hexagonal tile product that, when linked together, holds water in the thirsty soil and allows the hardy grasses to peek through. This allows a planting system to be established over wide areas of a building’s roof, insulating it without causing stress to that structure. As a result, it substantially reduces stormwater runoff, increases the roof’s lifespan, and cools a normally 180-degree rooftop up to 40 degrees, reducing energy usage for heating and cooling the building. The idea drew attention of the Botanical Institute of Texas, which included their ideas in its green roof project for the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.

Soon after graduation, Kinder and Williams went from being thesis partners to business partners, establishing their green roof consulting business in 2009. They both say that the mix of Williams’ business style with Kinder’s keen interest in nature is just the right mix to grow the company.

“I think we’re just different enough to be good partners,” says Williams. “It’s like in college when you find a good roommate that you don’t do everything with him all of the time but that you can still function with on a certain level. And that’s the way it’s actually worked out.”

Fort Worth-based Prairie Designs, which is also expanding its presence into Austin, specializes in advancing the state of green or “living” roofs for commercial clients. - mjm