The Shake Shack in Madison Square Park sports an ivy-covered roof

It’s fast food, but really good fast food, and it helps preserve an urban park. Shake Shack donates a portion of every purchase to The Madison Square Park Conservancy. Financed and constructed in less than a year for $750,000 by the Conservancy, the zinc-clad, ivy-covered “green” building was designed by architect James Wines of SITE Environmental Design, built by Kullman Industries, and operated by the Union Square Hospitality Group.

A large shade trellis, overgrown with English ivy, covers the inclined roof and the entire back wall of the five hundred sq. ft. building.  According the building’s architects, the general intention of the design was to provide a food kiosk for Madison Square Park that becomes in itself a miniature garden.

Photo by Robin Plaskoff Horton

In a continuing effort to lessen their carbon footprint, Shake Shack’s Upper West Side location has made a commitment to going green. They offset 100% of their electricity by purchasing wind-power credits from carbonfund.org, practice on-site composting of all organic materials, and recycle their cooking oil into bio-diesel fuel.

They chose sustainable materials when designing this location: walls of Versaroc wainscot (a cement bonded wood fiberboard); wheatboard tabletops and trash receptacles; ceiling tiles made of Tectum (a renewable wood); LED low voltage fixtures for exterior lighting which help reduce energy consumption by 80%; as well as a green wall, created from a modular unit and pre-grown system, that will remain in bloom year-round.