The above photographic examples (part of a collection from Oobject) are all more-or-less
accessible to the public, from the extensive wrap-around roof garden paths of the
Waldspirale (literally: ‘Forest Spiral’) apartment complex in Germany to the green roof of
the convention center visible from anywhere in Vancouver, Canada and waterfront sculpture
park in Seattle open during museum hours.
Other green roofs are like urban backyards in the only available space – on top of an
existing building. A relatively intensive (meaning: one meant to support the weight of heavy
plants or even trees) green roof such as the one in the photo above usually involves a
structural retrofit to support it. It is not cheap but the results can be beautiful.
Everyone knows that deck and patio space comes at a premium in the city – particularly lush
rooftop garden areas, such as the uncanny overgrown green roof in New York City shown in the
image above. Though some of the best such green urban spaces are cut off to most of us,
other great designs are only semi-private or entirely public.
More conventional public and private green rooftop deck designs attached to hotels and other
downtown structures tend to be well-organized and heavily manicured, a kind of idealized
oasis above the pulsing urban flow on the streets below. As more and more people think about
the sustainable benefits of eco-friendly roofs, however, this more formal expression is
increasingly becoming a thing of the past.
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