10 Modern Rooftops For Summer Relaxing and Entertaining
From a residential rooftop with several outdoor gardening spaces to a supportive housing building in the Bronx with a green roof, we've compiled 10 examples of relaxing rooftop designs that offer a scenic refuge.
A Roof For Gardening in Canada
On the lower roof, cedar decking and flower beds define one of several outdoor gardening spaces. Part of her ongoing research into the livability of cities, Fitzgerald aimed to create landscaped areas that were "aesthetic, aromatic, educational, and productive." The deck is bordered by an expanded aluminum mesh railing and black metal corrugated panels.
The hydroponic rooftop garden grows out of volcanic stones. The home is conceived as a giant C-shaped spiral.
![A Fermob table and chairs are on the rooftop terrace. "The weather is unpredictable, to say the least. You want to be outside but you don’t want to sit in the middle of a gale," says Duncanson. "But [at this house] you can always find a place that’s quiet."](https://images2.dwell.com/photos/6063391372700811264/6133453807486308352/original.jpg?auto=format&q=35&w=160)
A Fermob table and chairs are on the rooftop terrace. "The weather is unpredictable, to say the least. You want to be outside but you don’t want to sit in the middle of a gale," says Duncanson. "But [at this house] you can always find a place that’s quiet."
"We have all these different destinations," says Sardinas, a writer who works from her home office. "I’ll be working, get stuck on a passage, and take a break to go read outside." On the lower roof, red Vegetal chairs by Erwan and Ronan Bouroullec for Vitra provide moments for repose.
A rooftop oasis furthers the outdoor connection. It's planted with red fescue at the client's request for a wild and unmaintained look and an experience akin to "walking through a field."
The roof became the perfect location for their vegetable garden, as well as benches and a recreation space crowned by a hot tub powered by a four-kilowatt solar array.
"In this project, we got so much benefit out of this "secret garden" for the master suite along with all of these environmental benefits that the residents were excited to embrace. It's one of the pieces we are happiest about," says Feldman.
The Brook, a supportive housing building in the Bronx, occupies what had, for years, been a vacant lot. The green roof, pictured here, is one of a number of LEED-driven elements.
The roof deck is a place for entertaining, and offers scenic hillside views. During the design process, the team was challenged with preserving these views while adhering to the required 3.5-foot railing height mandated by building code, a height that would block all views while seated. As a solution, the team came up with open metal railings that would maintain safety while preserving the view.
Two Harry Bertoia-designed chairs sit on the main third-story deck, which includes a hidden green roof that absorbs rainwater, cools the upper floors, and purifies the air. "It’s a nice little oasis on the roof, with plants that bloom at different times of year. The owners love spending time up there," Dubbeldam says.
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