Landscape Design
Top Ideabooks
- How to Turn a Side Yard Into a Glorious Garden Room
- How Low Can Hedges Go? Discover Unusual Garden Borders
- 5 Essential Considerations for a Landscape Design Project
- See 6 Homes That Rise to the Rural Landscape
- Take Your Garden on a Rural Route With Plant-Dominant Designs
- 8 Outdoor Playspace Ideas to Nurture Kids' Imaginations
Small Gardens
Top Ideabooks
- Step Up Your Garden Game With Terraced Plantings
- Discover an Intimate Garden Nestled on a Manhattan Rooftop
- 5 Container Gardens for the Holidays and Beyond
- 9 Fresh Herbs for Crowd-Pleasing Thanksgiving Dishes
- Weirdly Wonderful Planters Give Stuffy Style the Boot
- 8 Knockout Flowers for a Fall Container Garden
Urban Gardens
Top Ideabooks
Discover an Intimate Garden Nestled on a Manhattan Rooftop
As rare as a taxi on a rainy day, this New York City escape balances privacy with a gentle embrace of city sights
Houzz Editorial Staff
Houzz Editorial Staff More »
| Share: |
|
The Manhattan skyline offers some of the world’s most dramatic and recognizable architectural icons, and city dwellers with access to those exclusive views highlight them in any way possible. In the shadow of the Empire State Building, architect Lynn Gaffney transformed the 500-square-foot roof of a loft in the Chelsea neighborhood into a garden escape that takes full advantage of its prime location.
As well as turning out to the view, the urban roof terrace is a destination, a resting place and sometimes more about “turning inward and receiving the surroundings in lovely ways,” says Gaffney. Through a simple and elegant homage to surrounding architectural views, Tank Rooftop, as she calls it, creates an intimate and very New York rooftop experience.
As well as turning out to the view, the urban roof terrace is a destination, a resting place and sometimes more about “turning inward and receiving the surroundings in lovely ways,” says Gaffney. Through a simple and elegant homage to surrounding architectural views, Tank Rooftop, as she calls it, creates an intimate and very New York rooftop experience.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| “My favorite feature is actually the roof terrace’s simplicity, which resulted from a complex and thorough design process,” Gaffney says. “By relying on only the wood slats of the trellises to define the space and editing out extraneous extras, the roof terrace has the poise and strength needed to comfortably focus inward when you’re there. The city’s sometimes chaotic nature is blocked out, but not in a claustrophobic way. It truly is a tranquil experience to relax and converse in this garden.” |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| History, culture and the surrounding infrastructure influence design in an urban environment — you can’t really start from scratch — but this project was pretty close to a blank slate. “It was a raw roof deck,” Gaffney says. Communal roof access existed, but the clients envisioned this terrace as their slice of serene solitude, and wanted it to include privacy, sound reduction, increased natural light to the apartment, built-in seating and storage, framing of views, cat safety, outdoor lighting, rooftop fauna, drainage and irrigation. “Their project demands, which were clear and certainly a large presence on the design from the beginning, thankfully had no preconceived aesthetic, and this really freed up our work,” says Gaffney. The clients, both with careers in theatrical design, were adept at visualizing the space and open to exploring creative avenues. Livable, functional solutions drove the project. |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Surrounding water towers, indigenous to many Chelsea roofs, fueled the aesthetic of the garden. Through multiple iterations, Gaffney explored and deconstructed ways that the rustic beauty of the wrapped wooden planks could translate to the deck and trellis.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Light and shadow influenced board spacing, but perhaps the most important considerations in the design were the clients’ cats, Simon and Felix.
Gaffney ensured that no gap between planks spanned wider than the diameter of the cats’ heads, also prohibiting them from climbing the walls. And while Felix is no longer with us, Simon (and now Jenny) can safely frolic on the roof.
Gaffney ensured that no gap between planks spanned wider than the diameter of the cats’ heads, also prohibiting them from climbing the walls. And while Felix is no longer with us, Simon (and now Jenny) can safely frolic on the roof.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Rusted steel and responsibly harvested ipe wood harmonize in the structure. The steel posts and welded cantilevered steel members create a soft and gentle curve from floor to roof. The privacy is serene and permeable without creating a feeling of isolation. As the sun moves across the sky, patterns from the trellis play across the paving. The trellis promotes privacy while allowing natural light to easily penetrate, and supports rooftop vines and climbers. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| The steel and wood were selected for their resilience and durability, and they've already sustained the 90-mile-per-hour winds of hurricanes Sandy and Irene. “We dealt with finishes that would weather well and require little or no maintenance,” says Gaffney. And while Gaffney designed supplemental acoustical barriers for nearby industrial fans, the trellis itself proved sufficient in noise reduction. She worked with Andy Renfroe of Blue Sky Design for additional structural assistance. The roof garden required increased structural support, so additional beams were added to interior spaces below. |
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| The terrace adds living space to the loft as well as increased natural light. The stair bulkhead, which connects the deck to the residence, is fully glassed on its north- and south-facing walls and acts as an oversize skylight. |
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
The bulkhead works in reverse at night, bringing artificial light from the apartment up to the deck. On a clear night, moonlight streams into the apartment.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
The plants were chosen primarily by the clients. This long boxwood-filled planter behind the garden bench softens the space, adding textural and visual depth to the deck. A colorful Japanese maple accents the planting.
Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
Climbing hydrangeas and ivy weave through the trellis, adding shade, privacy and textural contrasts. Potted plants allow flexibility and design maneuverability.
Water drains between each concrete paver through a raised pedestal system.
Water drains between each concrete paver through a raised pedestal system.
| Like it? Save it to your Ideabook »
|
| Using the roof as their garden laboratory, the clients have enjoyed the educational trial-and-error process of planting. They live in one of the busier, nonresidential neighborhoods in New York, so the surrounding bustle of the city is ever present. But this garden provides an urban oasis in the shadows of surrounding water towers, industrial fans and the urban skyline. |
Ideabook published on Jan. 22, 2013.
Latest Ideabooks
People found the photos in this ideabook after searching for:
View over a million photos:
Find Local Pros by Category:
Architects & Designers · Interior Designers & Decorators · General Contractors · Home Media Design & Installation · Landscape Architects & Designers · Kitchen & Bath Designers · Design-build Firms · Closet & Home Storage Designers · Carpet and Flooring · Fireplaces · Tile, Stone & Countertops · Specialty Contractors · Landscape Contractors
Find Local Pros by Metro Area:
Atlanta · Austin · Baltimore · Boston · Chicago · Dallas · Dc Metro · Denver · Detroit · Hawaii · Houston · Las Vegas · Los Angeles · Miami · Minneapolis · Nashville · New Orleans · New York · Philadelphia · Phoenix · Portland · Salt Lake City · San Diego · San Francisco · Seattle · St Louis
Our cat is too adventurous - he'd climb those slats immediately and I'd get a heart attack. lol
RollingPlanter ( http://www.rollingplanter.com )
On Houzz: http://www.houzz.com/pro/rollingplanter
See more -> http://custm.co/hz/131