ROOF TOP ARCHITEC TURE

J O NAT H O N N O B LE

DESIG NING FOR UR BAN WASTED SPACE

Studio Instructors: Harry Eggink; AE Sonne Palmer; Walter Grondzik Project Advisor: Michael Gibson

Designing for our urban roofscapes demands a shift in current patterns of development in order to rede ne the physical and social structure of our built environments. Cities continue to sprawl out onto undeveloped land, wasting valuable resources on infrastructure necessary to support an automobilecentric lifestyle dependant on cheap oil and plentiful green elds. Rooftop architecture creates a new system of design and way of fabricating unique buildings that sustain and enhance the social and physical elements of a complex urban fabric.
THE PROJECT Cities su ering the consequences of sprawling development contain roofscapes that o er opportunities for thriving environments which can support new ways of living and working. Rooftop architecture creates a system of design and construction that addresses a very speci c and unique site. The site is a new street level elevated above the existing grid of the city, engaging the surrounding community through new functions and new lifestyles. What was once wasted as rain, sun, and wind hit the existing rooftop is now a valuable resource that is harnessed as rooftop architecture collects, absorbs, and reacts to the natural systems available. As cities are forced to densify because of increased oil prices and diminishing resources rooftop architecture will create a culture of sustainable living and development, that will contribute to a thriving urban rooftop culture. THE IDEA By 2050 there will be 392 million people in the United States. Population growth continues to be a concern for many cities around the world While places like India and China face more immediate concerns, America will soon reach levels of growth that it can no longer sustain unless current patterns of urbanization 138 and sprawl are recon gured. Between 1960 and 1990 the total population increased from 95 million to 140 million (47 percent), while urbanized land increased from 25,000 square miles to 51,000 square miles (107 percent) (Berger 2006, 19). Horizontal growth is not a solution to the population growth that will happen in the coming decades. Land is being developed at an alarming rate; between 1982 and 1992 the annual conversion rate of undeveloped land to developed land was 1.4 million acres per year (Berger 2007, 18). Sprawl is a product of low transportation costs, large amounts of open space and the relocation of industry and manufacturing out of the city core and to the peripheries. The ability of people to travel cheaply and privately to work, play, shop etc, has encouraged continued growth in the current pattern of horizontal landscapes and surfaces with a lack of medium or high density buildings. When we are unable to sustain this method of urbanization we will look to are developed land and re-use and repurpose existing surfaces for denser multi-use functions. Live/Work Structures that incorporate live/work theory have inherent problems pertaining to

circulation, structure and social perception. What is most commonly considered live/work is an artists loft with a mezzanine for a bedroom and a ground oor dedicated to working. However, in a more commercial setting with multiple employees this method is not relevant. Instead, a system described as live/near, where the living functions happen in a di erent part of the structure and the working function happens in a location that can have access to multiple employees and clients. Circulation within a live/ work complex is important to design in order to keep the inhabitants from feeling isolated from the larger community. Designing an exterior gathering space gives the people who live in the structure the opportunity to meet those who work but do not live in the structure. This project has 6 living units and a working space for up to 20 employees. In order to keep the structure from being secluded it was important to design for a larger working capacity so that people could still live o site and walk or ride transit to work, activating the structure from the street level. Urban Design Rooftop architecture can have a powerful impact at the urban scale, injecting new functions and ways of living into an environment that has previously been used for mechanical systems and the occasional roof terraces. As rooftop architecture penetrates the language of the roofscape, it will act as a catalyst describing a new norm for development. Neighborhoods trying to revitalize their community can use rooftop architecture as a way to bring new interest and new programs to the area. As rooftop architecture appears those with neighboring empty rooftops will recognize the new found potential in activating that wasted space and create a new street level that thrives within the existing grid of the city

Work Adaptive work environment with raised floor system. Capacity for 20 employees. Two story spaces with partial second level for recreation and dining. Access to smaller courtyard on south side from first level and access to large entrance courtyard from second level. LIVE Two story Prefabricated living unit with access at second level from main gathering courtyard. First and second level patios provide valuable open space and can be opened or closed with retracting shading devices for winter and summer conditions. CHICAGo, ILLINoIS
Sears T s owe r

Courtyard

FIrST LEVEL

Hancock

h h rtth N N N N No
J o n ath on Noble

139

Courtyard

SECoND LEVEL Work

Structure The existing building on the site was built in 1926 of masonry and timber construction and could not bear the load of a two story structure sitting directly on top of it. Part of the system of design and fabrication is developing a way to share the load of the new structure with the old. This project utilizes a space frame that is a fifteen foot modular square frame that aligns with the fifteen foot column bays of the existing structure. The two existing stairwells would be reinforced with steel and serve as two points that carry the load to the ground while two new columns, one on the front and one on the back, would carry the remainder of the load. The space frame then acts as a series of beams that cantilevers the living and working components over the edge of the existing building. The 76 module separating the existing roof from the bottom of the new structure carries the mechanical systems and plumbing systems that feed the rooftop structure while also providing a visual distinction between the old and the new. South facing glazing is shaded by overhanging balconies. The work space is wrapped with glass louvre system that allows personalized ventilation. Slits cut into the rigid insulated panels reect the horizontality of the louvers

140

J onat hon No b le

Fabrication As a way of designing and fabricating, rooftop architecture creates a system that applies a design methodology of structural relationship between units that can be plugged into the structure, and pieces that are applied to the structure. This gives the designer the control to internalize or externalize structure and mechanical functions of the building. The living units are prefabricated primarily out of lightweight steel structure, insulated rigid paneling and a thin concrete floor system for thermal heat gain. The unit is then lifted into place after construction of the space frame and plugged into mechanical equipment that is suspended within the space frame. The unitizing of the living spaces allows the structure and the mechanical systems to be externalized for ease of fabrication and installation. The work environment internalizes the structure by applying the skin of glass, louvers and rigid insulated wood and metal panels as a series of components that are also prefabricated and placed on the space frame.

The fteen foot lightweight steel space frame oats over the existing roof and is anchored at four points. Circulation, mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems are enclosed within the space frame to allow freedom in live/work units

LIVE

LIVE
J o n ath on Noble

Work

141

LIVE

Living Units The living units are two levels with floor to floor heights of 13 feet. Living spaces including dining, kitchen, living room, and storage spaces are located on the first level and allows access to a small balcony overlooking the city to the south. The second level is a loft layout with the bedroom and bathroom. The entry is also at the second level o of the courtyard and is separated from the bedroom by a sliding partition. The second level has access to a larger patio that gets shade from louvers in the summer. The roof structure of the living units are angled to harvest rain water and direct it back towards the central courtyard where a water tower stores it for later use. A thin extensive green roof that helps to insulate the units. Photovoltaic panels are incorporated into the roofscape as well. Clerestory lights on the south allow limited direct light into the space in the summer but allows winter light to penetrate deeper into the unit. The kitchen and bathroom are located to the back of the unit on the north side and are placed within the fifteen foot space frame structure that houses the mechanical and plumbing fixtures.

LIVE

LIVE

Limited interior lighting is needed because of the narrow space and large floor cuts that allow a single light to penetrate from the first to the second level, reducing energy demands.

SECTIoN N-S 142

J onat hon No b le

Working Unit The working environment is an open area with raised floor system allowing easy adaptability for young developing businesses. Facing east, the work space has views to a new two acre park and back toward downtown Chicago. The form that slides out and hangs over the edge of the existing building gives the experience of being on a rooftop and is suspended, creating an illusion of a floating structure from the ground level. The form also frames the view back toward the city from the central work area. The entrance to the work space is from the second level courtyard. The stairs are in line with the form leading you directly into the space that gives the rooftop experience.

Work

The fenestration on the east facade is glass louvers that allow individual control over the air circulation by the employees. The horizontality of the louvers is picked up in the punched openings of the rigid insulated structural panels with a bamboo interior finish and a corrugated steel exterior finish. The horizontal openings are crafted from a 76 grid and properly shade the southern light. The roof of the work space is an intensive green roof and is accessed through the central stair tower that has the vertical axis wind turbine at its peak.

Work

J o n ath on Noble

143

Reflections/Conclusions Rooftop architecture is a complex system of understanding the urban environment and applying a knowledge of spatial relationships and the interaction of structure and form. This design encompasses a technical answer to a demand for densifying a community and creates a new culture of rooftop dwelling that can extend onto the roofscape and act as a spark for a neighborhood that is in the process of revitalization.
144

Works Cited Berger, A. Drosscape: Wasting Land in Urban America. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2006.

J onat hon No b le

J o n ath on Noble

145