A roof terrace brings nature to an urban terrain, forging relationships with surrounding high-rise buildings.

The concept by NY landscape architect of informal penthouse garden deck that a few friends getting together at a Hamptons beach cottage with a few beers, building a deck, plywood planters and indigenous plantings was built by New York Plantings Garden Designers and Landscape contractors NYC. This Greenroof fusion rooftop deck and garden combine the traditional planters typical of any roof or terrace garden with a green roof style real sod lawn in the center. This Brooklyn roof garden utilizing environmentally responsible materials such as custom milled black locust decking from nearby Long Island. This user friendly, low maintenance green space provides a perfect get away from the busy streets below. The carpentry design is rugged and tidy with concrete roof tiles to create a very nice effect and contrast different areas. The main feature being a small hillock in the center of the space is a great place to gather on the lawn with friends and family. The homeowner plans to watch movies projected on the side of the building while lounging on her private lawn late at night high above the city.

Illuminated funky dining area http://harpurgardenimages.com/index.aspx

The furniture is of oak with large cushions covered in outdoor fabric and red piping.

A roof terrace brings nature to an urban terrain, forging relationships with surrounding high-rise buildings.

A contemporary roof terrace designed to be a place to entertain and relax. Planted with predominately evergreen plants to give year-round structure, texture and privacy. Powder-coated steel planters were made in differing shapes, heights and colours to give more interest, and reflect the light. Some planters were placed on wheeled bases so that they could be moved around for large parties! The planting was also wind tolerant with a flowing colour pallet of lilac and white. We installed an irrigation system to water the plants and shots of colour came from cushions (outdoor fabric) and ethnic floor cushions. High quality outdoor lighting gave the space atmosphere with additional hanging lanterns used with large candles.

Pour des amis architectes qui ont rénové cette maison à Antony, Djuric et Tardio, j'ai réalisé les plantations de la terrasse bois avec des graminées et des courges escaladant la pergola...

NYC Living Wall 20' Wide x 16' Ht. with Outdoor Kitchen / Wet Bar

This garden takes advantage of the chimney tops and attics spaces of the urban landscape of the Back Bay- we refer to it as "Mary-Poppinsville". Split in to two areas- seating and dinning/cooking. shrubs, perennials, annuals, and edibles including: herbs, tomatoes, The client is a gourmet chef and uses the foods in his cooking. With limited space, the most popular edible plants that clients ask for are tomatoes and herbs because the herbs can be used in daily cooking and theres nothing to compare to the homegrown tomato. Where space is generous, we also plant blueberries strawberries, raspberries, lettuces, peppers.

An exciting commission to transform an exposed, unloved roof terrace in West London. The site benefits from wonderful views across Kensington, but is open to the elements, in poor repair and has a large lightwell void and roof hatch taking up much of the available space. The brief was to create a flexible space for daytime enjoyment and evening entertainment. There needed to be areas of full shade and opportunity to lie in the sun. Planning requirements meant that there would be fixed height restrictions, so some innovative thinking was required. As this wasn’t a primary residence, the roof terrace needed to be ‘lock up and leave’. There would also be various services coming up through the roof, which needed to be subtly incorporated (and hidden!) in the design. Given the exposure, the heat and pollution in London (in particular in summer months when the roof terrace would be used), the famous Paradise Gardens of Persia and Spain came immediately to mind. These were gardens for pleasure and respite from the heat and dust of the day. Key features included trees, water, a symmetrical layout, scented plants and intricate detailing. The boundaries of these spaces were also well defined, typically surrounded by high walls. In design terms, when designing a constricted space, it is important not to downscale elements. And on a site like this with exposure on all sides, we were keen to make things more generous in scale than usual in a garden. Upscaling like this works especially well when elements are arranged in a symmetrical pattern. For someone entering the roof terrace, the effect is of a space that is larger than it is. We began by placing a water feature over the lightwell void. The base of the water feature would be glass, allowing light to fall down through the building. Four inlaid bronze strips run from the bronze surround across the roof terrace, framing the large dining table and inset seating. They help define the space, as a rug would do in a sitting room. Bronze planters wrap around the roof terrace, mostly planted with scented perennials and climbers, but with some areas where services can be hidden. A large L-shaped sofa is placed in the SE corner. Shade is provided by telescoping legs in both the sofa and dining table that can be raised and allow a canopies to be clipped on. The roof is accessed by a new glazed hatch, which is operated electronically. The design is enhanced by subtle lighting, devised by Nulty Design Consultants who have been responsible for the Ned Hotel amongst many other projects. Lead (night-time) visual shown here reproduced with Nulty’s permission. As a further consideration, the use of splashing water and evergreen planting is designed to help remove poisonous particulates from the air.

Roof garden, planting

Fine House Studio

original image www.oiphoto.co.uk/

This custom planting design incorporated seasonal annuals into a succession of perennial plants, shrubs, and flowering plants to create multiple seasons of delight! Building upon the amazing work by Chicago Roof Deck + Garden, our team designed and installed a custom planting design for our client. Design intent incorporated seasonality to the progression from Spring, Summer, Fall, and into Winter, into an incredibly compact area.

The planted roof garden adds beautiful foliage and privacy to the master suite. Photography: Brian Mahany