Basic Requirements

During the late morning to afternoon hours, the sunlight beating down on the rooftop becomes too intense to stay for long—especially for gardeners who work outdoors all day or for those coming up for exercise who simply need a place to rest and catch their breath. This small project was born from that need:
“A shaded area for resting and connecting with nature atop the Green Roof Urban Farm.”

Design Concept

The design draws inspiration from the existing landscape architectural elements.
The roof adopts the elliptical shapes and curves found in the original multipurpose rooftop design, transforming them into a canopy that provides shade.
The columns and rafters take cues from the building’s perimeter guardrails, creating a lightweight, airy structure that allows natural breezes to flow through, particularly on windy days.
The open design, free from walls and without excessive height, minimizes wind resistance, ensuring comfortable use throughout the day.

Key Structural Features

Prefabricated System:
The structure is prepared as prefabricated components to enable quick installation. Due to the limited working space on-site, it is impractical to transport large quantities of materials directly to the rooftop.
Instead, components are pre-assembled offsite and transported piece by piece for final assembly and finishing onsite.

Material and Construction Innovation:
This project explores the use of bamboo poles (no larger than 3 inches in diameter) as the primary material—chosen for their durability, beauty, availability, and high strength-to-weight ratio, which suits the rooftop’s load capacity.
In areas requiring additional strength, steel reinforcements are discreetly integrated to maximize bamboo’s performance.

Layered Bamboo Roofing:
The roof features a layered overlapping bamboo split system, selected to optimize material usage and budget without sacrificing aesthetics or user needs.
Additionally, waterproofing membranes are inserted between bamboo layers to enhance water resistance and prolong the structure’s lifespan.

Additional Notes on the Team’s Background

Our deep familiarity with bamboo began during our architectural studies.
Over a semester, we immersed ourselves in everything bamboo—from understanding species, preservation, and design theory,
to hands-on material experience such as bending, tying, and drilling.

We created models and built full-scale structures for final projects, living closely with the material.
This was not just technical learning—it was a way of living with bamboo.

The Living Rooftop project rekindled those experiences, this time not as students,
but as designers and builders with full responsibility.

It is a small, temporary shelter for rooftop gardening staff, facing challenges of limited space, strict timelines, tight budgets, and limited manpower.

Ultimately, the structure emerged as a simple, lightweight, and breathable design,
harmonizing with the existing architecture.

It stands not just as a temporary shelter,
but as a testament to working with nature with respect—
and a continuation of our understanding of a material we once lived so closely with.