The Manhattan skyline provides some of the planet’s most dramatic and identifiable architectural icons, along with city dwellers using those exclusive viewpoints highlight them in any way possible. From 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 backyard escape that takes complete advantage of its prime location.
As well as turning out to the perspective, the metropolitan roof patio is a destination, a resting place and sometimes more about “turning inward and receiving the environment in lovely ways,” says Gaffney. Through a simple and tasteful homage to surrounding architectural perspectives, Tank Rooftop, as she calls it, creates a romantic and very New York rooftop encounter.
PLLC, Lynn Gaffney Architect
“My favourite feature is actually the roof terrace’s simplicity, which led to a complicated and thorough design process,” Gaffney says. “By relying upon only the timber slats of the trellises to specify the space and editing out extraneous extras, then the roof terrace has the poise and power needed to focus inward once you’re there. The city’s sometimes chaotic nature is blocked out, but perhaps not in a claustrophobic way. It genuinely is a relaxing encounter to relax and converse in this backyard.”
Before Photo
Lynn Gaffney Architect, PLLC
History, culture and the surrounding infrastructure affect layout in an urban environment — you can not really start from scratch — but this endeavor was pretty close to a blank slate. “It was a raw roof deck,” Gaffney says. Communal roof access existed, but the customers envisioned this patio as their piece of tranquil solitude, and wanted it to add solitude, sound reduction, enhanced natural light to the apartment, built-in seating and storage, framing of perspectives, cat safety, outdoor lighting, rooftop fauna, irrigation and drainage.
“Their job needs, which were clear and certainly a massive presence on the design from the beginning, thankfully had no preconceived aesthetic, and that really freed our work,” says Gaffney. The customers, both with professions in design style, were adept at visualizing the space and open to exploring creative avenues. Livable, operational solutions drove the job.
Lynn Gaffney Architect, PLLC
Surrounding water towers, native to many Chelsea roofs, fueled the aesthetic of their backyard. Through multiple iterations, Gaffney researched and deconstructed ways that the rustic beauty of the wrapped wooden planks could interpret into the deck and trellis.
PLLC, Lynn Gaffney Architect
Shadow and Light influenced board spacing, but maybe the most important factors in the design were the customers’ cats, Simon and Felix.
Gaffney ensured that no difference 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 currently Jenny) can securely frolic on the roof.
PLLC, Lynn Gaffney Architect
Rusted steel and responsibly chosen ipe wood harmonize in the arrangement. The steel posts and welded cantilevered steel members produce a gentle and soft curve from ground to roof.
The solitude is serene and permeable without producing a feeling of isolation. As the sun moves across the skies, patterns in the trellis play across the paving. The trellis promotes privacy whilst permitting natural light to easily penetrate, and supports rooftop vines and climbers.
Lynn Gaffney Architect, PLLC
The wood and steel were chosen for their resilience and durability, and they’ve already lasted the 90-mile-per-hour winds of hurricanes Sandy and Irene. “We dealt with endings that could weather well and need little or no maintenance,” says Gaffney. And while Gaffney designed supplemental acoustical obstacles for nearby industrial fans, the trellis itself proved sufficient in sound reduction.
She worked together with Andy Renfroe of Blue Sky Design for further structural assistance. The roof garden required enhanced structural support, so added beams were added to interior areas beneath.
PLLC, Lynn Gaffney Architect
The patio adds living space to the loft as well as increased natural light. The stair bulkhead, which connects the deck into your house, is completely glassed on its north- and south-facing walls and functions as an oversized skylight.
Lynn Gaffney Architect, PLLC
The bulkhead works in reverse at night, bringing artificial light in the apartment up to the deck. On a transparent night, moonlight streams into the apartment.
Lynn Gaffney Architect, PLLC
The crops were selected largely by the customers. This extended boxwood-filled planter behind the garden bench softens the space, adding textural and visual depth to the deck. A colorful Japanese walnut accents the planting.
Lynn Gaffney Architect, PLLC
Climbing hydrangeas and ivy weave throughout the trellis, adding shade, privacy and textural contrasts. Potted plants allow design and flexibility maneuverability.
Water drains between every concrete paver through a increased base system.
Lynn Gaffney Architect, PLLC
Using the roof as their backyard lab, the customers have appreciated the educational trial-and-error procedure for planting. They reside in one of the busier, nonresidential neighborhoods in New York, hence the surrounding bustle of the city is ever present. However, this garden gives an urban oasis in the shadows of surrounding water towers, industrial fans and also the metropolitan skyline.