The Fifth Elevation: Rethinking the Roofscape.

THAMES HOUSE, LONDON

“You may not be familiar with the term “fifth elevation” – it’s what architects sometimes call the roof, although this elevation is rarely seen from the street level below. All too often the roof is where designers try to hide such paraphernalia as air conditioning plant, water tanks, solar panels and the like whilst the additional clutter of TV aerials and telecoms masts etc can soon blight a building or even a whole neighbourhood.

But is it time for a rethink? With increasingly higher density urban regeneration and “from the air” perspectives the value of the roofscape has never been higher.

What The Fifth Elevation Can Offer

The rooftop offers a wonderful opportunity for placemaking for architects and homeowners alike, providing an elevated sense of perspective that places you apart from the rhythm of the city while immersed in a uniquely made topography. The outlook can be dramatic, the air more breathable while also providing much needed and often little utilised flexible outdoor living space that can enrich quality of life and forge a restful connection with the outdoors. Throw in biodiversity net gain benefits from enriched flora and fauna and the case for the fifth elevation becomes even more compelling.

But the benefits don’t stop there. Everyone wants a view and internal floorspace is invariably more valuable the higher you step out the lift so there are real commercial benefits in designing out a silhouette of pipes, boxes and masts and designing in a rooftop landscape where nature meets the big blue sky.

Here, starting with a couple of projects I led in my past life, we explore different ways to make use of the fifth elevation.

Petronas Centro R+D in Turin

A 24/7 workplace at technology’s cutting edge, here we introduced a connecting roof terrace between the centrally positioned restaurant and the conferencing suite where the drama of an Alpine backdrop helps create an inspirational place to work, rest or dine throughout the day and into the evening. Populated with accent furniture and impact planting Petronas have created a super cool flexible destination for staff from across the campus to feel relaxed, inspired, valued, and motivated.

PETRONAS CENTRE R+D, TURIN

Cowley Barracks

Cowley Barracks, for Unite Students and Oxford Brookes University is a best in class student village arranged around two green “Oxford Quads” and a central parade. Home to 800+ of the UKs brightest young adults the development includes a wide range of shared internal and external spaces including a 6th storey south facing roof top study terrace overlooking a golf course and the City edge with its famous spires in clear view. This visually connects the study terrace with the seat of learing and crowns the top of the “Keep” a new local landmark referencing the sites military heritage.

GPV Urban House

GPV Urban House for Berkeley St Edward Homes is an innovative solution to higher density family housing where the 3rd floor roof top is the garden optimising high value urban land. These homes have proven to be a popular alternative to purchasers of all background for whom the traditional binary offer of flat or house and garden do not meet their needs or aspirations.

Farnham Sidings

A small development of seven urban town houses arranged with south facing living spaces orientated away from the railway. Here, the traditional ground level garden is not an ideal option due to the proximity to the tracks, so we have instead introduced 2nd floor roof gardens to provide a safe protected outdoor family space away from the intrusive railway activity. Due to the sites banked topography these roof gardens are at the same height as neighbouring back gardens, encouraging social interaction.

FARNHAM SIDINGS

Brewery Wharf Devizes

Brewery Wharf Devizes is a new urban quarter for a popular regional market town. Here a mix of flats, houses and urban houses offer a wide range of homes to suit all generations and pockets. Integral to the design concept is how we use the roof scape not only to provide safe, useable outdoor spaces but to add character and identity to placemaking. Here, the urban apartments feature dramatic monopitch roofs with roof terraces which reference the sites industrial heritage whilst the family houses all have dual pitched roofs. Orientation is designed to optimise south facing PV panels which can either be built in or retrofitted without spoiling the aesthetic appearance of the development. Sited alongside retained listed brewery buildings the development has a distinctive silhouette against the sky and a cohesive overall character. A small number of urban town houses with 3rd floor roof gardens offer an extended range of house types located with elevated views over the canal side and far reaching views over the surrounding countryside.

BREWERY WHARF, DEVIZES

Frilsham Quarry

Frilsham Quarry is a “Paragraph 84” development of two exceptional dwellings in a disused lime quarry the Berkshire countryside. To satisfy very challenging NPPF planning criteria the designs are of outstanding quality and sensitive to the setting. To reduce building mass and to enable an articulated fragmented roofscape the dwellings are “inverted” with kitchen, dining and living spaces above the bedrooms, guest accommodation, gym and home cinema which allows each home to enjoy both a private enclosed garden and an elevated roof terrace designed as an outdoor extension of the living space. The silhouette is inspired by the form – and helps tell the story – of the old lime hoppers, remains of which still can be found in amongst the rubble on the site.

FRILSHAM QUARRY, BERKSHIRE

Thames House, London

A retrofit upward extension to create much needed new homes over an existing repurposed office building. This scheme offers a highly sustainable solution to the housing crisis conceived to be delivered quickly using modern methods of construction. A key benefit of our design is the inclusion of a tiered roofscape with communal green spaces which will help support Thames House residents. Enhanced feelings of safety, security and wellbeing along with social interaction are all part of designing for community, but the wider benefits go beyond the future residents with significant biodiversity gains and an attractive green roofscape clearly visible from adjacent properties to enhance the wider neighborhood.

RH Hotel, London

RH Hotel, London. Our brief with this landmark listed building is to explore how to secure additional development value with new guest rooms whilst enabling the removal of unsightly telecoms apparatus and air conditioning plant which blight the listed host building buildings. Our assessment was that up to two additional guest room floors could be accommodated to the rear whilst towards the front we proposed a discretely set back 360-degree skybar and fine dining restaurant with views across the city and the River Thames. 360@RH would be open and accessible both to guests and visitors who can enjoy a uniquely relaxing experience accessible to but detached from the bustle of city life.

 

RH HOTEL, LONDON

So, whether new build or repurposing an existing building, whether housing or flats, hospitality or education, city or countryside, rethinking the fifth elevation offers untapped scope for sustainable placemaking which not only delivers lifestyle benefits, but delivers demonstrable added value to house builders, hoteliers, educators and employers in a time when connecting with nature has never been more important.”

David Anderson

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