Rooftop Parkway
2022 Urban Design Academic
A connected public roofscape grows across East Harlem through agreements among different property owners.
- Year
- 2022
- Location
- East Harlem, New York, New York
- Typology
- Urban Design
- Discipline
- Architecture
- Status
- Academic
- Institution
- Yale School of Architecture
- Contribution
- Collaborative design with Kevin Wong; ownership-scenario isometric by Rogers and model made collaboratively.
- Collaborators
- Kevin Wong
- Advisors
- Critic: Aniket Shahane
Rooftop Parkway proposes a public realm above East Harlem’s streets, using underused roofs and vacant lots as parts of a connected landscape. The study begins with the ownership patterns of two blocks and considers how private owners, developers, religious institutions, and the city might participate over time. Rather than relying on a single act of assembly, the proposal tests scenarios with different combinations of owners.
At street level, architectural interfaces provide routes upward and space for maintenance. The rooftop designs respond to their respective owners and programs while contributing to a larger public network. Calvin Rogers developed the project with Kevin Wong; the portfolio identifies an ownership-scenario isometric drawn by Rogers and a model made collaboratively.