SO – IL

Sunnyside Up . Sunnyside Garden

photos: SO – IL
Roofs are underused in New York City. Garden City Roofs, a startup company catering to a growing need for technical expertise and access to green roof systems, is converting the unused roof of a large industrial building into a showroom and knowledge-center for green roof systems. SO – IL has been asked to evaluate access, device an allotment system for the various roof systems and design a sales- and learning center. The factory building - once home to the production of typewriter ribbons and currently housing a gym and billiards hall - is located along the train tracks in Sunnyside Gardens, Queens under a la Guardia airstrip.

This project attempts to create an atmosphere and identity through the deployment of the natural in a rigorous geometric form. The objective is to maximize exposure to commuters by train and plane, while providing equal allotments for the various roof systems. Considering the dome as the inevitable typology of optimism, we propose a low-res dome to house the sales office. Its skin doubles as a showcase of materials that are either completely biodegradable or recyclable. Climate control is done ‘au naturel’ - through rain water, sunshine and vegetation.