Terrace roof top and balcony gardens

Creating a personal outdoor living space on your rooftop, terrace or balcony provides a place to go outdoors for welcome relief from the hustle of high density urban living. Good design can bring precious additional living space to small condos and apartments. These landscapes are different from anywhere else because they are elevated, from a few feet to many stories above the earth. They are also on-structure, which necessitates many unique requirements to ensure you project is buildable, visually appealing and supportive of green plants.

The view from a rooftop living space is your most valuable amenity, so all design decisions must preserve and maximize it. Solving practical problems must be done in a way that does not diminish the view. For example, changing a solid wall to a transparent wrought iron railing can greatly enhance the view, and borrow space to make your project seem larger. But if there's an eyesore, replacing a transparent rail with a solid wall may be the perfect solution for retaining the view while screening this undesirable segment.

Often balconies are constructed to serve many units, not just yours. To create a private space for relaxation, screening off your neighbors can be paramount. Keep in mind that all solid partitions will influence air movement. This may be a good thing if you have problem wind from that direction, or it can be undesirable in summer when the partition creates stagnant air. This is why partitions are most often made of open material such as lattice or metal grids enhanced with vines. When considering privacy, be aware of your standing privacy needs as well as those when you're sitting down. Discuss this with your designer to find the least imposing solution for privacy while maintaining air movement and view so you don't end up with a potentially claustrophobic space.