32 Reclaimed Urban Rooftops

Whether it's a rooftop hotel, a garden, a community space, a pool or a concert arena, these innovations prove that a rooftop should never be wasted space.

In highly concentrated urban regions, where backyards, public parks, recreation facilities and other outdoor gathering areas are rare, rooftops are an extremely valuable commodity. With the green movement and the increasing value placed on rapidly disappearing natural space, this idea has come to the attention of the public and of building developers. It's no longer revolutionary to build a sustainable garden or a friendly communal area on top of a condo or apartment building. That's why these ideas take the concept one step further.

These innovations take the idea of rooftop space and utilize it in fresh, impressive ways. For example, a designer's collective in the Netherlands designed a series of rooftop hotel pods that transformed industrial structures into cozy, sustainable micro dwellings.