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Urban environments

Imagine a future whereby all our houses dissolved into their surroundings to become one with the landscapes; the very notion of 'indoor' and 'outdoor' became archaic. Boundaries between our private domains and the natural world are being dissolved by such tactics. The infinity pool, open kitchen, and big gardens that are increasingly cropping up are strategies toward changing spatial dynamics, not modern design trends. They're not just design trends, but a turning away from the edges to nourish an environment where outdoors and indoors bleed into one another. How then do we harness this power of change so our living spaces have a possibility of becoming playgrounds of perfect harmony and sophisticated elegance?

Apart from private villas and palaces, let us make it a reality for an average individual who wants to connect with nature from one's 17th-floor apartment.

Designing the green balcony in such a way that creates the illusion of seamlessness in high-rise buildings is greatly possible. Incorporation of lush green balconies and vertical gardens into the facade not only provides visual continuity with nature but also acts as a buffer against noise and pollution. This is achievable using many plants with different aspects—from climbers and shrubs to small trees—with great support by planters and trellises. The layered planting could be an effective sound and visual barrier, with taller plants at the outer edge of the balcony to block views and noise and medium and low plants closer to the building to enhance the green effect.

Extending greenery to the rooftop with a mix of lawns, flower beds, and seating areas can create a continuous green canopy that blends the building with the sky. Using natural materials and colors like wood and stone in both balcony and interior design maintains a cohesive look and mimics the outdoors. Additionally, incorporating plants and materials with sound-absorbing properties, such as thick hedges or acoustic panels disguised as green walls, can help reduce noise pollution. These strategies create an illusion of seamlessness in high-rise buildings, making indoor spaces feel more connected to nature while providing practical benefits like noise reduction and improved air quality.

"To create a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor spaces, materials, textures, tones, and shapes must connect and mirror each other. Balance is essential as the outdoor area is becoming more and more important to my clients," Milana Finkelshtein, a Toronto-based award-winning designer, told ADF.

Seamless Architecture and Borderless Dreams

Too often, people forget that they can use green elements to block unwanted views and create their own sightlines.

It can also change urban living if the roofs are made into parks and connected from house to house. Turning rooftops into parks gives residents recreational space, thereby developing a sense of community and increasing well-being. Elevated green spaces can include gardens, walking paths, seating areas, and even playgrounds to offer city dwellers natural escape amidst the urban environment.

The joining of roofs from buildings on either side by bridges or walkways could create a network of parks elevated above the streets, thus easily connecting people from one building to another. Such an innovative way of making use of space will not only utilize the available area fully but will also ensure a much healthier lifestyle by walking and being outdoors. It helps in reducing the heat island effect, improves air quality, and is supportive of biodiversity within urban environments.

Rooftop parks and their interlinkage from one building to another can redefine cityscapes into greener, more livable, and more connected spaces. The vision brings a practical solution to the challenges of limited ground-level green spaces by giving urban residents easy access to nature and enhancing their quality of life.

For a month, the Rotterdam Rooftop Walk functioned as part of both the Rotterdam Architecture Month and the Rotterdam Rooftop Festival, challenging visitors to walk across the rooftops of the city 30 meters high in the air. This unique experience set out to reveal to the public another view on life in the city. Carefully programmed to increase visitors' sensitivity to the unfulfilled potential of rooftops, viewing them as a "second layer" that could turn the city into a more livable, biodiverse, sustainable, and healthy environment. Definitely, without any doubt, one of the absolute highlights along the route was the bridge over the Coolsingel—one of the major streets in Rotterdam—showing a strong step in reimagining the urban space.

Rotterdam Rooftop Walk designed by MVRDV

Envisioning a world where the distinction between indoors and outdoors fades is not merely a design aspiration but a profound transformation in urban living. The Rotterdam Rooftop Walk embodies this vision, revealing a future where our high-rise environments seamlessly blend with nature. By converting rooftops into lush parks and integrating green elements into building facades, we are redefining our relationship with the urban landscape. This transformation reflects a deeper desire to reconnect with nature and elevate our surroundings. As we embrace this new paradigm of architecture, let us craft spaces that are not only visually stunning but also cultivate a more profound sense of human connection and environmental harmony.