We were determined that a roof garden was something desirable to our project, all the more so as we were proposing an urban rather than a suburban scheme. In an urban environment, where space is a premium and a yard almost unheard of, a roof garden brings tranquility and a sense of place to the house. The garden will have a series of planter boxes in which we will grow vegetables and herbs, as well as shade plants. This again reduces the solar load on the building and insulates the roof. The relationship between the deck and the roof is central to our townhouse concept and it is our goal to allow the garden to spill down the southern façade into a deck mounted planter, shielding the house from solar gain in the summer and providing it with solar gain in the winter when the plants are dormant. Above the planter and bench is a light shelf, which allows valuable light further into the building while minimizing solar gain at the façade. This transparent zone at the southern end of the house serves as a transition between the house and the environment.
