The multi-level house opens up toward the pool deck, with window…
The multi-level house opens up toward the pool deck, with windows and balconies that overlook the space from several angles.
With views of the Milwaukee skyline, the new rooftop terrace is …
With views of the Milwaukee skyline, the new rooftop terrace is a dramatic setting for both intimate and big evening gatherings.
But the real drama is in the image the terrace sends out to the …
But the real drama is in the image the terrace sends out to the city. When the lights go on, the plastic panels create a colorful glowing beacon for the gritty industrial neighborhood and the freeway beyond.
Dana Wheelock
The loft’s rooftop sunroom opens onto a private deck via a gla…
The loft’s rooftop sunroom opens onto a private deck via a glazed overhead door. residential architect, November/December 2011 New Heights Loft Residence, Minneapolis Albertsson Hansen Architecture, Minneapolis
Dana Wheelock
Steve King
A wall of sliding doors opens this master bedroom to an expansiv…
A wall of sliding doors opens this master bedroom to an expansive concrete roof deck. 2012 CHDA Desert Panorama House, La Quinta, Calif. Merit Award/Custom Home More Than 5,000 Square Feet XTEN Architecture, Culver City, Calif.
Steve King
The master bathroom also opens fully to the deck. 2012 CHDA D…
The master bathroom also opens fully to the deck. 2012 CHDA Desert Panorama House, La Quinta, Calif. Merit Award/Custom Home More Than 5,000 Square Feet XTEN Architecture, Culver City, Calif.
Adrian Wilson
Sheltered by its buildingís historic parapet wall, this r…
Sheltered by its buildingís historic parapet wall, this rooftop apartment includes a large, private outdoor space in the heart of Manhattan.
Adrian Wilson
Steel I-beams support the parapet wall.
Joe Fletcher
Stepping up the hill so one is perched over the other, each room…
Stepping up the hill so one is perched over the other, each room offers a different point of view.
Joe Fletcher
The detached cabins invite the owners to engage with the landsca…
The detached cabins invite the owners to engage with the landscape.
Richard Barnes
Atop a concrete warehouse converted to a residence, this grassho…
Atop a concrete warehouse converted to a residence, this grasshopperlike penthouse bedroom opens onto a roof deck with 360-degree views over downtown San Francisco. 2008 rada Tehama Grasshopper, San Francisco Grand Award/Renovation Fougeron Architecture, San Francisco
Richard Barnes
An oversize light well opens the core of the building to the dec…
An oversize light well opens the core of the building to the deck above, and the sky. 2008 rada Tehama Grasshopper, San Francisco Grand Award/Renovation Fougeron Architecture, San Francisco
Richard Barnes
Steven Simpson
First-floor living spaces spill out into protected courtyards, a…
First-floor living spaces spill out into protected courtyards, and onto a glass patio that roofs the owner’s basement- level architecture studio.
William Kildow
This in-town Chicago home borrows the vertical form of its high-…
This in-town Chicago home borrows the vertical form of its high-rise neighbors, but for a very practical purpose. The lot it occupies is barely larger than the house itself.
William Kildow
Timothy Hursley
At the ninth floor of a downtown apartment building, a row of to…
At the ninth floor of a downtown apartment building, a row of townhouse-style units faces an open terrace and pool deck. 2011 rada 930 Poydras Residential Tower, New Orleans Merit Award/Multifamily Eskew+Dumez+Ripple, New Orleans
John J. Macaulay
“Removing” a chunk of this new lakefront house’s rectiline…
“Removing” a chunk of this new lakefront house’s rectilinear volume opened an outdoor room at the second floor. 2011 rada OS House, Racine, Wis. Merit Award/Custom Home 3,000 Square Feet or Less Johnsen Schmaling Architects, Milwaukee
Art Gray
This vertically oriented structure is a bedroom annex for an adj…
This vertically oriented structure is a bedroom annex for an adjacent 1930s cabin. Half of the second floor and virtually all of the third are devoted to sheltered outdoor rooms. 2009 rada Tower House, Leander, Texas Merit Award/Outbuilding Andersson•Wise Architects, Austin, Texas
Art Gray
Expansive lake views await those who journey to the top of the t…
Expansive lake views await those who journey to the top of the tower. 2009 rada Tower House, Leander, Texas Merit Award/Outbuilding Andersson•Wise Architects, Austin, Texas
Rien van Rijthoven
Built on a budget, architect Craig Steely’s own house devotes …
Built on a budget, architect Craig Steely’s own house devotes a substantial chunk of square footage to a penthouse-level deck. residential architect, June 2008 Second Take Beaver Street Reprise, San Francisco Steely Architecture, San Francisco
Rien van Rijthoven
Partially roofed and sporting a suspended fireplace, the roof de…
Partially roofed and sporting a suspended fireplace, the roof deck can handle a range of weather conditions. residential architect, June 2008 Second Take Beaver Street Reprise, San Francisco Steely Architecture, San Francisco
Sharon Risedorph
At the top floor of another in-town San Francisco residence, thi…
At the top floor of another in-town San Francisco residence, this master bedroom opens onto a roof deck with knockout views of the city residential architect, September/October 2009 Internal Logic Mullen Street House, San Francisco Steely Architecture, San Francisco
As human beings, we seem naturally drawn to the tops of things. Have you ever heard a friend boast of visiting the ground floor of the Empire State Building? It’s surprising, then, how few houses offer access to the prime real estate up overhead, because sitting on a roof can feel like sitting on top of the world. And considering how little it takes to make a roof habitable, a deck up top may deliver the biggest bang for the buck in residential construction. After assembling this collection, we’re inclined to view any roof one can’t furnish with a table and chairs as an opportunity missed.
