Green Roof City Seeks to Extend Chicago's Green Roof Developments

The sloping elevated rooftop park would add an exciting new recreational space to Chicago Chicago is home to over 200 green roofs, covering 2.5 million square feet, more than any other American city. This garden-topped building, entitled Green Roof City is designed by Yi Huang, Tian Tan & Xu Zhang. The building seeks to build upon Chicago’s existing green roof infrastructure of over 200 green roofs and projects a future vision of the city with avenues of greenery linking rooftops together at height.

Green Roof City spans two adjacent plots, split by Van Buren Street and the elevated rail system. A ramped building, housing an architecture school is proposed to tie the two plots together. Green Roof City would tie the two plots together, offering a secondary and tertiary route for students to get from one building to the other – either through the new architecture school or across the sloping roof. In order to maximize views of Grant Park and Michigan Lake, student housing will be located at the southern end of the site. Rotating timber screens on the façade serve the function of privacy and shade, but also provide a dynamic quality within the rectilinear confines of the tower.