Roofscapes

This proposal will investigate factors critical to improve the dwelling experience in ageing social housing on the edge of French cities through the design, fabrication, installation, and monitoring of an innovative pilot growing unit that can span across a mansard roof in Paris for underserved communities to gather and access green outdoor spaces. As graduate students in sustainable design, architecture and real estate development, we believe that all communities should have access to outdoor spaces and amenities.

Our team will be working in collaboration with the City of Paris and the MIT Department of Architecture. We will assess agricultural constraints, determine water retention potentials of soils, measure energy savings, monitor biodiversity, and engage with underserved communities around food production and the role of food in the preservation of diverse cultures and heritages. We will foster civic engagement around climate action at the local scale through public workshops and the research will culminate in an affordable open-source carbon zero prefabricated rooftop space for community recreation and gathering.