50 Avenue Montaigne

50 Avenue Montaigne in Paris, France by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, 1993

Although the idea of a rooftop garden is not new, it is becoming a solution for both architects and city planners in addressing sustainability concerns. Their popularity is not just new buildings, but old buildings as well, the greening of the City Hall roof in Chicago a good example of the latter. In these "green" instances, practical issues (weight, irrigation, drainage, etc.) tend to take precedence over design. When accessible and highly visible, though, a rooftop's design should ideally synthesize the architecture with the raised landscape - and vice-versa - to create a satisfying environment that becomes an oasis in the city.

The garden rooftop at 50 Avenue Montaigne in Paris, France by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA) addresses both the practical and aesthetic concerns of constructing a garden on a roof. Regarding the former, many site adaptions were required, including new soil mixtures that would not put a burden on the structural system, subsurface drainage and a complex irrigation system for the rows of trees and plantings. The latter, aesthetic concerns, focused on the visibility of the garden from offices above and pedestrian movement through the garden.

The garden design uses rows of alternating hornbeam and espaliered trees to create an informal setting that belies the formal underpinning of the geometrical plan. Soft plantings are offset by the hard, architectural materials of stone and metal, the latter primarily used in the animal-like benches designed by Boston artist Judy McKee.

Although a simple and modest garden design, the rooftop at 50 Avenue Montaigne provides lessons for architects dealing with issues that are becoming mandated by local governments, mainly the manipulation of roofs for environmental health. By achieving a balance between practical and aesthetic concerns, the finished design places direct human experience (visual and movement) on par with those greater environmental concerns.