Olivier Scheffer has a 'RoofDream'. He wants to continue living affordably in Rotterdam, or rather, continue living on Rotterdam, on top of an existing flat roof. What he plans to build there must be very sustainable: off-the-grid. There will even be a green feather from his chimney. He's still looking for a suitable roof and fellow roof dreamers.
On the Rooftop Walk you could the Green Cloud admire. You can observe the production process of the project here to look at.
Olivier about his RoofDream
'What I want to build has to be very sustainable, a bit off-the-grid. I want to create a large garden, generate solar energy, and use rainwater. I have a really cool roof in mind, which I'm exploring; it's big enough to realize my roof dream, including the garden. The municipality of Rotterdam wants to see better use of its rooftops, and they're looking at large and small parties for this. Private individuals are encouraged to create green rooftops, a patio, or possibly an extension. But rarely will a private individual go through the entire process of actually building on someone else’s roof. There are many aspects that are relatively unknown, it is also a substantial administrative process and the municipality can sometimes appear to be a seven-headed monster. Building on the city is good for densification, generating solar energy is good for the energy transition, greenery is good for biodiversity and cooling, water retention helps during heavy downpours and you can use it to sprinkle or flush. The more of these aspects I can realize the better it will be. This could easily become a showcase project or a case study. I'm not doing the design entirely on my own; Stang Gubbels made the very first sketch, a small factory with a chimney from which a plant emerges. The three buildings in that drawing are closed, half open and completely open; made of wood, glass and steel tubes. I started working on that idea and created a floor plan and some elevations in which I set out my programme of requirements. The closed block contains the sleeping, shower and utility room area, the glass greenhouse contains the living and dining room and the steel tubes form a semi-covered terrace with many plants. That is just under half of the roof, the other half will be green. The drawing also includes a self-contained apartment intended as an assisted living facility or for rental. I took those sketches to Joop Steenkamp, my architect, and he knows how to proceed. We'll see him in a few weeks. Joop will help me with the feasibility, the drawings, the costs, and the gravity, but also with the construction itself, because ultimately, I want to build most of it myself. This entire process is being supervised by Joep Klabbers; without his expertise and organization, I wouldn't know where to begin. He directs and adjusts and keeps an eye on the time and budget. His knowledge of rooftops is extensive and his network is crucial. In the coming months, many people will become involved in this project: the building's residents, green experts, roofing experts, but also people from the municipality and the government. Only together do we have the knowledge to make this happen. On this page, I'll explain the process from roof dream to roof garden house. On the website, I'll share the knowledge needed to dream up a similar project yourself.
RoofDream (c) Olivier Scheffer