by Grace Murano
Rooftop Playground (Denmark)
Talk about living on the edge! Danish firm JDS Architects has designed one incredibly cool rooftop playground in a densely populated area of Copenhagen. Located on top of three penthouses, the shock absorbing surface (aka the grass hill) is the perfect place for daredevil kids and their worried parents to run rampant. For quieter times, they can marvel at the cityscape on the viewing platform or relax around the outdoor barbecue.
A little freaky, don't you think? Let's look on the bright side. Although that low fence must be a nightmare for parents, children who come out unscathed from that death defying experience may grow up to become even more adventurous and confident than the average person!
Rooftop Pool (Singapore)
If you fancy a dip in this pool, you'll need a head for heights - it's 55 storeys up. But swimming to the edge won't be quite as risky as it looks. While the water in the infinity pool seems to end in a sheer drop, it actually spills into a catchment area where it is pumped back into the main pool. At three times the length of an Olympic pool and 650ft up, it is the largest outdoor pool in the world at that height. It features in the impressive, boat-shaped 'SkyPark' perched atop the three towers that make up the world's most expensive hotel, the £4billion Marina Bay Sands development in Singapore.
The infinity pool on the roof is in the 'SkyPark' which spans the three towers of the hotel. The platform itself is longer than the Eiffel tower laid down and is one of the largest of its kind in the world.
Infinity pools give the effect that the water extends to the horizon. In reality, the water spills over the edge into a catchment below, and is then pumped back into the pool. The pools have two circulation systems. The first functions like that of a regular pool, filtering and heating the water in the main pool. The second filters the water in the catch basin and returns it to the upper pool.
Rooftop Trailer Park (South Africa)
Atop Cape Town's swanky Grand Daddy Hotel is a trailer park like no other. The Airstream Penthouse Park is perched on top of the hotel, and is one of the most talked about, hip and happening places in South Africa. More trailer flash than trailer trash, seven imported vintage Airstream Trailers were handed over to local artists and designers for an imaginative makeover. The result is a collection of rooftop suites that plays with the imagination and the senses. Rooms in the hotel start at 945 rands ($90).
Rooftop Tennis Court (Dubai)
Andre Agassi and Roger Federer were invited to have a friendly match on the world's highest tennis court on the helipad of Burj Al Arab, 211 meters above the ground.
Rooftop Roller Coaster (Japan)
Built on the roof-top of an eight-story outlet store in a busy city area, this scary Half Pipe roller coaster was never opened. According to some sources online the problem is with the structure of the building. While the building is capable of handling the weight of the roller coaster, the lateral forces presented an unexpected problem and is why the roller coaster never opened. (At 'Don Quijote' department store in downtown Tokyo).
Rooftop Bar (Thailand)
The stunning, multi-hued Sky bar at Sirocco has several reasons to turn minutes into timeless moments. Suspended in the sky on the 63rd floor of The Dome at State Tower, the Skybar is one of the world's highest open air bars, overlooking a panoramic view of Bangkok and the Chao Phraya River. With such an enthralling ambience coupled with a seductive selection of the finest vintages, beverages, cocktails and appetizers in Bangkok, the Skybar soars as one of the prized destinations in the city. No wonder, the rooftop bar is unanimously accepted as the coolest bar in Bangkok.
Rooftop Cinema (Australia)
This might just be the coolest movie theater in Australia. Oh, yeah, and they serve alcoholic drinks, too – what more can you ask for? Owned and operated by a team of artists, the Rooftop Cinema plays classic, current and art-house films in the open air on the top of a six-story building. Sit back and relax in a colorful striped deck chair and just try not to be distracted by the bustle of the city around you.
Rooftop Garden (Singapore)
Patches of greenery in Singapore's Housing and Development Board (HDB) estates are popping up on the top decks of multi-storey car parks and on the rooftops of some residential blocks. Taking sky-rise greenery literally to new heights are the Sky Gardens at Pinnacle@ Duxton, Singapore's tallest public housing building at 50 stories. These distinctive gardens, located on the 26th and 50th floors, are said to be the longest continuous sky gardens in the world, linking seven residential tower blocks together. In the works are plans to implement nine hectares of extensive green roofs – low maintenance rooftop greenery – over the next three to five years in existing HDB estates where rooftop gardens are not feasible.
Rooftop Office (Austria)
The Viennese architects Wolf Prix and Helmut Swiczinsky, akaCoop Himmelb(l)au, made their reputation on blind, gestural sketches that, sometimes, became buildings. These sketches accomplish many things, three that I would like to focus on: capture a feeling, create a unique design process, and lead to complex structural and design solutions. The accompanying images are Coop Himmelb(l)au's design of a rooftop addition, focusing on a conference room, to a law firm's office.
Rooftop Farm (Chicago)
In 2008, the folks at the Uncommon Ground restaurant, 1401 W. Devon, opened their 2,500-square foot organic rooftop farm. The lofty mission is to deliver organic produce for the downstairs restaurant and to use the garden to teach adult volunteers and children how to grow food organically in an urban, roof-top environment.
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