Under The Big Roof
2015
Project Partner / Ziang Ao
2015
Project Partner / Ziang Ao
"It is now highly feasible to take care of everybody on Earth at a higher standard of living than any have ever known. It no longer has to be you or me. Selfishness is unnecessary. War is obsolete. It is a matter of converting our high technology from WEAPONRY to LIVINGRY." - Buckminster Fuller
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Understanding the environmental issues, and foreseeing the urban density in the city of Oakland, the question raised for us is: How do we propose a project that will deal with many problems and at the same time, be economical, and use the least amount of material to achieve the greatest amount of results?
We’d like to propose a combination of idealistic future city imagination and a celebration of current but hidden city pattern and system. Several layers of roof structure will be built on top of the city, and be supported by the existing infrastructure systems, mainly the pipes. It’s a system in which the roof serves the pipes, the pipes support the roof, and people live in between. |
The roof has the main function of collecting water for its residents. The top layer would collect water from the bay’s constantly rolling-in fog. The second layer would collect the rain water in the winter, and prevent moisture from going out during the dry summer. The lower layer of the roofs would create an unique and fun space for people to live in. The roof is mainly constructed by light weight tensile structure. The form and material of the roof allows the possibility to eliminate the boundary between nature and man-made city, creating a multi-layered micro climate.
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While designing the structure, we think of the massive scale of the infrastructure and how much energy is being used to build them. We believe the pipes should become the structure of the roofs. Again, to use less but achieve more. The pipes are also exposed, to celebrate all the stories behind them. There’s no need for redundant covering.
Let’s live under the big roof! |
Master Plan
View from lower part of the city
View from higher part of the city
Project done in CED, UC Berkeley | Year: 2015 | Instructor: Nicholas-de Monchaux | Partner: Ziang Ao