Landcare was approached by the property management company of this luxury condominium building in uptown Toronto to work with one of the unit owners to see his vision of a rooftop oasis through to completion. The unit owner was a retired architect with a vision of how the space could be used. We were given a tight working budget to complete the project and needed to work with the architect to ensure the final design could be implemented within budget.
The iterative design process took a number of weeks as the project went from a long-term vision of how the space could function to one that could be built for the budget provided yet be expandable to add functionality at a later date. The long-term vision included a pergola covered eating and lounging deck complete with planting, a hot tub, and outdoor kitchen. The final design met the budget restrictions, providing the pergola covered eating and lounging deck complete with planting and it can be expanded to add the outdoor kitchen and hot tub.
Meeting the budget for this project was the greatest challenge! All materials had to be moved to the roof, 14 stories above street level. The elevator was not an option for most of the material. The budget included the cost to hire a crane company to move the materials to the roof. Usually, project of this type require a roof inspection and weight requirement evaluation before work starts. In this case, the roof had been inspected recently and the architect took care of the weight evaluation requirements.
Once the project got the green light, the coordination effort began. Materials had to be ordered, selected, and bundled to the crane company’s specifications. All materials had to be accounted for as there would only one opportunity to get them to the roof. Extra materials needed to be planned for, just in case there were miscalculations or damaged product, but not so much that we would need a crane to get the extras off the roof.
Once the materials were on the roof, the crew went to work assembling the deck, pergola and planters to following the design and the architects’ specifications. Much care was taken to ensure the roof membrane was not damaged. Other than that, the roof deck made for a beautiful, open work area with lots of room for storage of materials and equipment.
The end result was certainly worth the effort. The rooftop oasis fulfills the design requirements, providing a large shaded area for the owners and their guests to relax and dine while taking in the marvelous vista of the Toronto skyline. Check out another great rooftop installed by Landcare.