a roof is a roof is a roof is the final Graduate School semester project by Janis Rucins as part of the UIC research studio Roadside Attractions led by professor Alex Lehnerer. The work won the Best in Show Award at the University of Illinois School of Architecture 2009/2010 Year End Show.

From the studio description:

Roadside Attractions appear as a bonus to our primary interest of getting down the road. They even make us forget the road for a little while. We do not look for them – we just find them. We are cheered, because their size, directness, and form surprise us. On the journey to unconscious urban gadgetry, our job is to construct and find consistency with these attractive features. We extract local regions of interest from the mess we live in. The discovered attributes will be translated into something else or to someplace else. Ultimately, it is an exploration of urban types and elements to which we apply certain treatments to get behind their secrets. -- Alex Lehnerer, UIC


the fifth facade


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4 cities: old vs new viewpoint

is roof only a cover? traditionally roof has been ignored because from the traditional street level point of view it was invisible to the observer. even though the view point has changed long time ago due to elevated highways and train tracks, airplanes, etc., the roof which really should be considered the fifth facade remains unacknowledged.


the city of smaller roofs


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4 cities: the city of smaller roofs

the city is relatively new. it was well planned and built using long straight streets and big blocks of buildings. however, something was not right. the citizens could not find happiness in the city. the city felt very cold and not welcoming. people started to suffer from depression. after a while city fathers realized where the problem was. the buildings were to massive. because of the need for massive buildings, not much could be changed in the way that the city was being developed, except for the roof. from then on all the massive buildings had not one, but dozens of little roofs on top of them. the improvement was almost instant in the well being of the citizens of the city.


free above the eaves


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4 cities: formal freedom

is roof formally underrated? if we consider each building to be made of 3 parts: A-above the eaves, B-between the ground and the eaves, C-below ground, where part B is regulated by many zoning laws and ends up being extrusion of a plan, and part C is determined by part B, the only limitation if there is one on part A is the height. however, this is rarely taken advantage of.


the city of zoning code loophole


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4 cities: the city of zoning code loophole

the city has the most rigid zoning code that’s heard of. all of the buildings are the same height, width, and length. they are all built out of the same material and are the same color. all of them have the same kind of openings that are oriented and placed in the same way. all of the buildings are arranged with the same setbacks along the street network which is a street network that is based on a grid, and has no diagonal streets. the city code is so strict for one reason - to give each one of the city’s citizens equally good living conditions. once the zoning code was established, it was agreed that it cannot be ever changed. everything went well until someone realized that there is a small but significant loophole in the code. the code did not say anything about the roof. as a result of this loophole the roof almost immediately became the only individual expression available to the citizens of the city. each roof was built to try to out-do the neighbors in height and luxury of the materials.


down below the eaves


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4 cities: extended roof elements

is roof unused, leftover space? when we decide to only build with the part that gives as most freedom - the roof, we can get rid of the building of parts B and C that traditionally limit it formaly. by extending the roof elements bellow the eaves, the roof meets the ground without the need for parts B or C. usually a leftover space, the roof space now is the building.


the city of the latest trend


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4 cities: the city of the latest trend

from its very beginnings the city decided that it will be the most fashionable city in the world. as a result of this, the citizens are required by law to change the building facade of their houses as soon as a new architectural trend arrives. the only exception is the roof, which can remain the same because it was agreed that nobody sees it anyway. everything seemed to work well at first. the city was always visited by people wanting to immerse themselves completely in the uninterrupted experience of the latest architectural trend. however, as time passed the trends started to changed faster and faster, and it became more and more difficult to remodel the houses in time, before it was time to redo them again. as a result an ingenious solution was found. the residents moved into the roof because it was the only part of the house that never changed, and therefore was the most suitable as a permanent living space. everything from roof downwards was changing almost every week. when the facades were being changed for the new ones, the houses looked like mushrooms, with their roofs supported by one or more cores that allowed access from the ground level to the roof.


start building from roof


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4 cities: up to roof vs from roof up

is roof only termination of a building? once we are comfortable with the absence of unnecessary building parts, we can start building from roof up. this simple move has a potential to improve the overall quality of our built environment, such as access to light and air. the part of the building that was once a mere termination now becomes the driver of the form.


the city that was built from roof up


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4 cities: the city that was built from roof up

the city that was built from roof up. the city had to be built very fast to accommodate the incoming population. city’s builders were very competent, but there was one problem. there were only a few skilled builders who could build traditional concrete foundations. however, there were more than enough carpenters who were especially skilled in building good roofs. so skilled in fact that they were also often asked to build roofs of the surrounding cities as well. the city was famous for the quality and beauty of its roofs. so it was only natural that to keep up with the growing demand for new buildings the city turned to it’s famous roof builders. the roof builders did not disappoint. they quickly jumped in and built houses to the best of their ability. most citizens agree, that even though the builders did not follow the conventional wisdom of “you do not start building a house from the roof”, the houses are the most beautiful they have ever seen. though not by intention, none of the houses of the city is ever in shade. people seem to be happier too.


while the previous investigations adressed the scale of the city and the collective effect of roofs, the house of roofs is looking at the effect of roof at the individual level of a single object. the house is an example of roof fetish, since it is made only out of roof elements. the house can be positioned on 4 different sides. as a result there are really 4 different houses in one. even though the volumes inside remain the same they take on different spacial qualities, depending which way the house sits on the ground.


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house of roofs: country house

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house of roofs: stacked house

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house of roofs: stilt house

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house of roofs: foyer house

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house of roofs: plans


when buildings are no longer tied down formally to their footprint at ground floor level, new spacial relationships develop. buildings start to invade each others airspace. new relationships between neighbors are established and new rules have to be negotiated. zoning is relative and based on individual formal interraction between neighboring buildings.


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invaded airspace: section

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invaded airspace: plan

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invaded airspace: development sequence


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city model: front


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city model: backyards


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city model: buildings shaping each other


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city model: view from window


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city model: view from window to backyards


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city model: view at backyard level


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city model: view at street level


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city model: view at street level

Janis Rucins came to Chicago from Riga, Latvia in 2001, and has been in love with this city ever since. He received his Bachelors of Science in Architecture degree from University of Illinois - Chicago in 2007. Afterwards, he took a year off to work full time for Chicago architecture firm Pappageorge/Haymes Ltd. Janis returned to UIC for his graduate studies and received a Masters of Architecture degree in 2010. During graduate program at UIC Janis studied under professors David Brown, Dan Wheeler and Alex Lehnerer. Janis also took the opportunity to study abroad in Barcelona, Spain during the Fall 2009 semester abroad program offered by the UIC School of Architecture. During the two years of graduate school, Janis served as a Teaching Assistant for Third Year Undergraduate Building Technology class.

Alex Lehnerer is an architect and urban designer with his office ALSO Architekten, currently teaching and doing urban research as Assistant Professor at UIC School of Architecture in Chicago.