Archinect - News

NYC plan to allow cannabis cultivation on public housing rooftops runs into federal hurdles

2022-04-19T17:34:00-04:00

At an April 9 panel discussion in Albany, Adams said his team was exploring whether the city could allow cannabis cultivation on the rooftops of New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) facilities. The idea, he said, would be to employ NYCHA residents to staff and oversee the greenhouses as the state continues to roll out its recreational marijuana program for adults. “The jobs can come from NYCHA residents. The proceeds and education can go right into employing people right in the area.”

As part of its economic development agenda, the Adams administration has been pushing an ambitious pilot program for rooftop cultivation on federally-funded NYCHA public housing properties. The current laws, however, still classify marijuana as a controlled substance, leading to an inevitable impasse. An inbound decriminalization bill written by New York Democratic congressman Jerry Nadler could clear the way for legal grow operations on such property via an update to the federal guidelines, which a spokesperson for the mayor told Gothamist are held over from a pernicious era of public policymaking.

“[Federal] laws still on the books continue to harm the same communities that have been targeted for decades,” City Hall spokesperson Charles Lutvak explained. “The House passed legislation to this effect earlier this month, and we need those who are obstructing progress at the federal level to follow New York’s lead.”

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Rooftop trees planted at MVRDV's Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen

2020-04-13T13:44:00-04:00

Tree planting has commenced at MVRDV's Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, the anticipated art depot that will feature exhibition falls, a sculpture roof garden and restaurant, and expansive public grounds.

Photo by Fred Ernst. Courtesy of MVRDV.

As part of the tree installation, 75 large birches will be lifted 35 meters to the roof of the depot. The rooftop forest was designed in collaboration with MTD landschapsarchitecten from Den Bosch. The tree species are Betula pubescens, a soft birch that grows to ten meters and is said to be resistant to varying weather conditions.

Photo by Arjen Ketting. Courtesy of MVRDV.

Expected to remain standing for several decades, the trees will be maintained via a special watering system to ensure the soil will never dry out.

A look at Sou Fujimoto's proposed sustainable, timber-frame tower

2016-03-30T13:56:00-04:00

In collaboration with Laisné Roussel and developer Pitch Promotion, Sou Fujimoto's proposed 50-meter tall mixed-use timber-frame structure Canopia would be the tallest of its kind if built. Riffing a bit off the swirling form of Fujimoto's Abre Blanc apartment building, the proposed structure includes 199 residential units, over 3,700 square meters of commercial offices, a panoramic bar and roof gardens, and 500 square meters of retail space.

In addition to being a part of the phase two development of the Amargnac sector of the Bordeaux Saint-Jean Belcier ZAC (urban development zone), Canopia is designed to be environmentally sustainable. Aside from attempting to achieve "Biosource" certification by using cross-laminated spruce or silver fur timber for the flooring and beams, sustainability is partly achieved by the rooftop gardens, which are connected by raised walkways and allow residents to wander among fruit trees, water reservoirs, and vegetable gardens before hitting the bar/re...

Old MacDonald had a farm (on a Toronto rooftop)

2015-06-10T14:53:00-04:00

Green roofs are nice, but rooftop farms are better. They’re the future of living architecture, say international green roof advocates who gathered in Toronto last week. [...] “We have a handful of agricultural green roofs and all of them are community projects,” like Eastdale Collegiate, Ryerson’s Engineering building and the Carrot Common, said Peck. “But we don’t have any commercial-scale agriculture on roofs — that’s the next thing.”