Fifth Street Farm

Client Fifth Street Farm
Location New York City, NY
Status Completed in 2012

The Fifth Street Farm is a cost-conscious rooftop farm system atop a New York City public school.

The Fifth Street Farm is a 3,000 sq. ft. green roof project located atop the Robert Simon School Complex in the East Village of Manhattan. The design perches a green deck directly onto the columns below the roof - similar to the way most rooftop mechanical equipment is handled – in order to support the weight of the soil. This required ‘stubbing-up’ a select number of columns from below, as well as designing a pitch pocket waterproofing detail to wrap the base of these short columns, and building a steel framed deck to rest on the columns. The simple and standard deck construction that rests on these columns serves as a foundation for anything from planters to a greenhouse. The system is such that it can be easily replicated in other locations where the roof slabs are not necessarily designed to carry the weight of a farmable green roof.

In addition to providing the many benefits that green roofs offer - mitigating heat island effect, reducing storm water run-off and providing areas of refuge to increase natural bio-diversity - the new farm allows teachers at the school to weave growing and cultivating plants into the curricula of different classes and areas of inquiry, ranging from science to art.

Awards

2014 Citation for Design - AIA New York State

Press

May 17,2010 - The Architect's Newspaper Little Green Thumbs Read

Scope

Design Architect

Design Partner(s)

Stantec - Architect of Record