Skycourts and Skygardens

Skycourts and Skygardens are alternative social spaces, often located in dense cities that lack parks, streets, squares and other communal areas due urbanisation and the privatisation of space. They are designed to replace the green, open spaces that are lost with alternative spaces either on the ground, or in the sky within or on top of skyscrapers and other buildings.

The loss of the public space

Increasing urbanisation and rising land prices has increased densification of cities. While this provides many benefits, such as shorter distances between urban functions, easier access to facilities and transport,^[1] it often comes at the cost of wide-open spaces such as parks, squares and gardens, where society can congregate and interact. Poorly planned urban environments that are overly dense can result in an environment that does not support the psycho-social needs of its inhabitants, leading to increased depression, lower communal interaction, stress and higher crime and vandalism.^[2]

Social benefits

Skycourts and skygardens provide locations for social interaction, replacing areas traditionally situated in parks or the street. These spaces may allow students to gather, office workers to share lunch or tourists to congregate. However, unlike the street or the park, skycourts and skygardens are often semi-public spaces, owned by a company or other private interests. As such, the spaces are generally managed and controlled.

Skycourts can also play a role in facilitating urban movement, by linking buildings to each other and public transport infrastructure.

Environmental benefits

The increase in natural greenery commonly found in skycourts and skygardens play a role in reducing the urban heat island effect suffered by many cities, especially those who lack green spaces.

Studies have shown that with the shading of plants, trees and other vegetation, surface temperatures were much lower than hard surfaces. Additionally, heat transfer through a bare roof that lacked vegetation was larger that roofs that contained soil and vegetation.^[3]

Skycourts and skygardens are able to play a role in reducing the overall ambient temperatures of cities by intercepting sunlight, by up to 98% if the canopy is thick.^[4]

Urban greenery also acts as a filter, reducing dust, carbon dioxide and other pollutants. Urban environments with no trees may contain 10,000-12,000 dust particles, whereas an environment with trees and other foliage may only contain 1,000-3,000 particles.^[5] Plants can also absorb rainwater, reducing flooding, and filter out pollutants within the water such as cadmium, copper and lead.^[6]

Economic benefits

Skycourts and skygardens present opportunities for income generation, both passive and active. The temperature-reducing properties of green roofs reduce energy consumption, cools the internal spaces and therefore reduces energy costs for the occupant.^[7]

Thanks to their role as areas of social interaction, skycourts and skygardens are also able to generate direct income. They can act as observation decks, as seen at New York City’s Empire State Building whose two decks welcomed 4.28 million visitors in 2014 and generated $82.5 million of income on $111.5 million of revenue.^[8] They are also able to feature shops and F&B outlets.

References

1. A Skovbro. "Urban Densification – A Sustainable Urban Policy?". www.witpress.com. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
2. Pomeroy, Jason. The Skycourt and Skygarden: Greening the urban habitat. Routledge. p. 26. ISBN 978-0415636995.
3. Building and Construction Authority, Singapore. "A study of Urban Heat Island (UHI) in Singapore" (PDF). Retrieved 16 November 2015.
4. Johnston, Jacklyn; Newton, John. "Building Green: A guide to using plants on roofs, walls and pavements" (PDF). Retrieved 16 November 2015.
5. Johnston, Jacklyn; Newton, John. "Building Green: A guide to using plants on roofs, walls and pavements" (PDF). Retrieved 16 November 2015.
6. Pomeroy, Jason. The Skycourt and Skygarden: Greening the urban habitat. Routledge. p. 53. ISBN 978-0415636995.
7. Jaafara, Badrulzaman; Saida, Ismail; Nadzri Md Rebab, Mohd; Hisyam Rasidi, Mohd. Impact of Vertical Greenery System on Internal Building Corridors in the Tropic. p. 558.
8. "The Best View of New York City Is Back". Bloomberg.