Smart Cities project is part of the interdisciplinary research program Ignis Mutat Res – Atelier du Grand Paris, regarding environmental issues, energy consumption, and their impacts on the quality of life of citizens. It aims to inform the world of the potential of rooftop architecture to provide innovative solutions in dense urban environments. While urban environments experience an increase in their energy consumption needs, architecture and urbanism researchers are also becoming more and more eager to reduce the city’s ecological footprint through new architectural and urban development. However, the reduction of this footprint has proven to be very difficult to quantify economically using a general approach. In this instance, the lack of standardized methodology is the main cause of the approach’s stagnation at an exploratory phase. Here, the development of a digital device to evaluate and simulate rooftop potential can serve as a decision-making tool in urban settings. This research has gathered the exploratory studies from the rooftops of three cities: Chicago, Montreal and Paris. In all three, the roof is approached as an area for investigations that would work towards solving urban issues, specifically, reducing the commonplace of urban heat islands, and managing rainwater. Overall, the strategies found would empower Cities and help to reduce their fossil sources dependency.
Mandate: Research Project.