The World's Most Idyllic Urban Rooftops

There is something boundlessly enthralling about a rooftop in a city. Rooftop cinemas, bars, gigs, rollercoasters (in Las Vegas; where else?) – people love them; the otherworldly feeling inspired when one is floating high above the metropolitan commotion is second to none, even when the surface itself is full to the brim with people. It seems apt, therefore, that they be the subject of a new book published by Taschen, entitled Urban Rooftops: Islands in the Sky. The book compiles over 50 of the very best from cities around the globe, from bars and restaurants to art installations to gardens, and from London to Sydney and everywhere in between. These are, quite literally, the height of architectural sophistication and curiosity.

Innovation is at the heart of the examples featured in the book. Take Japanese architect Toyo Ito’s creation on the rooftop of his Capitagreen building in Singapore, for example: a gargantuan red structure that seems to leap upwards into the sky, forming a plant-like image brilliant in its aesthetic and its function, as it circulates fresh air throughout the entire towering building. For the more delicately innovative, look to Alberto Campo Baeza’s House of the Infinite in Cádiz, where the rooftop seems as endless and serene as the vast ocean it stretches out to.

In great contrast to the concrete cityscape atop which they perch, many of the featured rooftops have been crafted as lush green havens, appealing to a city-dweller’s yearning for foliage and tranquillity without the need for hours of travel. Even if you can only stare longingly at the images, that in itself is almost enough to transport you to one of these rooftop nirvanas, so bright and inviting are the photographs. It’s escapism at its best, to imagine oneself whiling away the day shrouded in shrubbery, the quick pace of the city mere white noise.

Happy Monday! #AnOtherHappyMonday

Rooftops: Islands in the Sky is out now, published by Taschen.