Vertical Agora, M.Arch, UBC

As urban populations and densities increase, there is a need to create new public spaces.  Resulting from technological limitations, zoning regulations and building codes, our cities are filled with blocks containing similar roof heights.  If combined, these roof areas have the potential to become public urban roofscapes, however, a series of social, political and regulatory barriers exist.  By addressing the barriers to access, both physical and perceived, “Vertical Agora” explores the potential for new roofscapes.  To achieve this, the Centre for Architecture Media and Politics (C.A.M.P) hands over all unused volumes and circulation spaces to the public realm, creating a visually significant public stair which rises through the building.  C.A.M.P. invites the public to ascend through the building and becomes one of the many access and egress points that would be required for an urban roofscape.