Civil Township, Rourkela, Odisha | 2021
Residential Rooftop Garden | 383 sq. ft.
Some landscapes are built to impress. Others quietly become part of everyday life.
In 2021, CHAAS transformed a 383 sq. ft. rooftop for a senior doctor and his wife in Rourkela. While the doctor was cautious about the idea, his wife had one simple request:
"Whatever you create, my pigeons should continue coming."
That single sentence shaped the entire project. We weren't just designing a rooftop—we were preserving a daily relationship between a homeowner and nature.
Like many families, they were concerned about water leakage. During our inspection, we found that seepage in one room had existed long before the rooftop garden was planned. It reinforced an important lesson: every rooftop deserves a proper technical assessment before a garden is blamed for leakage.
The rooftop also became a place of learning. At a time when trained rooftop installers were rare in Odisha, we used this project to train workers in laying drainage cells. It was also where we introduced Weigelia, a flowering shrub usually found in cooler hill regions. We weren't sure how it would perform in Rourkela's climate, but years later it continues to bloom—thanks not only to thoughtful design, but to the homeowner's love for gardening.
When completed, the rooftop became more than a garden. It became an extension of the family's home, where the couple spent quiet evenings together, pigeons continued their daily visits, and every season brought new flowers and memories.
This place taught us that landscapes flourish not because of design alone, but because of the people who care for them.