It’s 2063 and the population of Melbourne has risen to 10 million. Huge numbers of school-aged children live within the CBD, and have no access to rural and coastal victoria. Owing to the proliferation of high rise apartments, the local government has started to utilise the roof top spaces of these buildings as schools. You have been given a brief to design a classroom that brings rural and coastal Victoria to the city. The school is committed to environmental awareness owing to water restrictions and a depletion of natural resources.

Rooftop classrooms are both amazing in the way it lends itself to the buildings of the city, as well as an additional learning space for students. Inner city schools are limited due to the congestion of other buildings and instituations, and thus this concept is a great one as its creativity can immensly inspire students.

While the rooftop classrooms offers an alternative way of learning, it also provides an another dimension in which to teach children about sustainability. There is so much more potential in learning to preserve the environment in a classroom like this as it can be taken for granted in the city as opposed to a rural area.The city itself has little water resources which is why it is essential for students to learn about sustainable practises.

The downside of rooftop classrooms however, i think are the health and safety side of things as much of the learning is situated outdoors; given the climate of our city, how the classroom is designed will greatly impact how much worth a rooftop can offer in terms of a learning space.

In terms of this being a scenario of 2063, i think this is an idea already put in motion. Surely inner city schools have been established, but with a growing population more schools need to exist and in our city there is simply not enough space. While rooftop classrooms may not be the first way to handle this problem, perhaps it will be seen sooner rather than later.