Brainstorm: What Are the Creative Uses of a Roofless Building?

Becky McCray recently posed the question: "What can you do with a roofless building?"

1 minute read

January 9, 2015, 7:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


The presence of a roofless building is a common site, according to Becky McCray, but she wants to find new ways to tap the potential of the typology.

You probably have one in your downtown. Maybe a building burned, or maybe the roof just fell in. These things happen. Now you have an empty space, maybe with walls, or maybe just an open lot. What can you do with a roofless building?

The standard answer has been to make a pocket park: a little green space, a bench or two, and that’s about it. Maybe a memorial or piece of art. Pocket parks are OK, but they aren’t the only possibility. There’s much more we can do.

McCray goes on to posit a number of possible uses of such a space, gathered in two categories of "not for profit ideas" and "not-just-for-profit ideas," before soliciting feedback for more.

Thursday, January 8, 2015 in Pagosa Daily Post

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

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