Rooftop draws poetic attention to an important new movement that counters the heat-island effect occurring in cities. Green roofs reduce our carbon footprint and improve storm water control, but they do far more. They reflect the conflict of our existence, symbolizing the allure of nature in the face of our continuing urban sprawl. Temkin’s images, shot in locations ranging from Chicago to Zurich, do more than merely document rooftop gardens. By securely situating the gardens within the steel, stone and glass rectangularity of urban downtown, he asks viewers to revel in their far more open patterns, colors and connection to the sky.
Essays by John Rohrbach, Steven Peck and Roger Schickedantz address such things as the aesthetics and intent of the photographs, living architecture, design, sustainability and the idea of bringing nature into a new urban context.